Un profil LinkedIn parfait : c'est à vous de jouer !
- Melanie Robin
- September 14, 2023
- 11:45 a.m.
- 0 comments
Today, the professional network LinkedIn has more than 17 million active users. Whether you are looking for a job or a company looking for new talent, a perfect LinkedIn profile is the key to increasing your visibility and your chances of success. In this article, discover the essential tips to improve your personal or business account. Explore the essential platform for your professional relationships!
LinkedIn: a platform for connecting professionals and businesses
LinkedIn is a professional social network created in 2002 in California. Around the year 2015, the company was estimated to 20 million dollars. In 2016, Microsoft bought it for an amount of 26,2 millions of dollars. Nowadays, LinkedIn is known as the largest professional network in the world. Just like other professional platforms, LinkedIn is intended to simplify exchanges of information between professionals and businesses. You can use it to connect with professionals in your industry, find a job or internship, and grow your connections.
Les 12 secrets d’un profil LinkedIn presque parfait
The quest for the perfect LinkedIn profile starts here. Explore the key steps to having a neat profile and a memorable professional presence.
1 Choose your profile photo
When you create your LinkedIn profile, you are invited to put a profile photo (400 x 400 pixels) And a cover image (1584 x 396 pixels) on his behalf in order to improve his profile.
Prefer one professional profile photo with a neutral background: a plain background or a light background works well. Be welcoming and look into the camera lens. This point should not be overlooked, because on LinkedIn, profiles with quality photos receive more views.
Regarding the cover photo, you are free to show a little of your personality as well as your professional interests (for example: what you bring to your target audience, your promise).
What to avoid: selfies or photos taken during festive events or vacations. Ban pixelated images.
2 Give your profile a title
On your profile, there is a field specially dedicated to write your professional identity. It is essential to take good care of this personalized professional title, since it will differentiate you from the other millions of members of the network. Choose a clear title that best summarizes your main responsibilities and accomplishments. As a tip, use relevant keywords in your sentence.
What to avoid: providing a vague profile title that doesn't mean anything to anyone (except you).
3 Complete and fill in your contact details
When creating your LinkedIn profile, remember to provide your contact details. These make it easy to find you. To do this, you can customize your LinkedIn account URL including your name. Just follow these steps:
- Log in to your LinkedIn account.
- Click on your profile photo, then “view profile”.
- Click “edit public profile and URL”.
- In the "Edit your vanity URL" box, type the URL you want to use.
- Click “save”.
Your URL will then be updated. You can share it with others on your CV, social networks, etc.
What to avoid: Sharing your home address and home phone number (sensitive information that should not be publicly available).
4 Write a powerful summary
A powerful summary on LinkedIn is a clear, concise and engaging text. Your summary should not exceed 2000 characters. It should give a clear idea of your skills, experiences and professional goals.
Start with a strong hook phrase. This sentence should grab your audience’s attention and make them want to continue reading. For example: a professional achievement, a preconceived idea of the profession, a quote, etc.
Next, talk about your most meaningful skills and experiences. What have you accomplished in your previous experiences? What are your most sought-after skills in the market? What experiences do you have that sets you apart from the competition? Focus on your results. Add your personal touch.
What to avoid: text that is difficult to read and understand.
5 Mention and detail your professional experiences
To aim for the perfect LinkedIn profile, also consider highlight your experiences in your sector of activity. In the same way as you write a CV, mention the dates, the position, the company, your previous missions and your achievements. Use figures and examples to illustrate your points. This way, recruiters and other employees will have no trouble knowing your real strengths. Keywords also play an important role since most HR (human resources) departments use them to search for candidates.
A word of advice: be selective, only mention your most relevant experiences.
What to avoid: Incorrect or misleading information. Information that is too general or not relevant (provide concrete details). Avoid jargon and technical terms that could be misunderstood.
6 Add skills
Adding skills to your LinkedIn profile will allow you to improve your visibility, stand out from your colleagues on the network, and of course demonstrate your talents. It is possible to insert up to 50 skills on your profile. Select those that seem most relevant to your professional experiences and objectives. You can have your skills validated by your connections (with relevant profiles) on the platform.
For add skills to your LinkedIn profile, nothing's easier :
- Log in to your LinkedIn account.
- Click on your profile photo, then “view profile”.
- Click the “add section to profile” button in the introduction section.
- Click “basic” and select “add skills” from the drop-down menu.
- Enter the name of the skill you want to add.
- Click “save”.
What to avoid: add too many irrelevant skills. Do not dare to ask for approvals on your stated skills.
7 Get recommendations
Getting quality recommendations on the platform will help you to stand out and to enhance your journey professional. A key element for a perfect LinkedIn profile! To do this, start by asking for recommendations from people you know well (colleagues, managers, customers, etc.). A word of caution: always personalize your messages. And to thank, but is it really useful to remember it?
Another possibility is to use the “recommendation” function on LinkedIn to solicit people to recommend you. You can then choose the contacts from whom you wish to ask for an opinion and send them a personalized message.
What to avoid: write cold, impersonal messages asking for recommendations.
8 Share quality content
To create quality content on LinkedIn, you need to know the target perfectly to which you are addressing. What is she looking for on LinkedIn? What are his needs? Based on these questions, produce the content she expects, by diversifying the formats: publications, articles, videos, infographics, etc. Sharing content on LinkedIn allows you:
- to assert your professional presence;
- promote your expertise;
- to expand your network;
- to attract the attention of recruiters, partners and potential clients.
Use the same language as your audience and accompany your texts with images, because they easily capture readers' attention. Insert relevant hashtags to increase the visibility of your posts and don't forget to include a call to action. Simply ask your LinkedIn connections to comment, share or subscribe to your content.
To help you organize your content production, establish a content strategy and its editorial calendar. On LinkedIn, consistency is important to stay visible.
What to avoid: not optimizing your profile before publishing, not having a content strategy. Talk only about its products and services (humanize your content with inspiring posts, for example).
9 Be sociable on the platform
Presence on a social network involves creating and maintaining professional relationships in a spontaneous and respectful manner. Here are some examples :
- personalize invitations to connect;
- interact with the content of others;
- respond to messages and comments;
- make sincere recommendations;
- participate in online events on the platform (webinars, etc.);
- and above all, be yourself on LinkedIn.
The list is not exhaustive, but it outlines the bases of a positive presence on this professional network.
What to avoid: sending mass invitations to strangers, spam, posting too much promotional content. Also avoid inappropriate comments (address them privately).
10 Take care of LinkedIn SEO
LinkedIn SEO involves optimizing your profile and content for the platform's algorithm. Your professional profile will be better referenced and therefore better positioned in LinkedIn search results, but also on Google! The equation is simple: more than visibility, more than traffic on your profile, more chance of being contacted. How to do ? Use relevant keywords, regularly publish quality and engaging content.
What to avoid: stuffing your profile with irrelevant keywords because they are not related to your actual experience or skills. Do not complete your profile at 100%.
11 Cultivate Patience
Patience is a valuable quality to cultivate on LinkedIn. It translates into a thoughtful and professional approach. Build a solid presence on the platform and build authentic relationships with your audience does not happen overnight. Moreover, this patience will prevent you from jumping on offers or opportunities that are not at all aligned with your aspirations.
What to avoid: commenting and sending messages in a hurry. Insistent communication.
12 Use LinkedIn Statistics
Taking an interest in LinkedIn statistics gives you indicators on the performance of your profile and your content. You will identify at a glance the types of content that generate the most engagement and those that require adjustments. For example, if you find that long-form posts get more views and shares, then you might choose to spend more time writing in-depth articles to boost the impact of your LinkedIn presence. It is a powerful tool for adapting your strategy on the platform to achieve your professional goals.
What to avoid: Focusing only on the numbers (they don't tell the whole story). Changing strategies too often.
How to create your profile on LinkedIn?
On LinkedIn, you can create a personal account in your name. It is also possible to create an account for your business. Just like creating a profile on other social networks (like Facebook), to create your profile on LinkedIn, you must follow a few steps:
- Go to the website: www.linkedin.com.
- Click “register”.
- Use your Google account or your email address.
- Choose one secure password that you don't use anywhere else.
- Click “accept and register” to confirm your registration.
Personal LinkedIn account Business LinkedIn account
On the next page, complete your profile by filling in various information fields such as:
- your first and last name or the name of the company;
- your residence (country, region, postal code);
- your sector of activity;
- your job ;
- your current position;
- etc.
After having provided this various information, you can choose if you want to continue using LinkedIn with a basic account (free) or opt for a Premium account (paid) which offers more advantages.
The perfect LinkedIn profile does not exist
LinkedIn is much more than a social network. It's an effective professional platform for expanding your network, finding new career opportunities, showcasing your expertise, developing your personal brand and so much more. There is no such thing as an ideal LinkedIn profile. But by spending time and effort on LinkedIn, you'll attract attention and build a solid foundation for your professional future. To take full advantage of it, you need to optimize your LinkedIn profile and cultivate authentic relationships by following the best practices mentioned in this article. So, are you ready to apply these tips to exploit the full potential of LinkedIn and propel your career to new horizons?
Pictures : freepik
Consultant in natural referencing (SEO) and digital strategies in Paris. I help businesses optimize their online visibility.
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