LinkedIn has been around since 2003, which means that for 20 years now, business owners and entrepreneurs have been making connections and using this platform to create a professional community to support their brands.

LinkedIn is the most professional option when it comes to social media platforms. It’s the place for you to build your network while also demonstrating your achievements and skills. It’s your online resume, your professional online presence, and where you connect with old classmates and new contacts.

On LinkedIn, people will stumble upon your profile for many reasons. Some of the most popular ones will be:

Searching for a new job
Searching to reconnect
Searching to connect with employees at a specific company
Met you at a networking event or conference
Saw you online ( aka another platform, someone tagged you etc.)
Saw you on the news

No matter why someone ends up finding you on LinkedIn and connecting with you, it’s important to provide a great first impression, so they’ll hit that ‘connect’ button.

So what exactly makes a profile stand out? What makes someone want to give you a glowing recommendation? What must-have should you include on your profile?

No matter if you are just starting out or if your profile needs a refresher, here are the steps you should be taking to set up your profile:

How to create the perfect LinkedIn profile

Can someone actually have a perfect profile? Well, with the ever-changing rules of social media, it’s hard to have a perfect anything, but the perfect profile for you as a small business owner or an entrepreneur is a profile that gets others to notice you for the right reasons!

Having a “perfect profile” is simply the profile that is achieving your long-term goals (yes, we need goals for this platform too!) Whether it’s increasing your reach, making new contacts or finding a new job, LinkedIn can help you get there!

Are you ready to get your LinkedIn profile working for you? Here’s how you can get to an almost perfect profile!

Upload a professional profile picture

Yes, I said professional picture—not a selfie, not a random picture of you on vacation and not a picture cropped of you with other people!

Your profile picture should be recent, should look like you and should be on brand! The goal with your profile picture is for someone to recognize you and to make it easy for potential prospects to put a name to your face when they meet you at the next event.

If you do not have a professional picture, then it’s time for you to hire a photographer and get your first shots done! Need recommendations? Simply ask; I know tons of amazing photographers!

Set a background photo

Along with your profile picture, it’s important to set a branded background photo (this can easily be done via canva.)

It’s important to set a branded background image because this gives you an opportunity to showcase your expertise and what your company is all about. This isn’t the place to put another picture of your face, but somewhere for you to show your workspace, what type of work you offer or a branded background with your website/tagline.

A great headline

Your headline/tagline can help boost your profile and its impact. This is a short description, but it can be a powerful one! This needs to include not only your job title, but it can be used to make yourself stand out from your competitors.

An example could be:

“Creative and passionate, results-driven go-getter that helps brands think outside the box.”

Cut the jargon and buzzwords

Social Media jargon and buzzwords have become popular and commonly used, but LinkedIn isn’t the spot to use them!

Using these types of words really doesn’t offer any real insight into your accomplishments or professional success; they are generic and used by many people, so aim to stand out instead of blending into the crowd.

Tell your story

You have heard that ‘telling your story’ is a great way to engage on social media platforms, and LinkedIn isn’t any different! If you are a small business owner or an entrepreneur, you have a story to tell and LinkedIn, especially in your summary, is the perfect place to tell it.

Your summary should be about your story, who you are and what you bring to the table, not the list of jobs you have had or your job description.

Showcase your skill sets

LinkedIn is your online resume. If there is a place for you to brag online, this is it! Sing your own praises from the rooftop for others to know your skills and your accomplishments.

Get a custom URL

When you set up your account, LinkedIn will give you a random URL with your name and a bunch of numbers. This doesn’t really look professional so make sure that you go to the edit button and customize your profile to make it easier for others to find you. For example, mine is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerraaucoin/ and not kerraaucoin123456.

Update your contact information

Like any other platform, it’s important to have your contact information as up-to-date as possible, but in this case, it’s even more important! If you want someone to hire you, then they need to be able to get a hold of you! Some will message you directly via the LinkedIn Messaging system, but others will prefer to email or call you, so make sure your email address and phone number are updated.

Set your location

Have you moved in the last few years? Do you live in a small village that no one knows? Make sure you have your location set so people can find you. Do you work online so you can work with anyone/anywhere? Then make sure your connections are aware of that.

Stay connected

Don’t set your profile and then forget it! It’s important to set up your profile, but it’s also important to stay connected and engage in conversations on Linkedin! I recommend that you spend at least 10 minutes a day to make connections, comment and see what’s relevant on the platform.

Share new & relevant content

Yes, it’s important to stay connected and have conversations, but it’s also important to share content! Original and curated content that is relevant to your business and your industry. This makes it easier for people to connect with you and have conversations with you. If they like what you share, there is more of a chance that they will stick around.

For example, have a new free download, like my 365 daily prompts, delivered to your inbox each month? Make a post and talk about it!

Share your services

No matter if you are a business owner, an entrepreneur or a freelancer, you need to tell people what your business is and what services you offer! You can’t assume that people know what you offer. You need to tell them—and tell them often!

Be specific with your invites and your network

Just like you shouldn’t throw your business cards to everyone at a networking event, you shouldn’t invite everyone you see on LinkedIn! It’s important to reach out to others and tell them why you want to connect with them before hitting the invite button. A customized invitation telling them who you are, what you do and why it matters will go a long way!

A bigger network might seem great, but having millions of connections but not actually knowing any of them isn’t a great thing! It takes way from the connections and the purpose. For example, I like to know my connections, and I like to connect with like-minded individuals. I like to be able to refer the people on my list to others.

The more your put into LinkedIn, the more you get

Like most platforms, the more time and effort you put into LinkedIn, the better your results will be. The more specific you are, the more likely you are to connect with potential clients and like-minded individuals and the better your chances of connecting with thought leaders, capturing the attention of other professionals, and finding new growth opportunities. And while there’s no such thing as a “perfect” LinkedIn profile, you can get close to the mark with these tips & tricks.

Not sure where to start? Want a second opinion on your profile? Let’s book a brainstorming session!

A step-by-step guide to updating LinkedIn