Whether you've been a veteran in the business world or just starting up, LinkedIn is a networking tool that will help you achieve those professional milestones you have set for yourself.
Most people who sign up always have a reason why they do so.
It could be to take their brand to the next level, hire some recruits and HR managers, or meet new associates and establish connections.
Whatever reason you've chosen to steer in the direction of LinkedIn, bear in mind that it can provide answers to most of your problems in the business realm.
Compared to other social media platforms where your profile is set up for more personal networking than a professional, LinkedIn is built to present every user's profile in such a professional manner.
So, whatever the reason may be for joining, you can rest assured that once you have an account and duly follow the tips that we will share in this article, you are on your way to achieving a Professional LinkedIn Profile.
In this guide, we will be discussing ten tips that you can apply to your LinkedIn profile to make it more professional.
Having a well-detailed and Professional LinkedIn Profile is one way you can make your profile appear more professional before visitors.
No matter how professional your profile photo is or the height you must have attained over the years in your career, your profile will never leave a good impression if it's not well detailed.
But note that while the details matter, you should not fill your profile with jargon just because you're trying to appear professional enough.
Know which detail or piece of information you should include convincing your visitors and those that shouldn't make it to the party.
To better understand this, try to picture your LinkedIn profile like your resume, where you have to include brief and concise information about your education information, skills, work experience, and so on.
This step is quite similar to the first, but the difference is that it does not include adding the necessary details but having a complete and Professional LinkedIn Profile.
A profile that is complete is enticing to view. Again, no matter how well detailed your profile looks, it won't command the respect it deserves if it's haphazard.
So, even if it seems like a difficult task to do, ensure your profile is complete at all times.
Remember to always edit or replace certain information as you progress in your business or career.
It's preferable to edit rather than delete.
The reason is that your viewer will undoubtedly be interested to see how you've climbed the ladder from your early days to where you are at the moment.
It could also serve as a motivation for them.
Most people fail to realize that their LinkedIn Profile Summary and Headline can make or break their page.
These are two critical sections that need to be reviewed if you're willing to leave a remarkable impression in the minds of your prospects.
While your LinkedIn headline will give you a forefront professional outlook, your summary will also reveal your personality that compliments your brands or Curriculum Vitae (CV).
You need to note that you need to add the most relevant keywords that matter in your industry to your Headline, Summary, and entire profile.
It will truly help it stand out and be more discoverable on search engine results.
There is nothing that spoils the icing on the cake faster than having a LinkedIn profile full of different grammatical and spelling errors.
Nothing turns people off quicker than this.
How can your visitors guarantee that you can live up to your promise to deliver if you can't even find the time to correct errors on your profile?
Some of these errors may not be noticed when you initially fill them because you're more conscious about writing down the details that portray your profile or brand in a good light.
That's why you need to check what you've written before you click the save button.
There might also be a need to take a good look at it with fresh eyes a few hours after to ensure it's free from such errors.
Undoubtedly, being professional also entails that you can show off some of your language skills.
But rather than convince, you can confuse your viewers and prospects with too many ambiguous words.
The human attention span is getting shorter by the day, so rather than get a dictionary to cross-check those heavy words, they will skip to the next profile.
Problem solved! You wouldn't want that, would you?
So, remember to keep it short and straightforward.
Another way to go around this is to try putting yourself in the reader's eyes and then see if you can quickly read and understand the message you're trying to convey to your prospects.
You can equally get someone to take a second look at it to see what needs to be worked on to make it better.
In the bid to be as professional as possible, we can fall into the temptation of twisting certain information on our page.
That's one of the most unprofessional things anyone can do himself or brand.
We will not try and sound like your mother here, but lying is not acceptable in the professional business realm.
One area people do this a lot is their education and job history.
The internet, they say, never forgets. I
n a digital world where background checks can reveal all that is hidden, you should never yield to the temptation of lying about anything to attain professionalism.
The takeaway point here is to note that appearing untrustworthy is dangerous for your business, so stay true at all times. It will pay off someday.
LinkedIn might have a more professional outlook than any other platforms out there, but that doesn't make it any less engaging and fun.
Like other social media platforms, to stay relevant in your industry, you need to interact with other people.
And no hard and fast rule says it must be with only members that serve the same industry as you.
So, what's the way out here? Engage, like, comment, and share other people's content.
And the chances are that they will do the same for you.
But it would help if you were careful not to share anything that pops on your timeline because you want to stay active.
Whatever you're sharing should be interesting and educative.
And remember to remain professional when commenting on other people's posts.
If "professionalism" is your watchword, it needs to be applied to all you do on LinkedIn.
Yes! Everything that you do, including the messages that you send when trying to establish a connection.
Rather than sending random connection requests with default or no message, make out time to send follow-up messages that professionally introduce you.
To increase your chances of bonding with your prospect, try to take a look at their profile.
See what they are interested in and try to find something mutual that you both like.
It can be used as the foundation of why you're trying to build a rapport.
Note, whatever it is that you may find interest to break the ice when writing a connection request message needs to be something worth considering and of value.
Be a thought leader
Professionalism requires discipline and focus, and this needs to reflect in all that you do, down to the content you share with your followers on LinkedIn.
It's not enough to stay active on LinkedIn.
At various intervals, you need to ask yourself, what impact will my post make in my followers' lives?
This question will help you be more guided in whatever it is that you share on LinkedIn.
And be consistent with meaningful and educative posts that will place you as a leader of thought in your industry sooner than you expect.
It will make people anticipate and regularly visit your profile.
In case you don't have an idea of how to go about this, you can share posts that provide answers to specific questions in your industry.
You can also share articles on improving or addressing specific problems like the one you're reading now.
You how people always say you should save the best for last.
Well, that's what we've done here.
You can't talk about having a professional profile on LinkedIn without having a good profile picture that depicts it.
Your LinkedIn profile picture is the primary thing everyone will notice when they visit your profile.
So, not having a profile picture or uploading one similar to the type you have on other social media accounts where you're not looking your best sends a red flag to whoever is looking at your page.
While the hat, sunglasses, and carefree postures may be accepted on other platforms, it's not on LinkedIn.
Instead, you need to smile and look into the camera, avoid a noisy background and then dress and pose properly.
It will make an excellent first impression.
CONCLUSION
Being professional on LinkedIn is not an easy task, but certainly, one that will pay-off when you least expect it.
It won't only make people want to know you or your brand, but it will also help you generate those leads you desire.
