How To Create a Professional LinkedIn Profile

What's the one thing that everyone who gets a new job does first? Whether you like it or not, LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful networking tool, whether you're an employee, a freelancer or a business of any size. That's why in this video, I'm going to share with you a step by step plan to optimize your LinkedIn profile and even throw in three of my favorite ways that AI can help you make it just a little bit easier. So conventional wisdom says to choose a professional, high quality and recent headshot. But this could also be something that reflects my personal brand or industry and the impression I want to make with my network. Keep in mind that I'm a cinematographer and video producer. If you're a full time employee, you'll want to consider an image that's aligned with your company culture. Something that shows your face, ensures your networks and recruiters trust who you are. My recommendation? Keep it simple. Choose a clean, neutral background, use soft natural light, a high resolution image and shoot wide and crop later as a high res image will give you the freedom to crop your photo from the waist or shoulders up without sacrificing image quality. This brings us to my cover image. A cover image can further reinforce what I'm all about. It should be sized properly with all the important elements in this central area to maximize visibility across devices and complement your photo from graphic elements to color scheme and design. However, not everyone has the design chops to create one from scratch. Enter Canva's Magic Media Editor on the editor side panel. Click Apps, then Magic Media Go to resize social media. LinkedIn background photo Describe the image in five words, choose a style, aspect ratio and generate. Click the image you want to use and adjust the fit. Then click text to add a heading and contact info. And if you're a business owner, this is this is the perfect place to add a logo, value proposition and a call to action. And when I click my photo, I can choose who can see this both all LinkedIn members or public will allow search engines to find my profile more easily. But LinkedIn's SEO isn't limited to features like this. This free guide covers everything you need to know to become a brand building lead generating machine. So definitely check it out with lead generation in mind. How do I use targeted keywords to do just that? I'll start with my headline, which is Prime Real Estate for Profile Impact. While this short description is often used for job titles, I'll take it a step further by adding keyword rich terms that succinctly capture who I am as a professional. And though it's one of the best places to score instant keyword points, it's also one of the easiest spots to slip in buzzwords, which will hurt more than the hub. Take this for example. But professional worth is not measured by the buzzwords we use. Instead, it's measured and achievements. So the Fix get descriptive Write about results, List what you can do and, if it's relevant, how long you've been doing it. But knowing where to start is obviously half the battle. That's where a headline generator can help. Save time by generating a list of ideas in seconds. For best results, tailor it to your specific skills, experiences and goals. And if on the lookout for new opportunities, include why someone should connect with you and how you can help them, because that's what your audience cares about, right? With them in mind. Think of it as an elevator pitch tailored to the interests, needs and expectations of potential employers, clients or business partners, which I'll go into further detail here in my summary, adding more keyword rich terms that define myself in my own voice. The first 265 characters are what you'll see before having to click See more for the rest of the summary and will strengthen first impressions in a way no other profile section can. So I want my opening lines to hook profile visitors immediately with who I am, what I care about, and what I aspire to do. This works because it's specific, sticks to a theme Storytelling makes myself relevant by connecting the dots between my storytelling and marketing experience, and highlights the value and benefits of captivating brand narratives. So rather than using overworked phrases like motivated and results oriented, give context to what that means. For example, I use self starting and then explain how I'm driven by personal goals and instead of results oriented, I identify what I can do specifically for my target audience. You can also input key details into a summary generator and let AI put together a draft. If the response is light on details, give it more info like your approach, your leadership style, or what you're excited about. As always with AI, we aren't looking for final copy. You'll want to polish it up and pull back from any overly promotional language. But let's be real. The human attention span is short and makes snap judgments. How can I make sure my experience covers the full breadth of what I bring to the table? I've got to think of it as much more than an online resume. Not just work history, but contract positions, part time jobs, freelance experience and projects or along with detailed summaries and results. That means action focused keyword, rich concise language and the active voice to get me there a little bit quicker. See how the second option is bigger and packs a bigger punch. It's more direct, more descriptive and easy to understand and to back up my claims. Adding multimedia content is a great way to further enhance my profile. I'll add the link, edit the title and description here and then save. You may think this only applies to creative fields, but adding engaging content in the form of a screenshot, document or slideshow is social proof that you are who you say you are. So highlight key accomplishments, most notable and up to date projects and media mentions using the featured sections. To see this, I'll have to add it here I can feature posts that I've authored, articles I've published, and external media like images, documents and links. Now I'll add a link which is great for portfolio pages, product pages, spotlights on your brand, done by other sites or videos on your YouTube channel, and review to make sure any imagery here will be pulled into LinkedIn correctly. I can also rearrange to showcase these features more strategically. To adjust, click the pencil icon, then arrows and grab here to make adjustments. Business owners can use the space to feature top offerings, thought leaders can share their best articles or videos, and employees can highlight notable projects. Quantifying achievements is further evidence of the impact I've had in these roles. These bullet points should be short, bite sized and easily scannable for quick reading, so don't be shy about emphasizing your value. For example, if you save time or money, buy how much, include that and transferable skills regardless of industry or background. That includes keywords like communication, critical thinking, creativity, goal setting, time management, and adaptability. I'll add them to the skill section but also pepper them into my experiences to show relevant examples. Job seekers, employees, entrepreneurs all of us need to pitch ourselves to somebody and LinkedIn is a powerful self promotion tool. It might be tempting to fall back on hyperbole and cliches when trying to sound confident, but don't do it. You'll miss the better way to sell your greatness through your own authenticity and transparency. Another strategy for adding more detail and keywords completing all profile sections as all star profiles get a whopping 30% more weekly views. I'll include all relevant education info, include any honors, awards, activities and societies, and any relevant coursework or certifications. Just keep wording short and keyword dense. I'll list certifications under this section and include certification, name the accredited organization and completion date. This not only enhances credibility, but also enhances my profile searchability and you might have seen others recommendations and asked yourself how they work and if they're important. The answer is yes, they are important because in today's competitive market, it's additional social proof that'll help make a difference between an average LinkedIn profile and an optimized one. Consider relevance to objectives when requested. For example, ask a colleague or mentor if pursuing a new career, or a satisfied customer if seeking prospective clients. Navigate to that person's profile. Then click on More. Then select Request a Recommendation, choose the relationship, and include a personalized message that makes it super easy for them to say yes. Acknowledge that they're busy, and offer to write a draft that they can edit. Give context and ask for specific feedback around key skills. Then pay it forward with offering a recommendation in return. Okay, if these are all the things I should be doing, what shouldn't I be doing? Number one, using LinkedIn's default headline, which it'll pull from the most recent job title in my Experience section. Although that's okay, it's not the best use of the 220 characters that are available. A well written title is what's going to distinguish me from others with similar skills and expertise. And if I want prospects to find me, I need to intentionally craft the best headline possible to appear in their searches. Another common mistake? Bad formatting abbreviations and typos. Avoid abbreviations and make sure headlines are error free, properly formatted, and strikes the right balance between professionalism and personal branding. Be careful using characters to separate words and phrases, and leave a space between commas, slashes, and dashes, for instance. My title could be doomed if it looks like any of these, since typos and spacing issues hinder SEO and not everyone will understand acronyms and industry jargon, so I can't assume prospects already know what I do. My experience is in my in depth professional narrative, and I've got up to 2000 characters to use for each position. That leaves ample room for a full description of accomplishments and as many as 10 bullet points. That's a lot of opportunity to include keywords that drive traffic to my profile. It would be downright foolish of me to leave such big stakes to chance. So how can I get even more out of my profile to build a strong following? Content Creation and Networking let's do a self assessment. Creating content has helped my profile grow a lot, but not on the platform itself. I get a lot of invites because others recognize me from HubSpot and want to connect, but there's a lot more here that I can do, knowing that LinkedIn delivers the highest organic results according to 77% of content marketers. And LinkedIn's creator mode is a feature that allows me to choose from five key topics that I want to be known for and displays them as hashtags right under my headline. My connect button becomes a follow button and my featured section moves directly under my headline, meaning I can now showcase my best content at the top, which can be a video case study or testimonial or a lead magnet post. I'll keep it to two to maximize visibility. Now my content appears in discovery searches for all members and organic searches outside of existing LinkedIn networks. I can also leverage LinkedIn's native sharing options for other social media platforms. When I create a new post, I can use these options to share content simultaneously so updates reach a much wider audience. Let that sink in for a minute and Though you may not want to be the next professional influencer or build a massive personal brand, everyone should consider a LinkedIn profile to maximize networking opportunities with prospective employers, colleagues, mentors, customers and clients. But there is etiquette to follow. Do join groups specific to your industry and connect with people with mutual interests. One of the easiest ways to do this is using search features to filter based on location, industry, job, role, and more. Don't send generic requests. Reference a recent post they wrote or pick out some information from their about section. Making an effort matters and will help you stand out in a sea of generic DMs. Do share a mix of helpful, interesting and relevant content to establish yourself as a credible authority. Don't be salesy. Build relationships instead, because when you get to know someone first, you know what they need and how you can better serve them. Do tag your business and others in your posts and comments. Don't tag people you don't know. Limit the number of people you tag to one per post if you want them to provide a thoughtful response. Only tag a group of people if it makes sense to share gratitude or recognition for a job well done. And do put these insights into action. But don't send requests before you've optimized. You can never redo that first impression, and the first thing a potential connection will view is your profile. So start there first. So why is networking so important? I've got one word referrals and building connections with the right people at the right time could just be the key to taking my career to the next level. If luckface versus the prepared, then I've got to be ready for whatever opportunity comes my way and how's your profile looking these days? Does it need a little refresh? If so, then download HubSpot's free LinkedIn guide. Whether you're a job seeker, business owner, thought leader or content creator, it's the ultimate playbook for attracting new connections and unlocking professional success. After all, with more than 67 million companies on LinkedIn, you never know who's looking for someone like you. And I'm curious, what's the most useful thing you learned from this video? Drop your key takeaways in the comments below and remember to like and subscribe to stay up to date on the latest marketing insights. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some connections to go send to some people that I need in my network. Until then, I'll see you next time I can find this client info have you heard of HubSpot? HubSpot is a CRM platform, so it shares its data across every application. Every team can stay aligned. No out of sync spreadsheets or dueling databases. HubSpot grow better.