LinkedIn: How To Make Sure You Get Noticed

Are you trying to improve your professional image on LinkedIn? Want to get noticed by other professionals or employers?

Whether you’re a recent college grad or a business owner, chances are you will eventually need to network on LinkedIn. From CEO’s to freak entrepreneurs, these people will probably be on LinkedIn. The problem is that most people will not talk to you on LinkedIn if you do not put in some time and effort into making your profile presentable. After all, LinkedIn is about being professional. It doesn’t look impressive or even time worthy to talk to someone who can’t take a few minutes to enhance their first online impression. If you really want to get noticed and improve your exposure on LinkedIn, this blog is for you.

Update your profile picture

I should probably take my own advice here, but updating your profile picture is relatively important in maintaining a recent and recognizable presentation. When people look for others on LinkedIn, they quickly scan through the profiles by looking at the pictures. It’s pretty easy to decide who they want to talk to based on the type of photo they have. A photo of you and your dog may be okay on platforms like Facebook, but you may want to have something more career oriented on LinkedIn. If you really want to set yourself apart from others, try using a black and white photo. Most people on LinkedIn tend to have color photos.

Actively connect with people you know

You’d be surprised to find who’s on LinkedIn. One way to find people on LinkedIn is to import your email contacts there. You can do this by going to the ‘Connections’ tab. LinkedIn allows you to import contacts from practically any email which makes it easy to connect with clients, leads, professors, peers, and alumni. Once you start adding people, LinkedIn will start to suggest other connections you may know. This is a really nice feature of LinkedIn as its helped me find people whose emails I didn’t have. Furthermore, I started to build my network based on mutual connections I already had. Another way to do this is to actually get out there and ask people if they’re on LinkedIn. Get social, and get connected because networking can be your best friend.

Endorse and get endorsed

A good way to build out your profile is to interact with others. One way to build a relationship with your network is to endorse them for skills they have. Make it an active duty to continuously endorse different people in your network to make sure you stay at the top of their mind. More often than not, they’ll be likely to return the favor and endorse you for skills you’ve listed. Be sure to have your most relevant skills you’d like to showcase at the top as LinkedIn will rank the skills you want to be noticed for. If you really want to boost some reputations, write a few recommendations for peers in your network and don’t be afraid to ask someone you know to write one for you.

Get involved in groups

LinkedIn is like a giant park. You can hang out by the slide or stop on by the swings. Groups on LinkedIn are formed around various ideas, objectives, and goals in mind. If you are a recent graduate, there’s a group for you. New to business? There’s a group for you too. Join groups that you feel are most relevant to you, and take it a step further by reaching out to other members in the group. This is one of the best ways to really expand your network as you are grouped with hundreds or thousands of other professionals who are centered around the idea of that specific group. I’ve personally learned a great deal of information from hanging out in Marketing and social media groups. Take a peek, ask a question, or even answer one and you will more than likely have the opportunity to make a new connection. Join at least 20 groups so you can be sure to have a wide variety of connections and conversations available.

There’s many other ways to make sure you stand out on LinkedIn. Getting the membership is a sure way to increase your exposure, and the benefits of being a member are worth it in my opinion. What are some other ways LinkedIn can help you stand out in a world full of professionals and experts? Share your ideas with us on Facebook or Twitter at @BoxlessMedia!