10 Tips to Boost LinkedIn Brand-Building

Salespeople invest a lot of time in building their personal brands, but many fail to make full use of their most powerful brand-building asset: their LinkedIn profile pages.

LinkedIn Sales Solutions recently hosted LinkedIn Spark, an event dedicated to helping sales professionals navigate today's toughest business challenges and achieve stronger sales results. During the event, sales leaders shared their advice for how professionals can use their LinkedIn profiles to build personal brands and stand out. While some of the tips to make the most of your profile are quick fixes, some of them require time.

Following are the top 10 recommendations:

1. Use the right profile picture: Your profile picture is your LinkedIn calling card and a key element of your personal brand. Make sure your picture is recent and that your face takes up most of the frame. In the photo, wear what you would ordinarily wear to work.
2. Headlines are more than just a job title: There's no rule that says the description at the top of your profile page has to be just a job title. Use the headline field to say a bit more about you, like why you do what you do and what makes you different.
3. Turn your summary into an individual story: Your LinkedIn summary is a chance to tell your own story, not just list old job titles. Try to bring to life the difference your skills can make to clients. Think of this section as your most personal piece of content marketing.
4. List relevant skills: Scroll through the list of skills you can select for your profile page and choose those relevant to you. It helps to substantiate the description in your Headline and Summary and provides a platform for others to endorse you.
5. Share content: Sharing relevant content with your network helps you appear regularly in the feeds of connections and improves visibility. Start by keeping a close eye on your LinkedIn feed, sharing content that you find interesting and that resonates with you.
6. Spotlight the services you offer: Services is a LinkedIn feature that helps showcase the range of services you offer. Filling out the Services section of your profile can boost your visibility in search results.
7. Use buzzwords with caution: Buzzwords are adjectives used so often in LinkedIn headlines and summaries that they become meaningless. People tune out when reading terms like strategic, passionate, expert, creative, and innovative. If you want to convince people that you have these qualities, you need to do more than just list them. Demonstrate them in the ways you use other profile features.
8. Grow your network: Get into the habit of scheduling follow-up meetings and conversations with LinkedIn connection requests. It's a great way of keeping your network vibrant and up to date.
9. Request recommendations: Recommendations take endorsements a step further. They are personal testimonials written to illustrate the experience of working with you. There's a handy drop-down menu in the Recommendations section of your profile that makes it easy to reach out to specific contacts and request recommendations.
10. Follow relevant influencers: Following relevant influencers on LinkedIn helps put interesting content in your feed, which you can then share with others when you think it adds value. It also helps to give context to your LinkedIn profile, demonstrating your passion for what you do.