Reaching Out!

LinkedIn can transform the reach of your business relationships. At Prova, we work with companies large and small to help them utilise all social media channels, in a way that sits with their own strategic and communications goals. To keep you up-to-date, here are ten essential tips that you can use today to improve your own LinkedIn profile.

1. Say cheese! Make sure your profile picture is truly reflective of you and your brand – professional, from shoulders upwards, preferably not taken outside a nightclub with kebab in-hand!
2. Background beauty – Photography isn’t limited to your profile picture either. The background image provides a great opportunity to brand the page from a company perspective, or if you want to evoke a certain mood, such as urban, rural, tranquil and considered.
3. Heading in the right direction – make your heading relevant, interesting, memorable and keyword rich e.g. …not just Director at Prova PR but Director at Prova PR, the UK’s leading enviro and auto agency.
4. Objections – As a general point, consider the objectives for your LinkedIn profile, e.g. increased awareness of business or lead generation or gaining authority by being positioned as a thought leader – all require subtle shifts of focus.
5. Personal contact – Make sure your contact details are fully up-to-date, as there’s little point in having a great profile if people can’t contact you! Update and include more information including: company address, phone number, twitter handle, any IM and utilise web links, such as company website
6. Thanks for the memory – you can change your LinkedIn contact name to something a little more memorable e.g. from linkedin.com/in/hannah-gash-a8264014a/ to linkedin.com/in/hannah-gash-82.
7. In short – A summary is a crucial addition to any profile. Ensure it uses plain, simple English, appeals to target audience pain points and highlights your achievements, skillset and how you and your company can provide the solution to the audiences pain points. We recommend writing it in first person, making it keyword rich. Add links to achievements and presentations e.g. publications, webinar, flyers, etc.
8. Experience counts – People often neglect the experience section of their profile. This area is a great way to demonstrate why a prospect should engage with you! It shows experience, achievements and that you are a safe pair of hands. To really pump it up, add in rich media, such as presentations or brochures.
9. Peer engagement – LinkedIn groups are the perfect way to engage with your peers on discussions that get the blood flowing. Review your LinkedIn groups to decide whether they are still relevant and look what your colleagues and competitors are engaged with.
10. Build out recommendations – these can be requested from colleagues and customers and provides third party credibility.

This is just a starter of ten to help boost your profile. To learn how to make it even better, contact Hannah Gash at hannahg@provapr.co.uk or 01926 801946