LinkedIn has over 756 million users and it generated over $8 billion in revenue in 2020. After 2021’s first quarter, LinkedIn has already almost surpassed its 2020 revenue indicating that the covid-19 quarantine spiked LinkedIn’s remote job and user traffic.
It’s no secret that LinkedIn is the ultimate broad spectrum business networking platform. With millions of active users and posts filling feeds on the platform daily, understanding the reasons behind its success is critical to leveraging the tool for your own growth.
Recently, after rewriting a client’s LinkedIn profile description and headline, he informed me that his profile views increased tenfold.
Tenfold.
He didn’t request connections from 2nd and 3rd degree contacts; he didn’t increase his LinkedIn usage or visit more profiles; he didn’t pay for a LinkedIn subscription.
All we did was rewrite his profile. As a direct result, he got more views, showed up in more searches for his service niche, and built more valuable connections.
Pretty cool, right?
I have good news for you: these results ARE typical! If you know how to treat your LinkedIn profile, it can make a huge difference in your ability to build solid connections with people in your niche.
According to June’s LinkedIn Workforce report and data, “National hiring was 158.4% higher in May compared to last year May 2020.” With LinkedIn bringing job seekers so many opportunities, why aren’t you getting the same bang for no buck on your LinkedIn profile?
Here are four reasons you’re not seeing success like your peers – plus advice for optimizing your LinkedIn profile.
Stop Treating My LinkedIn Profile Like a Resume
Resumes are obsolete in our virtual world. #dontatme
Born after 1988? Let me fill you in on these weird things called “resumes.” Resumes were marginally useful sheets of paper that employers used to ask for because they didn’t know how else to vet candidates for a position.
Resumes essentially consisted of an objective (which is almost always the same — to get a job, obviously), educational background, work experience, any relevant skills, and certifications or other credentials that might set you apart the slightest bit from the next guy.
Now you’re probably asking, “How is that different from my LinkedIn profile?”
Resumes Are Requested, Profiles Are Discovered
First of all, employers aren’t asking for your LinkedIn profile. They likely stumble upon it in a search, were encouraged to connect with you based on LinkedIn’s algorithm, or found you based on so-and-so’s suggestion who may or may not be a 3rd degree connection.
To be found in the great cosmos of the web, you have to be smart about your keywords, your profile headline, your main description copy, and your past job descriptions.
Yes. All of that.
Under its deep blue interface and fancy bells and whistles, LinkedIn is, at its core, a search engine. Additionally, Google indexes each and every LinkedIn profile. So even if someone is searching for, let’s say, “content marketing expert in San Diego” on Google, your LinkedIn profile could show up if your SEO is strong enough!
To maximize your potential to be found, you have to treat your profile like a web page. Think SEO, SEO, SEO. Spend some time playing with a keyword tool. (I like KWFinder and use it for my LinkedIn profile, as well as for our clients at Cornell. It’s free and gives you all the juicy details.)
Type in the keywords you’re currently using. You’ll get a list of similar keywords and see how yours stands up in terms of monthly search volume, cost per click, and ranking difficulty.
Choose keywords that have a high monthly search volume and as low a ranking difficulty as possible, without sacrificing search volume. Slip those new keywords into your profile two to three times each and voila! You’ve just made a major upgrade, baby.
Is My LinkedIn Profile “Dream-Job-Ready”?
Another way your LinkedIn profile is unlike a resume: Old-fashioned resumes could be tweaked and reprinted any time you wanted to apply to different jobs which is almost too convenient.
Trying for a management position? Be sure to list how you were captain of your soccer team in high school and how leadership is one of your best skills.
Applying to a company with a philanthropy focus? Better nix the past history of athletics and add in the summer you volunteered at an animal shelter.
But that’s not possible with a LinkedIn profile. A LinkedIn profile needs to be “dream-job-ready” for every possible connection — you never know when that connection could transition into your next employer.
Your LinkedIn profile can’t be modified based on who views it. You have to select only the best aspects of your career history and personal skills to put out there.
Not sure what to include? Here’s where the magic happens…
Write Your LinkedIn Profile for Your Dream Job
Unlike the old days of applying for dozens of jobs, going in for beaucoup interviews, and printing out copy after copy of your standard resume in hopes of landing something that will help you put food on the table, LinkedIn can help you find your dream job. #neversettle
Grab a pen and paper. Go ahead. Right now. I’ll wait.
Ok, glad you’re back. Now answer these questions (I mean it. Write your answers out):
- Where is your ideal employer located?
- What is your ideal working environment?
- What is your dream job title?
- How would you describe the culture at your ideal company?
- If you’re a service provider, who do you love working with most?
- How much money do you want to make?
Now, is your hand sore from using those neglected muscles for the first time since grade school?
Good. It’ll be worth it. I promise! Analyze the words you wrote down.
If you have an ideal work location or work environment, plaster those words all over your profile. As a rule of thumb, city names should appear at least 3 times in your profile.
If you’re a remote worker, say so. Also toss in words like “freelance” and “independent contractor.” Steer clear of using the term “work from home,” though. Your ideal employer or client is going to search for the former, not the latter.
Did you come up with a dream job title? Great! Give it to yourself – right there in your LinkedIn profile description. Whatever your dream title is, that’s what you identify as from now on. Not only will you show up in searches for the exact people who you want to work for, but you’ll grab their attention and be remembered.
Want to work for a company that has a culture of minimalism? Equality? Innovation? Team work? Whimsy? Include those words in your profile. Those crazy cool companies will notice and you’ll stand out from the other candidates whose profiles read like clinical diagnoses.
Have an ideal client in mind for your service-based business? Add “…for successful nutrition and weight loss coaches” or “…for world-famous athletes” to the end of your job description.
Boom. Usain Bolt will be connecting soon.
Aiming for a six-figure salary? Add words like “executive” and “for multi-million dollar companies” to your profile. Avoid words like “small business” unless you love working with mom and pop shops. That “small business” phrase is pure search gold in those cases, which leads us to one of the most important aspects of your LinkedIn profile.
The Copy Needs Some Improvements
Another reason your LinkedIn profile is failing: your copy isn’t stop-scrolling worthy.
Yes, yes, we all want to appear professional on LinkedIn and everywhere else we go online. But being professional doesn’t have to be bland.
Your LinkedIn profile won’t hang out on the corner of your potential employer’s desk or in a nice, neat file cabinet waiting to be revisited. As soon as someone clicks away from your profile, the odds of them coming back are slim.
In 2020, it was concluded that the soft skill “creativity” was one of the most sought after skills by employers on LinkedIn and elsewhere. These candidates were hired at a higher rate than others. In order for your LinkedIn profile to get noticed, you have to get those creative juices flowing.
On average, hiring managers spend roughly six seconds reviewing resumes. Ideally, I want people to look at my LinkedIn profile longer than six seconds – and I bet you do, too – so we need to find ways to achieve that.
As soon as LinkedIn users land on your page, you’re psychically begging them to stay there. You have to get them to decide on you and reach out in that precious little time they’re there.
One of the hardest parts of creating a killer LinkedIn profile is writing about ourselves. Even after 14 years of making a living with words, I still have trouble writing about myself.
Here’s a nifty trick: don’t write about yourself. Pretend you’re writing about a friend.
Your dear, charismatic, super sexy friend has the same education, work experience, and the same skills as you, and now it’s your job to find her next work experience. You want this job to be perfect, so you make sure to write engaging content.
If she called you up crying about how she had a horrible day and no one is ever going to hire her for a job, what would you say to her? How would you get her to snap out of that sad slump and realize how valuable she is? Write what you would want to tell her.
What we often perceive as egotistical or boastful when we write about ourselves actually comes across as confident, magnetic, poised, and energizing to others.
Neglecting The Headline Is a Major Mistake
LinkedIn profiles have one great thing that old, traditional resumes don’t: a headline that’s hard to miss. Your LinkedIn headline is that little blurb that sits right below your name.
Most people include something boring like their current job title in the headline spot. Don’t fall into that trap. That headline space is meant to be explored.
Your headline should be what you want to be known for. For example, my LinkedIn profile includes phrases like “Content Marketing Strategist & Copywriter” and “Inbound Strategy, Content Marketing, Email Marketing & SEO for Subscription Brands” because those are the things I’m best at and what I LOVE to do!
More importantly, I want to show up in searches when people are looking for a content marketing strategist. See what I did there?
Your headline is short. For most, it’s 220 characters. But it’s one of the most heavily weighted factors in how you rank in searches for key phrases. So make that real estate count.
If you do nothing else with your profile – even if you don’t follow people or companies, post content, share links, endorse skills, or stalk your favorite soon-to-be employers – make these changes to your profile as soon as humanly possible.
Then watch your numbers soar.
Still not sure where to begin with your LinkedIn profile? Let me know in the comments below! I’ll help you out, friend.
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