Promoting yourself means being a polite braggart. To get your voice heard, LinkedIn is the ultimate self-promotion space for entrepreneurs-- and you might be under-using its potential. Beyond other forms of social media, LinkedIn is incredibly influential as a self-marketing tool. Not only is it great for networking, obviously, but you can showcase your portfolio or even create a blog, helping to build your professional reputation for the right audience-- be it recruiters, managers or potential business partners.
You've got the business smarts-- now it's time to show them off! Follow these useful tips to promote yourself on LinkedIn.
Sharp photo and title
Every entrepreneur needs a professional LinkedIn photo. Make sure your photo is a high rez medium-close-up shot of you, well-groomed and wearing office attire. The goal is to appear polished and trustworthy. It’s also recommended you smile with teeth showing. Studies show that people who smile are perceived as more honest and likable than those who don’t.
Then there’s your professional title. Although you’re limited for creativity here, your title should fully communicate all your talents. For instance, there’s a difference between writing that you’re a “Internet Marketer” and an "e-Commerce Marketing Expert”-- see what I mean? The more specific, the better. Your contacts need to know you’re the right match.
Profile description: start strong
Those who start slow, lose the race-- on LinkedIn, at least. Make sure your profile description starts with a strong statement, confidently highlighting the main idea of what you’re about. It doesn’t necessarily have to be expressive or wordy-- just grabbing. If you look at any profile of successful entrepreneurs, you'll see, they use phrases like these: motivated, creative, witty, leader ect.
These phrases work well because they show authority, while also demonstrating your experience in your field.
Manage your job search
Do recruiters know you’re open for hire? In the job search section on LinkedIn, make sure your availability is switched to “ON”, alerting recruiters that you are looking for work. Otherwise, you won’t show up on their list when your skills meet a new job posting. Don’t miss out!
You can also create saved searches for different job titles such as “Medical researcher” or “Social media manager”. Any time there are new jobs that match this title, you’ll receive an email, notifying you about them. Apply to these jobs immediately!
You should also check the job description to see which recruiter had posted it. Add them on LinkedIn with a note, informing them about the job you’re applying for and why you’re a good fit. If you’re lucky, they flag your resume for HR and fingers-crossed, you’re more likely to get an interview.
Add visuals to your job history
Even the best resumes can look boring. Spruce up your job history on your LinkedIn page by adding professional visuals to your past jobs. It’s an easy feature to access.
When you’re editing a past job, select the “Add Media” button underneath the description box. You can add either a saved image or paste an URL from a web page representing your work. It’ll give your job history more personality, which helps promote you better as an entrepreneur.
Get endorsements
The answer is always “no” for those who don’t ask. Don’t be afraid to ask for endorsements so you can feature them on LinkedIn.
Contact acquaintances, clients and co-workers, anyone related to your professional field who’s willing to write a glowing review for you. It’ll look excellent on your LinkedIn page and more importantly, reinforces the fact that your a living, breathing person-- not just another LinkedIn profile.
Create posts often
Finally, you must post on your LinkedIn page as enthusiastically as you would with Instagram. By posting often, you stay relevant by showing up in your contacts’ news feed, letting them remember your skills and awesomeness (in case they forgot). Reminding people that you’re professionally active increases your chances of being contacted for work opportunities in the future.
There’s all types of content you can post: articles, memes and screenshots. Or you can write an article on your own, showing off your talent with words-- bonus if writing is relevant to your field.
Selling yourself on LinkedIn as an entrepreneur means you’ve got to get creative in business. Always consider LinkedIn as your go-to social media and treat it as you would with any other social account. Learn to love it, live it and eventually, you’ll dominate it! Good luck, friends!