Top 20 LinkedIn Business Marketing Tips

Many professionals, especially salespeople, invest a lot of time and resources into building brands. They are trained to do this and are good at it, but often don’t apply these skills to building their own personal brands. The author knows they could be doing more to build their profile on LinkedIn and assumes others are in the same boat.

Since we are usually busy and it can appear to be vain to use time for marketing ourselves, we don’t usually do it. However, when we don’t focus on personal branding, we not only prevent ourselves from advancement, but we also miss out on a lot of potential sales. The influence employees have who share content is significant. The most successful content sharers on LinkedIn are usually the ones who have taken the time to develop their personal brand.

We are always working on new ways to help you build your personal brand on LinkedIn. If you haven’t checked your profile in a while, you may be surprised at what new features we have that can help you.

Here are 20 profile features you should check and update for 2022. Some will be quick wins, while others may take a little bit more time – but all of them are very worthwhile. They will help to give you the LinkedIn profile and personal brand you deserve.

1. Choose the right profile picture for LinkedIn.

Your profile picture is one of the first things that people will see when they visit your LinkedIn profile, so it’s important to choose one that makes a good impression. Here are some quick tips: choose a recent photo that looks like you, make sure your face takes up around 60% of the frame, wear clothes that you would normally wear to work, and smile with your eyes.

2. Add a background photo.

The background photo on your profile page is the second thing people will see. It can grab their attention, show what you’re interested in, and make your page more memorable.

Your headline should be more than just your job title. It should be something that reflects your personality and makes you stand out.Think about what makes you unique and use that to create a headline that will grab attention.

You can use the headline on your profile page to say more than just your job title. Use it to describe your role, why you do what you do, and what motivates you. If you have sales representatives at your company who are good at social selling, look at their headlines for inspiration. They will likely have more than just their job titles in their headlines.

4. Turn your summary into your story.

Make sure to include a LinkedIn summary! So many people leave this field blank when creating their profile, missing an opportunity to tell their story. A LinkedIn summary is not the place to simply list skills or job titles. Instead, try to highlight why those skills are important and how they can positively impact those around you. It’s okay to take some time drafting and refining your summary. After all, this is your personal piece of content marketing.

5. Declare war on buzzwords.

‘Buzzwords’ are adjectives that are used so often in LinkedIn headlines and summaries that they become almost completely meaningless. Some common examples of these buzzwords include ‘specialised’, ‘leadership’, ‘focused’, ‘strategic’, ‘experienced’, ‘passionate’, ‘expert’, ‘creative’, ‘innovative’, and ‘certified’. While there is nothing wrong with describing yourself as these things, simply using these words will not convince people that you actually have these qualities. You need to demonstrate them as well – both in the way you describe yourself, and in the way you use LinkedIn profile features to show what you’re about.

6. Grow your network.

One of the easiest ways to grow your LinkedIn network is to sync your profile with your email address book. This enables LinkedIn to suggest people you could connect with. It’s amazing how effective this can be at surfacing relevant people for you to reach out to – and no connection requests are sent without your permission, so you can vet all of the potential connections. Beyond this, get into the habit of following up meetings and conversations with LinkedIn connection requests – it’s a great way of keeping your network vibrant and up to date.

7. List your relevant skills.

Staying relevant is key when updating your LinkedIn skills section. Make sure the skills you list are ones you actually have and are relevant to your current career. This will help your profile stand out and be more endorsed by others.

8. Spotlight the services you offer.

The ‘Services’ feature on LinkedIn allows self-employed people and those working for smaller businesses to promote the range of services they offer. This can be beneficial in increasing their profile’s search result ranking.

9. Spread the endorsement love.

If you want to get endorsed on LinkedIn, start by reaching out to your connections who you think would genuinely benefit from your endorsement. Chances are, they’ll return the favor. You can also send a polite message asking for an endorsement for a few key skills. Just remember to be relevant and target people whose endorsement you would actually value.

10. Manage your endorsements more proactively.

If you start to receive endorsements on LinkedIn, you may find that they change the focus of your profile in ways that do not accurately reflect who you are. For example, you may be an expert in content marketing, but the people who have worked with you on events may be more likely to endorse you. You can manage your endorsements list by using the edit features in the Skills section of your profile. This way, you can choose which endorsements to display and which to hide.

11. Take a skills assessment.

To get started, go to the skills assessments page and select the tests you wish to take. A skills assessment is an online test that beneficial in a few ways. Primarily, it allows you to show potential employers the level of your skills. Additionally, displaying a “Verified Skills” badge on your profile makes you around 30% more likely to be hired for the roles you apply for. Also, generally speaking, displaying the results of your skills assessments strengthens your personal brand. You can retake the tests as many times as you want before displaying that you’ve passed. To get started, go to the skills assessments page and select the tests you wish to take.

12. Request recommendations.

Endorsements on your profile let people see what you’re good at quickly and easily. Recommendations go one step further by providing personal accounts of what it’s like to work with you. In the Recommendations section of your profile, there’s a drop-down menu that makes it easy to reach out to specific contacts and ask for a recommendation. When you’re thinking about who you would most value a recommendation from, take the time to personalize your request. It’ll be worth it in the end.

13. Showcase your passion for learning.

If you want to add a course certificate to your LinkedIn profile, you can do so from the Learning History section of your LinkedIn Learning account. You can also choose to share updates about your learning with your network from this section.

14. Share media and marketing collateral.

The marketing materials you produce for your business can also help improve your own profile. By sharing case studies, white papers, and other brand-related content, you can show people what your business is all about and help them understand what drives you. This also demonstrates your passion and commitment.

15. Get credit for your thought-leadership with Publications.

If you want to make your LinkedIn profile stand out, use the Publications section to draw attention to thought-leadership content you’ve written, like eBooks, White Papers, or blog posts.

16. Share relevant content from your LinkedIn feed.

It’s important to not just have a bunch of connections on LinkedIn, but to be active in that network. A great way to do this is by sharing relevant content that will appear on your connections’ LinkedIn feeds. Pay attention to your own feed and share things that you find interesting and that align with your point of view.

17. Add comments.

Adding comments to your shares is a great way to promote yourself and start expressing your opinion on why certain pieces of content matter. Comments also allow you to share a broader range of content, and help establish your opinion and thought-leadership. Keep this in mind when writing your comment, and make sure you’re comfortable with people associating it with you.

18. Follow relevant influencers for your industry.

Staying up to date with relevant influencers on LinkedIn will help ensure that your feed is always full of interesting content to share with others, as well as providing context for your LinkedIn profile that showcases your dedication to your chosen field.

19. Become an employee advocate.

LinkedIn Elevate can help businesses launch and manage employee advocacy programs. 86% of employees who advocate for their business say that it has had a positive effect on their own careers. If your business is not using LinkedIn Elevate, you can still ask colleagues to share content that would be beneficial for your brand.

It’s important to publish long-form content, as it can be used to start conversations.

The more you share and comment on content, the more you show your expertise and thought-leadership on LinkedIn. A great way to start is by monitoring the response you get to your comments and shares. Are there certain subjects and points of view that stand out to your network? Are there comments you’ve shared that you feel you could elaborate on in a post? Developing your thought-leadership in this way keeps it real – and keeps you updated on the issues your connections are talking about. Be prepared for your long-form posts to start new conversations. Keep an eye out for comments and be ready to respond.

Try these ideas to make your LinkedIn profile work harder for you. You can make progress quickly, even if you only have a few minutes. Your profile can make a big difference to you and your business.

LinkedIn is a great place for networking and growing your business. These marketing tips will help you make better use of the social media platform.