How To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile For Business Owners - 6 Tips For Your Photos
Today I’d like to talk about how to improve your LinkedIn profile for business owners by choosing a more professional photo, and why you should do so.
Having a profile picture on any platform is a key element to establishing an online presence as a business owner or entrepreneur. Besides making your profile much more likely to be viewed by others, it is your opportunity to make a good first impression.
Table Of Contents
What’s LinkedIn?
How To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile For Business Owners To Increase Engagement
6 Tips For Using The Perfect LinkedIn Profile Picture and Background Photo
Your LinkedIn Headline Short and To The Point - More Than A Job Title
Sharing About Yourself and Your Story On LInkedIn Using The Profile Summary
Using Hashtags for Conversations and Respond To Comments On LinkedIn
Grow Your Network and Subscribers With A Newsletter
Best Practices When Listing Skills In Your LInkedIn Profile
Put A Spotlight On Your Offers Using Your Linked In Page
Sharing Relevant Content On LinkedIn and Following Others In Your Industry
What’s LinkedIn?
For those of you who are not familiar with LinkedIn yet, it is a social networking site for business people and professionals to connect, regardless of their industry or where they are in the world.
It is a powerful tool that helps you build your personal brand and elevate your business, so if you still don’t have a LinkedIn account you’re missing out on a fantastic marketing and networking opportunity, and you’re probably leaving money on the table.
How To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile For Business Owners To Increase Engagement
Your LinkedIn profile page is your personal marketing platform and you should dedicate some time building it and making good use of all the features it offers.
As a personal branding photographer, I’m going to focus on your pictures to help you optimize your LinkedIn page.
6 Tips For Using The Perfect LinkedIn Profile Picture and Background Photo
Let’s begin with your profile picture. Here are my 6 tips:
1. You want to choose a photo that is up to date and looks like you.
You want people to recognize you when you meet, whether it’s in person or through a video call. People will feel more connected and you will gain more credibility, since the reality matches their expectations.
2. Be aware of your background and what you’re wearing.
It doesn’t have to be a plain white wall but it can be distracting if it’s too busy. So keep it simple. When it comes to your outfit for your professional photos, I also recommend solid and bold colors that create a good contrast with the background so that your photo stands out. Extra points if you’re wearing one of your brand colors!
3. Make sure you’re the only one in the picture and preferably use a headshot so that we can clearly see you.
Group photos are not advisable because it would be hard to know which person you are and we don’t want to confuse people. But also avoid cropping a group photo. You often get an additional body part that doesn’t belong to you in the frame and it doesn’t look professional.
4. If you can’t hire a photographer at the moment, use the back camera of your phone!
It has better functions and more megapixels which results in higher quality images so your photo doesn’t look blurry when you upload it. Keep in mind that the ideal linkedIn profile picture size is 400 x 400. Tip: Ask a friend or coworker to take your photo as they can also help you with posing.
5. Unless you’re getting a professionally taken headshot in a studio, opt for natural light.
It’s the best beauty product and it’s FREE! Find a window that lets in indirect light and there you go! Make sure you face the light source and watch those dark circles under your eyes vanish! If you want a photo outside, do it in the shade to ensure the light is even and it’s not creating unwanted shadows on your face. It also works well if it’s overcast because the clouds act like a big diffuser.
6. Go for natural and authentic expressions.
You want to look approachable and a smile can definitely help you achieve that. In order to get a natural photo of you smiling, think of something that makes you feel happy. Feel the emotion! Also, a good trick is to close your eyes and open them right before the shot. Your facial expression will look fresher!
Besides your profile picture, you should also add a background photo or banner at the top of your profile page. It is one of the first things people see when they visit your profile and, if done right, will bring you more engagement and business.
Also, instead of a plain photo, I suggest designing an on-brand banner using Canva, for example. That way you can still add a professional photo and include important contact information such as your email, phone number, and website. Create a banner that is meaningful to your target audience to make your profile stand out and look more professional.
Your LinkedIn Headline Short and To The Point - More Than A Job Title
When you share more about yourself, who you are, and what matters to you, you are helping your audience connect with you on a deeper level.
The summary section is an opportunity to tell your story and not just list and talk about skills.
Using Hashtags for Conversations and Respond To Comments On LinkedIn
Hashtags on Linked In are a great way to share content on another level and help increase your reach as people search for similar content.
Make sure you pay attention to relevant keywords or popular phrases people tend to use when you see popular or trending content and use it where relevant in order to make your content easy to find for others. You can use tools like All Hashtags or Flick Social to help you decipher which hasthags are popular in your niche.
How To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile For Business Owners
Tips for your Linked In page professional branding images
Grow Your Network and Subscribers With A Newsletter On LinkedIn
Engage your audience by increasing page awareness with a newsletter you can continue sharing periodically.
By sharing a newsletter on Linked In, you can create a relationship with your audience, establish yourself as an authority in your niche, and introduce unique information of value to grow your audience.
Showing your headshots and personal branding photos online such as on LinkedIn can also help you establish authority with your audience as they continue getting to know you and how you can help them.
Best Practices When Listing Skills In Your LInkedIn Profile
Always include a list of your relevant skills to make your LinkedIn Profile stand out in your field.
Identify the skills relevant to what your role is, and make sure to highlight the value these bring to the big picture. The key is to stay relevant and avoid long boring lists.
Put A Spotlight On Your Offers Using Your Linked In Page
Share share share! Remind people that you sell something and that you can help them if they need it.
Talk about the services or products you offer and how these impact your clients in a positive way to engage your audience into your offers.
Sharing Relevant Content On LinkedIn and Following Others In Your Industry
Make your LinkedIn Page accessible to a larger audience by sharing relevant content and staying active with your network.
You can get intentional with how your feed looks, and start liking and sharing more of the content that truly stands out to you to feed your preferences to the algorithm more.
I hope these tips help you improve your LinkedIn profile so you become mora visible and grow your business.
If you need more tips on growing your business make sure you learn more about how to prepare for tax season as your business grows.
Happy networking!