Do you need a LinkedIn profile makeover? How do you know it needs just a refresh or a total redesign? Are you sure your reputation destination is set up for success? Do you even know where to start to understand what you need to do with your personal branding?
To get significant results, you need to understand three things: establishing your current state, determining your desired state, and assessing a way to close the gap!
Ask yourself these critical questions about your LinkedIn profile!
10 Questions to Help You Conduct Your Own Linked Profile Audit
- Does your Linkedin profile photo look like it belongs on the Wall of Shame? Take a professional-like photo, so you stop the social smirking about your silly-looking image. Profiles with pictures get 21 times more views than profiles without pictures, reports LinkedIn.
- Does your LinkedIn headline resemble a job title that nobody understands anyway? Why use this 220-character space for anything other than an elevator pitch to explain your value to separate you from the crowd? Go for the elevator pitch approach!
- Does your LinkedIn About section talk about your customer and how they will help you win sales awards? Hopefully not! Make your summary more about your network and less about you. Show how you can help them.
- Are you ‘Googleable’? Do you include keywords throughout your LinkedIn profile that sum up your value? If not, then add these keyword terms throughout your profile. Especially in these sections: Skills & Endorsements, About, Headline, and Job Experience. These inclusions will help make it easier to get found by those who are looking.
- Are you using your formal, baptismal, confirmation, or any other name only to be familiar to your mother? Your mother may be in your network; however, you need to include the name you use in the workplace so others can find you.
- Are you employable? If you don’t have at least three current and past positions, then add them immediately. Your job experience needs to include keywords and accomplishments to explain the value you added. You need to describe how your job experience can add value to your network.
- The best LinkedIn profiles show you can play well with others — does yours? If not, get some recommendations, endorsements, and awards listed. This addition will show others what your first-grade teacher knew!
- Does your LinkedIn profile pass the reading, writing, and arithmetic exam? If you are not writing in the first person, have typos throughout your LinkedIn profile, use poor grammar, and does not include any publications, videos, or multi-media content you’ve created, then you fail this test. And, you’ll be letting your competition get to the head of the class.
- Do you have a great profile, but don’t post anything? It’s one thing to get dressed up for a ‘dance’ with a great looking profile. But if you hang on the sidelines, then you are not helping your reputation. You need to share content to tell your story. You need to demonstrate you are a humble expert. So, get moving with LinkedIn group updates, daily status updates, and asking people to connect with you.
- Are you driving your LinkedIn profile like there is no reputation speedometer? If you are fine-tuning your reputation’s engine, pay attention to the speedometer. Notice how many people view your profile. Does your network view and share your updates? Are people asking to network with you and accepting your invites? Paying attention to your reputation dashboard will help you reach your destination.
Do you have another self-assessment question to help turn your LinkedIn profile from a resume to a reputation builder? If so, please share below. Or contact me directly at gerry@marketingthink.com.
Did you notice I did not mention the term ‘social media’ once? Working on your reputation is not based on your social media expertise. Your reputation is about fishing where the fish are and having the right bait to get noticed and get caught. LinkedIn is today’s reputation hub. Your destination is something everyone should know about.
