When it comes to building connections in the B2B space, LinkedIn remains the most important platform on which to establish your presence.
With over 1.15 billion users worldwide (as of December 2024), the platform presents a wealth of opportunities to build connections with like-minded business owners, insightful thought leaders or potential leads.
But with so many users regularly posting and interacting, how can you establish yourself on LinkedIn and get relevant people interested in your profile?
How do you optimise your LinkedIn profile?
1. Improve your profile picture
We’ve all seen those LinkedIn profile pictures that are grainy, dark or at least 15 years old (you don’t want to be a business catfish!)
First impressions are crucial so, rather than uploading the last selfie you took or a picture featuring other members of your team, use a clear, professional headshot.
It’s pretty easy to take headshots yourself. Just find a blank wall in an area with good lighting and you’re good to go.
Alternatively, if you’re not a dab hand with a camera, use any budding amateur photographers in your team or search for an external professional.
It may seem minor, but it makes that initial impression of your profile so much better.
2. Use a branded banner image
LinkedIn profiles come with a default blue banner image – but that doesn’t mean it should stay that way.
Your LinkedIn profile banner image should showcase what you do in a simple, succinct way.
If you have a YouTube channel, eBook or an upcoming talk or webinar, you can use your banner to promote this and encourage your team to do the same.
When our Managing Director Emma is preparing for a webinar, the whole Flamingo team change their LinkedIn profile banners to promote it!
3. Write a clear, engaging headline
Another element of your LinkedIn profile that can catch people’s attention is your headline.
This short description sits underneath your name and profile picture, often set to your job title and employer by default. However, you can make this more interesting.
When crafting your headline, include keywords related to your role, an explanation of what you do and a clear description of your industry.
While generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can help you come up with ideas for this, don’t settle for a robotic or exaggerated headline – make it personal and to the point, for example:
Award-winning keynote speaker on Lead Generation and Digital Marketing
Rather than:
🚀 Helping tech businesses grow and scale 🚀 Multi-award-winning international keynote speaker 🚀 TEDx speaker 🚀 Innovator 🚀 Renowned expert with 20+ years’ experience in Lead Generation and Digital Marketing 🚀 Join 5,500 others in subscribing to my newsletter 🚀 Listen to the ‘SaaS-y Queen Podcast’ 🎧
4. Write an interesting bio
If your headline is a lunchtime coffee date, your bio is the swanky evening meal – more mussels than macchiatos.
While the headline gives a brief, direct introduction to potential connections, the bio is your chance to tell your story, showcase your personality and share your achievements.
It’s also the place to explain how you can help potential customers, why they should choose you and what makes you more qualified to support them than the next person.
It’s important to strike the balance between showing your individuality and answering any key questions or pain points your followers (especially those who could be target customers) have.
5. Get recommendations from colleagues
In B2B, testimonials are like gold dust.
Nothing gives your potential customers more confidence than reading glowing reviews about your services – but the same applies to yourself!
Displaying recommendations from your colleagues past and present instils trust in those visiting your profile.
Ask your colleagues to leave a recommendation on your profile and offer to write them one in return.
6. Optimise your LinkedIn profile for SEO
You might be thinking ‘SEO is a minefield’…
But there are small, simple steps you can take to optimise your profile to help it rise up the LinkedIn search results. This way, those searching for people with your skills and in your industry will see your profile more quickly.
Here are a few quick SEO wins you can implement today to improve the visibility of your profile:
- Use relevant keywords: Write key terms used within your industry and job role and research what other words those interested in your services might be searching for
- Add backlinks: SEO jargon alert! Don’t worry – backlinks are simple. Just add links to your LinkedIn profile elsewhere in your marketing, such as in articles, your website or other social media platforms
- Use hashtags: There’s always debate around how effective hashtags are on LinkedIn, but they certainly don’t do any harm
- Join some groups: Sharing advice in specific groups dedicated to your industry or your target audience helps build your authority
- Publish posts: Just post! It seems simple, but just being active on the platform looks a lot better than an empty feed
7. Be active
No, we’re not asking you to get on the treadmill.
Whether it’s posting, commenting or simply reposting or reacting to a post, your activity and the interactions you make go a long way towards building your authority and presence on the platform.
If someone visits your profile, they can read your latest activity, which gives them a gauge of how active you are and what kind of people you are engaging with.
Even if you’re just logging on once or twice a week and spending 10 to 15 minutes on LinkedIn, an active profile looks best.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make my LinkedIn profile more attractive?
You can make your LinkedIn profile look attractive in just a few quick steps.
Adding a clear headshot and well-designed banner, writing short, informative headlines and bios and displaying colleague recommendations make your profile much more attractive to other users.
How can I grow my LinkedIn fast?
Sadly, there’s no quick answer to growing your LinkedIn fast. It’s all about putting in the time and effort to curate a LinkedIn profile that serves its purpose. It should showcase your personality, clearly outline your skills and services, and position you as an authority and expert within your field.
Is creating a LinkedIn profile free?
Yes, creating a LinkedIn profile is completely free. As a free user, you can connect with others, comment and respond to posts and messages and build your profile however you see fit.
You can upgrade to a LinkedIn Premium account, allowing you more opportunities to connect, identify who has visited your profile and gain access to additional AI tools and business insights.
Need some support?
If you’re keen to optimise your LinkedIn profile but you don’t have the time, Flamingo can help.
As part of our marketing services, we will ensure your social media profiles look the best they can and create relevant, valuable content to share with your audience.
Get in touch to find out more and read about our social media services.
Request a brochure
Considering working with a marketing agency? You can request a copy of our brochure here.
Just fill in your details, and we’ll pop one in the post!
We’re here to help!
We’d love to offer you 60 minutes of our time to find out more about what you do for your customers and show you how we would tackle your marketing (and messaging) to drive the best results. We’ll spend up to 60 minutes on Teams where you can share what you’re doing marketing-wise and we can give you some ideas, feedback and suggestions of additional things to throw into the mix.
You can watch the video below to find out more.