Did you know that when searching for news or information, 64 per cent of consumers trust search engine results (such as Google) the most, and guess what platform shows up in your top five search results—LinkedIn! So if you are signed up on the platform, but not actively using it— your LinkedIn profile will still show up in search results online.

So, what is LinkedIn and why do you do need to be on it as a business professional, especially now?

In a nutshell, LinkedIn is the social network for professionals — every kind of professional. It’s pretty much the Facebook and Instagram of the business world. It is an online platform where people in business go to be seen and heard, to be positioned as thought leaders in industry, to find leads, get clients, to get recruited, to find recruits—it’s where the world goes to do business.

If you are serious about business, it doesn’t matter the industry you are currently in or aspiring to be in, or even if you are still in school, at entry level or a seasoned professional — LinkedIn is the space to connect with other like-minded professionals and to grow your career.

WHY YOU NEED AN ACTIVE PRECENCE ON

Hiring managers and recruiters are on LinkedIn and if they don’t find you, they will find your competition

Your LinkedIn profile helps to build trust around your personal brand

LinkedIn ranks in the top one to five in search results when your name is Googled

You can get endorsements and recommendations

It is a major personal branding tool— be seen as a thought leader

It allows you to position your expertise by sharing your knowledge and value

Builds your network across industries with like-minded individuals

Some of your clients and potential leads are already using the platform

So now that you have a bit more clarity on some of the great benefits on being on the platform, here are some tips to get discovered on LinkedIn:

IT STARTS WITH YOUR PROFILE

This will be the first impression and the first interaction that an individual, prospect, lead or company will have with your personal brand on LinkedIn. In order to raise your visibility on this platform it is important to have a compelling and cohesive personal brand.

Start thinking about your value proposition, what is your unique offering that will separate you from everyone else in your field or industry? Think about who you serve and why you serve them and then you can starting sharing how you serve your clients.

Here’s a secret — the profile is never really about you … it’s about your client or prospective company and showing how you can add value!

Your headshot is your first impression—make it count!

A picture says a thousand words—and usually your profile picture can determine whether a potential prospect will continue to scroll on your page or move on to the next person. You get the attention with your professional headshot.

Get a professional headshot that represents your brand.

Use a bust shot which is typically from the waist up with a clean background

A smiling or pleasant face will typically get a better response!

THE HEADLINE STATEMENT

Think of this as your “one shot” — this is the one-liner or statement that will tell someone exactly who you are and how you can help in 120 characters. The key here is to make sure your headline is memorable and addresses the way that you help to solve your ideal clients problem.

Do not use the default “title/company” that is pulled from your most recent “Experience” section.

THE SUMMARY

This where you create your 290+ character, personal brand statement which is usually ‘above the fold’. If our prospects only see one thing, what do we want them to see?

What is your main call to action — include a link. Here you will speak again about who you serve and why do you serve them. Also including statements that showcase your credibility as an expert in your industry.

Include your contact details such as e-mail, website or phone number.

Highlight a product or service that is directed at your prospects include your unique selling points. Use this section to provide more details on what you do and how you do it. Include some written testimonials that highlights your expertise from someone else’s voice and experience with you.

ADD SUPPORTING MEDIA

This is an under-utilised tool on LinkedIn, which gives you the option to include images, links, documents and videos in your profile summary. This will allow your prospects to get a real sense of what you do and how you can help to solve their problem.

Your experience matters. Now that you have got their attention with your amazing headline and summary—it’s time to start sharing your experience.

In this section you can put the company/business, job title, start and end date and then get into your experience. For this area, again , it’s more about showing the value and skill that you bring — how can you help or how have you helped that organisation —your value bringing experience.

For endorsements and recommendations, sometimes people will just endorse you and other times you need to request an endorsement.

Endorsements are simply the skills and expertise that someone thinks you have — you can add various skills on your profile. Add around 10 skills—those that best reflect the skills and experiences you want to be most known for.

A recommendation is a statement that is written by a LinkedIn member to recognise or commend a connection, such as a colleague, business partner, or student. People who view your profile will often read the recommendations you’ve received from your connections to see what others have to say about your work.

Remember to be a contributor and a follower.

Start actively contributing on LinkedIn. This will help to position you as a thought leader and expert in your industry. Create your own content or find content that is relevant to your field and share on your LinkedIn page with your thoughts, recommendations or ideas around the topic of interest.

Following someone or a company on LinkedIn allows you to see the person’s posts and articles on your homepage without being connected to them. However, the person you are following won’t see your posts. You can reach a larger audience by allowing others to follow your activity and read what you’re sharing on LinkedIn.

CONNECT

LinkedIn is an amazing platform — it gives us the opportunity to connect with people and companies from around the world with a touch a button, with a simple message.

It’s easy to send a message to prospective client, employee or organisation — but before you do that, you need to think about a few things. Why do you want to connect, what are you going to say in your short message that would encourage them to accept your request? Is your profile ready to convert?

Still not convinced that you need to be on LinkedIn? Here are some quick statistics that may change your mind about the platform:

LinkedIn now has more than 500 million members

40 per cent of monthly active users use LinkedIn daily

61 million LinkedIn users are senior level influencers and 40 million are in decision-making positions

Of the 2 billion millennials globally, 87 million of them are on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn profiles with photos get 21 times more views and 36 times more messages.

91 per cent of marketing executives list LinkedIn as the top place to find quality content.

Two professionals join LinkedIn every second.

30 million companies have LinkedIn profiles.

Naomi N Garrick is an Author, PRSA Certified Reputation Champion and Personal Branding Coach for Executives & Entrepreneurs. Visit www.linktr.ee/naomigarrick or follow her @theprchick on Instagram for personal branding tips and free brand building tools. Email her at: theprchick@garrickcommunications.com