Today we are going to talk about LinkedIn! I have six tips for you to stand out on the social network, creating a strong profile and producing quality content.
A few months ago I started writing specifically for LinkedIn, and I’ve seen some great results and so fast compared to other social networks. Now, if you still think LinkedIn is just a virtual resume or that it doesn’t work for your field, this article will make you change your mind.
At the end of last year, in 2018, I met Matheus de Souza , who is one of LinkedIn’s most influential writers. He has over 130,000 followers there and lives 100% of the jobs and freelancers he closes because of the network. I loved meeting him because he was the first person I knew who made a living from creating text content on the internet , while I thought that to be successful on the internet you had to take photos and videos. I thought people didn’t read anymore.
But here’s what: I took a look at my LinkedIn profile, started writing articles there, and took Matheus’ Personal Marketing and Content Creation course . In less than three months I gained thousands of followers, created connections with very relevant people in my area and I’m about to close a project thanks to the network!
That’s why I’m going to list here 6 tips I learned from this experience and from the course so you can stand out on LinkedIn.
Don’t be lazy when filling out your LinkedIn profile. Of course, you will put your professional experiences, study, volunteer work… But go beyond beans and rice. If you place a “systems analyst in such a company”, briefly write down what you have done or learned that is most relevant. That way, whoever enters your profile will better understand your role in that job, which is not always clear just by the job title.
Also, be sure to fill in work and study experiences that you might not consider relevant to your current job. Sometimes, it’s that theater course, or that exchange, that catches the attention of a recruiter or differentiates you from a profile very similar to yours. Don’t be wordy, but don’t be too worried about having a very concise profile either – people who click on your name want to know more about you.
And that have to do with your work. We know that photo draws more attention than text, so take the opportunity to make a good first impression. You can’t use a personal vacation photo cut out there on your face; it becomes very amateur, it even becomes an image of sloppiness. If you don’t have a nice portrait, ask a friend to do it, it can even be with your cell phone. But make sure you have a nice, clean background, preferably with natural light, which makes everything prettier.
And it doesn’t have to be that picture with a suit and arms crossed, either, if that has nothing to do with what you do. My profile picture, for example, is a portrait I took in Saudi Arabia. In it, I wear well-behaved clothes, which is important on LinkedIn, and I also portray the image of an adventurous travel journalist, who has much more to do with me than something more cheesy in a shirt.
The cover photo is also important. I use a drone photo from the same trip to Saudi Arabia, but you can use a nice photo bank photo that has to do with your area of ??expertise. The Unsplash free image bank has very beautiful and even more artistic photos. Look there for “computer”, “writer” or “creative”, for example, and see what appears.
The title, which appears under your name, is the only thing a person will see if you appear in a search or comment on an article. So if your title is “in search of replacement”, I’m sorry to tell you, you won’t get anyone’s attention. Try to think with the head of someone who doesn’t know you and show why it’s worth knowing you. Even if you are unemployed, write down what your last position was, or what your background or specialty was.
The person will be interested in calling you for an interview because you demonstrate that you have the prerequisites for the job, not because you demonstrate that you are unemployed.
And the same goes for the summary. Take advantage of that noble space, at the beginning of your profile, to highlight your best qualities or experiences. I suggest you read my summary here for inspiration. It shows a little of my experience, relevant clients I’ve had and my personality.
I don’t know why it took me so long to start writing articles on LinkedIn. I think it’s scary, because it’s more serious than other networks and you think that bosses and “important” people can read. But, first thing I discovered: it doesn’t have to be too serious and formal. The texts I publish there have the same language I use here, of course a little polished and without swear words (hehehe). But they are simple and very accessible texts.
What do you think gives a professional more support: having written “social media expert” in the title or having a series of cool articles that demonstrate a broad knowledge of social media?
Of course, the texts need to be minimally well written, without mistakes in Portuguese and without many controversies, at least in the beginning. You want to open doors and not close them, right? So be demanding with the content you post, but don’t miss the opportunity to show your knowledge to colleagues, recruiters and potential partners.
Reply to comments on your articles and comment on the cool articles you read on the net. Make comments that add not only “great text” but also expose your point of view. Those who aren’t seen aren’t remembered, so make sure people see you to stand out on LinkedIn. Keep an eye on connection requests and also look for relevant people in your area that you can connect with.
LinkedIn’s search engine is great – you can search by company, by job title, or by specialty area, for example. Identify some interesting people in your area and connect with them. If they accept the connection request, they will see what you post in the feed. This increases the chances that the right person will read that brilliant article of yours.
Finally, the tip to stand out on LinkedIn that serves every social network: create content with consistency. It’s no use getting carried away in the first month, making the profile cute, posting an article and leaving it aside. Relevance on the social network is something built little by little. Hardly a text of yours will go viral right away, but if the twentieth text goes viral, it will highlight other content you’ve already written.
What I recommend is creating an editorial calendar . I, for example, always post on Mondays, and I try to alternate texts that are a little more technical, that show my expertise in my area, with more generic texts, which have more scope and can be of interest to more people. Thus, I create opportunities to go viral while reinforcing my authority in the subjects I master.
I think this is it! I’ve summarized here everything I’ve learned in these months creating content for LinkedIn. I hope the tips are useful and contribute to your professional trajectory. If you liked the content, follow my articles on the network .
