LinkedIn

When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile? While many marketers let their LinkedIn collect virtual dust until it’s time for a job hunt, a well-maintained profile can be key for helping you find new collaboration opportunities and stay ahead of your competition.

In this #ContentChat recap, Erika shares her advice for how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, including a review of three profiles from marketers who joined our LinkedIn live audio conversation. Read through the key points below, and listen to the full audio recap here.

What are the essential elements to cover in a LinkedIn profile to stand out for content marketing or related roles?

“When we start thinking about our LinkedIn profiles, pretty much everybody puts in their name and the job title for their current job; maybe they upload a picture—but frequently, it stops there.”

Be sure to address these areas in your LinkedIn profile:

• Updated profile image: Choose a photo that is appropriate for your work setting and includes only you (we love pets and families, but your LinkedIn photo should feature just you). Anything that you would wear to an in-person meeting is ideal for what to wear in your profile photo.
  • Ensure that people will recognize you based on your LinkedIn profile when they meet you for the first time or when you’re at an event. This means you should update your photo at least once every five years, if not more frequently.
• Banner image: What do you want to have behind your photo? You can use a banner to promote something you’re working on or give a look at your personality.
• Headline: This will default to your current job title, but you should write a headline that encompasses the roles, activities, and objectives that you have for using LinkedIn to connect with other people. For example, Erika’s headline reads “Marketing Consultancy Founder, Fractional Content Marketing Leader, Executive Ghostwriter, and Gluten-Free Blogger.”
• URL: Create a unique URL for your profile. A short URL that has your name is a lot more memorable and approachable than having a generic URL with random numbers and letters.
• Contact information: In addition to your email address, you can link to your blog and other social media channels. Regularly review these details and ensure you still have access to those accounts.
• Recent activity: Anyone who visits your profile can see your recent activity, which gives an indication of how often you engage with other users and share content other than your own. Create a content curation strategy to help everyone get to know you better and show them how you think.
• Summary: Create a summary that explains your elevator pitch: who are you, what do you do, who are you looking to connect with, and why do you want to connect with them? Include keywords relevant to your industry to help people find you through search.
• Experience: Explain not only what you did in your role but what you accomplished. If you have information that you can publicly disclose about the dollar-value ROI that you had in the role is incredibly impactful and helps people understand what kind of experience you had at the company.

A1a: The 7 #LinkedIn profile elements that are essential to optimize are:

1. Profile picture
2. Experience descriptions
3. URL
4. Contact information
5. Activity
6. Connections
7. Summary

I’ll walk through how to do so in detail on the LinkedIn audio portion of #ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

A1b:

1. Use a recent (past 3-4 years) profile picture that’s just you, in a business-appropriate setting.

2. Focus each experience description on the results you achieved that align with what you want to do in your next job.#ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

A1c:

3. Customize your URL to your name, adding location or industry if necessary to claim a unique URL.

4. Add email, personal website, and other contact information that you own to ensure people can get in touch.#ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

A1d:

5. Make a post or comment on someone else’s post every few days to keep your profile active.
6. Review and add connections in a timely manner.
7. Write a summary that makes it easy for others to understand who you are, what you do, and your profile’s objective.#ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

How can marketers best use LinkedIn’s native features to create and promote their content?

Enable the “Creator” profile element on LinkedIn to better showcase your content and provide examples right on your profile. LinkedIn also offers a newsletter tool, that enables you to publish (or republish) a newsletter

A2a: I switched my profile over to Creator mode on LinkedIn, and suggest other content marketers consider doing so, too. It allows you to make the content you create a vital part of your profile, so you can show (not tell) your expertise in content creation.#ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

A2b: The Creator mode also allows you to publish a newsletter on LinkedIn. I use that as a way to expand the reach of my Content Chat Bulletin newsletter for content marketers.https://t.co/ygcG4O5e8o#ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

What mistakes do people often make when using LinkedIn for content marketing?

Erika discusses two big mistakes in the audio recap:

• Too many people fail to give us a sense of their personality and any real context to what it is that they do and what they did in previous roles.
• Don’t show up on LinkedIn only when you’re looking for a job. Regularly comment on people’s posts and reshare people’s requests for help to show you’re there to help—not just promote your content or sell your services.

Who is someone on LinkedIn that you admire? What do you like about their content or profile setup?

A4: I follow so many awesome marketers on LinkedIn—it’s hard to only mention a few! But I always see + engage with:@michelelinnhttps://t.co/f4BVoV8m3f@atxcopywriterhttps://t.co/98wkyqrgpb@JennyLMagic https://t.co/lPNBI8AKP4@ALeeJudgehttps://t.co/ddgkQx91B0#ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

Gary Vaynerchuk. After reading his books, and following him on other social media, I see he practices what he preaches! #ContentChat

— Claire L (@tckdigitalnomad) March 6, 2023

A3: The biggest mistake I see marketers making on LinkedIn is sharing links without adding their own perspective, or sharing clickbait with a “what do you think?” over and over. LinkedIn is an opp’ty to deepen your connection + learn from your peers. Don’t waste it!#ContentChat

— Erika Heald | Content Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) March 6, 2023

I really admire Ankur Warikoo as he is real, practical, and an educator. Some of his lessons have really helped me in my professional journey #Contentchat

— Pooja Pujara (@pujapujaraa) March 8, 2023

What is the best way to reach contacts you may not know on LinkedIn?

Per Erika, “the best way to reach somebody new that you don’t know is to see what content they are making public—what is actually available from them on LinkedIn—and comment on the things they’re creating.” You can ask them a question back or provide meaningful comments that show you care about what they posted. Continue to engage with their content over time to warm them up to your outreach.

Once you’re ready to reach out, send an InMail Message (not a connection request) explaining why you would love to connect with this person that you don’t know.

I think cold pitching is inherently spammy, if not scammy. I’d recommend starting by engaging with posts, sharing valuable perspectives & building a relationship before asking for anything. Then, position your outreach as an offer to help not sell. #contentchat

— Carmen Hill (@carmenhill) March 6, 2023