Enhancing Your LinkedIn Profile and Page
LinkedIn profiles showcase your work and educational experience, your skills and achievements, and all the details one might find in a professional resume or curriculum vitae. While it may be easier to simply copy and paste the text out of your resume into your LinkedIn account, think about ways to convey your capabilities and personal brand in more creative ways.
Start with a clear, appealing photograph of yourself on LinkedIn profile that properly conveys the professional image you want to project. Headshots are customary but you can get creative with a colored background or a different angle.
Don’t stop at a profile image. LinkedIn lets you upload a background image that appears at the top of your profile and behind your profile image. The recommended dimensions for a LinkedIn background image are 1584 wide by 396 high. The image can be a photograph, a graphic or a photo with words or illustrations on it. Remember that your profile image will cover part of the background. Also check how the background appears on mobile to make sure nothing important is cut off.
Under the Featured section, you can add a post, article, link, newsletter, or other media. LinkedIn accepts a variety of file types so you can upload various documents and presentations to your profile to enhance it further. Approved file types for LinkedIn include .pdf, .ppt, .doc, .rtf, .png, .jpg, .bmp, .tiff and .gif but not animated gifs. You can also link to specific files and pages on other websites such as YouTube and PowerPoint to add more multimedia elements to your profile to better showcase your work.
Here’s a summary of some of the files you can upload to your LinkedIn Profile to enhance it:
Graphics - Think logos, book covers, or other images pertaining to your business or what you do. If you’re a florist, upload images of floral arrangements and a link to your website. If you’re an artist, upload samples of your illustrations or an advertising campaign portfolio. Consider adding Infographics, a popular graphic style for visualizing data.
Photographs - Upload photographs that you’ve taken or carefully selected stock photography to represent a concept or theme.
Slides and Documents – Convert your presentation files to either Adobe PDF (.pdf), Open Office Presentation (.odp) or Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt and variations of their slide file format).
Video – Link to a video on your YouTube account to pull it into your profile and add a description. Appropriate videos include product demos, tours of your business location, or informational ones that showcase your expertise. You can now add a video to your profile in addition to your profile photo. Adding a short introductory video further adds to the credibility of your profile and enhances your personal brand. On the profile, your profile video will be displayed as a muted three second preview to members, before reverting to your profile photo. Members will have to tap on it to view the full video. Members with a profile video will have an blue circle around their profile photo.
Enhance Your LinkedIn Company Page
LinkedIn provides free Company Pages, similar to Facebook Pages, for businesses large and small. A LinkedIn Company Page offers limited features and design options but having a presence for your company on LinkedIn can help you reach current and potential customers on a professional network.
A LinkedIn Company Page includes the following features:
Home Page: Visitors land on your company page by clicking on your company name in your profile or conducting a search on LinkedIn. This landing page is similar to a Facebook Page where you have a “cover” image that appears at a banner at the top of the Page and a company profile image that is typically a logo or other relevant image.
Showcase Pages: Showcase Pages are part of your LinkedIn Page that let you spotlight individual brands, business units, or initiatives within your company. Add Showcase Pages so you can target your updates to the most relevant audience by creating customized feeds for each segment.
Products: If you sell products, make sure to add them so visitors can see what you offer. If you leave this section blank, it won’t appear on the public-facing version of your Page.
Jobs: If you have a job opening at your company, you can advertise it on LinkedIn and add it to your LinkedIn Page.
Events: List upcoming company events on your page.
Posts: Post regularly to your LinkedIn page as you would to other social networks, only gear the messages toward a more business-minded audience. Frequent posts keep your page fresh.
Other than the cover image, profile image, and the images or videos you place in your posts, there are no other ways to create visual interest on your Company page and no way to customize the colors or layout. Regardless of the limited design, your Company Page can provide clients and prospects with more current information about your business as long as you keep it updated.
Treat your LinkedIn Profile and Company Page as networking tools to help generate business leads. Upload and publish business-appropriate content that showcases who you are and what you do to establish and grow a professional online presence.