Many advisors have been asking us, “How can I get more out of LinkedIn?” Their goal – find prospects and make quality connections. Fortunately, LinkedIn, and other social media networks, grants us the power to connect with more clients and prospects than we ever imagined. Social media provides firms with a means to extend marketing efforts to a much wider group of people and reduce marketing costs.
To ensure you get the biggest punch from your profile, here’s what you need to know:
Have a Complete Profile – Don’t skip this part!
Your profile determines how you are positioned in LinkedIn search results. This means your profile needs to be complete. LinkedIn’s search algorithm is extremely powerful; allowing users to search for you based on location, work experience, education, skills/expertise, and network connections.
Complete profiles receive more views than incomplete profiles. More views will lead to increased website traffic and additional business opportunities.
1) Make sure your profile is completed as close to 100 percent as possible. Review your profile strength which is displayed on your LinkedIn Profile page.
2) Use a current and professional photo.
Update Your Headline
Your headline has more impact than you might imagine. Include keywords that others will use to search for you if they don’t know your name.
- – Describe who you serve and how you bring value verses your formal business title. (People care more about what you do than a title).
Write a Summary Not a Resume
A study by LinkedIn and Cogent Research tells us that 5 million investors use social media to research their financial decisions. Ensure your LinkedIn profile is complete, professional, and personable.
1) Create a summary that highlights what you do, who you work with, and how you help your target market.
2) Include specific issues and challenges your target market faces and the solutions you provide to help solve them.
3) Write your summary in the 1st person to make it personable.
Use Keywords
We have all heard how important it is to use keywords, yet many of the profiles we review are using them improperly. When choosing keywords, determine how you want to be discovered. Get into the heads of those who will be searching for you by asking, “What terms would others use to find me?” Download Ironstone’s Trigger Events & Keywords Worksheet to get started.
1) Use two to three keywords and sprinkle those keywords throughout your profile – don’t overuse or you will look keyword silly.
2) Once you have written your summary, perform a keyword search. You will see your keywords highlighted in yellow. Determine other locations to use keyword(s) within your LinkedIn profile to improve your ranking.
3) Use events and niche market terms throughout your profile.
Become an Industry Influencer
Spend time engaging with your network by sharing content to help your connections reach their goals. A good rule of thumb to remember; it’s not about you, it’s about your clients and prospects.
1) Position yourself as a credible go-to advisor/resource by providing valuable content and building relationships.
2) Share your own content or content from a third-party that taps into the goals, concerns, problems, and needs of your network. Doing so will drive your clients, prospects, and COIs to seek your advice and increase your business opportunities.
3) Be consistent. Share content once a day, every other day, or a couple of times a week to establish trust within your network.
4) Join industry related and target market groups. Avoid self-promotion but engage in conversation.
The time you dedicate to your online network will increase your number of profile views and your website/blog traffic. Over time this will provide you with new business opportunities and give you an edge above your competition.
Let us know if you need some extra help to optimize your LinkedIn profile or if you would like us to take a peek. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment or email our team.
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