One of the first things people look at when they’re thinking of hiring you is your LinkedIn profile. They are likely to go to your LinkedIn profile even before visiting your website. You certainly don’t want to lose a potential client because you don’t have your profile fully optimised. So here at the 10 most common LinkedIn profile mistakes you can avoid so you can increase your chances of winning that project or bringing on your ideal client.
#1 No profile photo
Even though you may have a profile photo uploaded, if your settings aren’t optimised, it won’t be visible to people who aren’t connected to you. Check your visibility settings to make sure your photo is visible to all LinkedIn users.
#2 Your profile photo doesn’t look like you
Make sure your photo shows you clearly and is recent. If you met one of your contacts face to face, they should be able to recognise you.
#3 No LinkedIn banner
Your LinkedIn banner or background image is a huge visual message – so use it! You can put so much on your banner. You can use it to tell a story, show people how clever you are, or just use it as a conversation starter.
#4 Incomplete headline
Your LinkedIn headline follows you everywhere you go on LinkedIn and is the first thing people will read about you. Make sure what is written there clearly tells people what you do. You want to entice them to click on it to ‘see more’ about you.
#5 The ‘about’ section is only an outline
You have 2000 characters to really make an impression on your reader – so use them!
Divide your ‘about’ section into parts so you can clearly tell people what you do, how you do it and why they should hire you to do it!
#6 Education section incomplete
Your alumni could be your best friends on LinkedIn – they could really help you grow your network. If you don’t list where you went to school and/or college, you could be missing out on a large network of potential clients and/or referrals.
#7 Missing skills
LinkedIn give you the opportunity to list 50 skills – yes 50! These are seen as keywords too so by having these listed, you could come up in a search for those skills. You also place yourself as an authority in that area so it’s worth spending time updating your skills section.
# 8 Lack of recommendations
Recommendations on LinkedIn are like testimonials x100! They are featured in a way that means they cannot be faked or made up. Don’t forget to ask clients and colleagues for recommendations after you’ve worked together as these are social proof to potential clients that you’re good at what you do.
#9 Not personalising the URL
Did you know you could personalise your LinkedIn URL? You can simplify your LinkedIn URL by taking off the ‘prison numbers’ and just having your name.
Watch: Is your LinkedIn URL the best it can be?
#10 ‘About’ section is written in the 3rd person
LinkedIn is about building connections. People know that your profile is written by you so there is no benefit to writing it in the 3rd person. It will make you seem aloof and ‘cold’. Who wants to do business with someone projecting those vibes? Write from the heart, let people get to know a little of ‘you’.
Have you made any of these mistakes in your LinkedIn profile? Why don’t you pop over there and take a look?
If you do see some errors in there, feel free to help yourself to my guide “Create a LinkedIn profile to help you get more leads on LinkedIn.”
