LinkedIn Optimization Tips
Part one - Defining your niche
What is your backstory?
Who do you want to help?
What are the core topics you’d focus on?
How do you want to be perceived?
Part two - Optimizing your profile
The intro section to-do list
1. Work on your URL
How to do it:
- Go to the Me icon on the top of your homepage
- Click on settings & privacy
- Click on visibility and go to “edit public profile”
- Click on the “edit your custom URL”
- Type the last part of your custom URL in the box
- And save
2. Your banner image
- Your banner should be 1584 x 396 pixels ( a 4:1 ratio)
- The file can only be a PNG or a JPEG
- The image should be clean and crisp, not blurry or pixelated. -
Use Canva for the banner
3. Your profile picture
- Get a professional headshot for Linkedin.
- Your photo should be square (400 x 400 pixels)
- Avoid a photo of your full body. It’s too small for the little circle.
- Use Canva to edit your pictures
4. Your Name
- First and last name online
- Same name across platforms
5. Your Headline
Your headline is the phrase that appears below your name. It also appears insearches,
before anyone clicks into your profile.
- What you do + who you do it for | The result you achieve for the brands you work
for | Other things you talk about/do
For example
Social media manager @ Pulse | I Drive Organic Growth & Brand Awareness Through
Content & Storytelling |UI & Brand Design
Virtual Assistant | I help Media Brands take care of the little tasks (email, calendar, &
administrative management) so they can focus on reaching & managing talents
- Avoid fluffy words that don't really mean anything. Words like "creative", "strategic",
“dynamic” and "problem-solver"
6. Your Location & Industry
- Ensure your location and industry is as specific as possible. If you're looking for a
role in another location (ie: planning to move), insert your future location in your
intro section and explain the upcoming transition in your summary.
- If you live near a large city, I recommend using something like "Lagos' ' (the big city)
Cover "Ogun' ' (the smaller city) so you show up in more search results.
The about section to-do list
Your about section should be crafted in this format:
● Who you are
● What you do (Add social proof)
● Who you do it for
● How they can contact you
Best practices for a stellar about section:
- Start with an engaging opening statement, and show some personality. Use emojis
to show personality
- Highlight unique accomplishments
- Always conclude with a CTA (Call to Action)
The experience section to-do list
If you’re a freelancer and don’t have much experience, your best bet is to create a company
page for your phantom company, here’s how to do it:
1. Click on the “For Business” icon on the top of your homepage
2. Click on “Create a company’s page”
3. Select the type of page you want to create from the following options:
a. Company page
b. Showcase page
c. Educational institution
4. Click on company page then enter all the details and voila you’re done
Role description
Don’t just put the role title and a vague description, be creative so you can stand out (even
if you don’t have experience)
Here are some questions to ask for each role description:
● What did you (or do you) do for the company?
● What were the biggest projects you worked on?
● What did you improve for your role, on your team, or in your department?
● What problems did you identify and implement solutions for?
● How did your work impact the company? Did you save the company money or bring
in more revenue? Acquire or retain more customers? Be specific with facts and
figures.
● Did you win awards that are worth sharing?
As you draft your descriptions, remember to use present and past tenses appropriately. If
it's a role you held in the past, use past tense. If it's your current role,use present tense.And
of course, when one role ends, you'll need to go into your profile and update the language
from the present to the past tense.
The education section to-do list
- Remove date of graduation to avoid age bias
The skills section to-do list
Add all relevant skills within these four buckets:
● Industry Knowledge
● Tools & Technologies
● Interpersonal Skills
● Other Skills
Part three - Upgrading your profile
- Engage on other people’s post - like, comment & share
- Follow accounts to improve your feed
- Join groups
- Start posting content
- Write articles to showcase better skillset
