Written by: Parul Yadav, Public Relations and Social Media Director at PORTEIRO App and Humber College Public Relations Student
As a university student, I discovered LinkedIn in 2018 and since then the platform has brought endless opportunities to me. If you wish to add value to your network and keep your profile up to date then LinkedIn can be one of your most valuable tools. Polishing your LinkedIn profile can act as a portfolio, website or maybe even a blog at the same time. It holds immense potential to land you real time jobs, interviews, internships and new opportunities! Keep reading on to learn ‘5 Tips in Making Your LinkedIn Game Stronger’.
1. Improve Your Profile
If you wish to master the LinkedIn engagement game then you need to recheck your profile and fill out as much as you can. Every section of your profile offers potential and acts as a first impression. Volunteer experiences, languages, certifications and highlighting featured projects/articles that you were involved in, can provide insight into what you do outside of work and make you stand out. Therefore, run your LinkedIn account like a business and you’ll be sure to get attention from the right audience.
2. Strategize Your Keywords
Position your headline, summary and experience through using the right keywords. This will expose your profile to more potential connections and opportunities. You can also spark future conversations through searching for people by name and company. People search for skills, so use this part of your profile for a specific purpose. Don’t forget to try out the advanced search for applying filters such as job title, school, relationship, location, industry, current or past company, profile language and nonprofit interests.
3. Build Authentic Relationships
Many people find LinkedIn ONLY for networking purposes and often think of it as boring or too formal. However, when this platform is used the right way, building your profile credibility can immensely make your professional journey more fulfilling. The truth is, you can forge strong relationships by making genuine efforts to ADD VALUE to your network. Don’t connect for the sake of connecting. Provide value in any way you can! You will soon start to view LinkedIn as a hub for building valuable relationships, reigniting old one’s and sharing helpful content.
4. Like, Share And Comment
You found an intriguing article or a piece of latest news that your connections might find useful? If you are looking to enhance your LinkedIn visibility then often staying active and engaging on LinkedIn is the KEY! By liking, sharing and commenting on people’s posts, writing your own articles and posting status updates will level up your game. Writing recommendations for people, requesting your own by asking your clients/colleagues can strike the right conversation.
5. Right Content And Hashtags
Just like any other social media, LinkedIn hashtags are a combination of letters and numbers. Using hashtags will make your articles and posts more discoverable. These hashtags are various topics with large audiences that are classified into leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and advertising. If you select a specific audience and use relevant hashtags then LinkedIn users tend to “listen” to topics that matter most to them, and in turn, create a better engagement for you. If your post can feature in any of these groups, it can go viral.