Amy EdwardsRegardless of what level you’re working at or what kind of industry you work in, there’s no denying that LinkedIn can be a invaluable platform for making connections, building a network and finding new opportunities.
Now, on this blog, we’ve covered LinkedIn a lot in the past (we’ve written blogs on things like How To Approach Employers On LinkedIn, How To Write The Perfect LinkedIn Connection Request and How To Write The Perfect LinkedIn Summary) but we’ve never actually talked about what actions you can take to increase your visibility and raise your profile on the platform.
Why would you want to do that? Well raising your profile on LinkedIn can have two major benefits – 1. it can help to increase the size of your network – and 2. it can help to get your name in front of key decision-makers who you might run into later in your career. And remember, sometimes in work it’s not always about what you know, it’s who you know…
With that in mind, here are five ways you can increase your visibility on LinkedIn:
1. Participate In Groups:
LinkedIn Groups are great for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they can help you to discover content that matters to you (if you’re prepared to wade through the spam in some Groups that is!). Secondly, they can help you to bounce ideas off like-minded individuals. And thirdly, they can help you to develop your voice within your industry. When considering which Groups to join/contribute to, look for Groups which have a decent number of members and which have an active discussion (eg. if no one has posted anything in a Group for three months+, you might want to move onto the next one).
2. Publish Content On LinkedIn Publisher:
LinkedIn Publisher is a recent(ish) addition to the platform which essentially allows you to create and publish your own content on the LinkedIn network. LinkedIn will then alert each of your Connections that you’ve published a new post – and your content can also be discovered when people search for keywords which relate to your content. As Lauren mentioned in another post, LinkedIn Publisher can help you to show off your expertise – and if you do a great job, your Connections might ‘like it’ which means your post will show up on their network, potentially highlighting your content to a brand new network.
3. Comment On Other People’s Posts:
To really raise your profile, it’s a good idea to find and comment on other people’s posts/status updates – if you have something significant and worthwhile to say that is! By taking part in activities like liking and commenting on your Connections’ and other people’s posts (remember, you can search for relevant content on LinkedIn Publisher), you’re reminding people that you’re there and you’re also helping to build your own personal brand and voice.
4. Make The Most Of Your Professional Headline:
Your professional headline is automatically just set as your current job title (see the image below) – but did you know you can edit it to be whatever you want it to be? OK, so I’m not suggesting you change it to something like “Rocket Man” or “Marketing Guru” (shudder!), but I am saying you could change it so it includes more keywords which can help to raise your visibility to a potential employer or recruiter. If you’ve got a really rare qualification that’s sought after in your industry, you could add it to your professional headline – remember, it’s all about raising your profile and visibility to the people that matter!
5. Engage Companies:
Got a few companies that you’d love to work for? It’s time to set the groundwork on LinkedIn. Follow the companies you’re interested in and be sure to interact with them (eg. liking or commenting on status updates or news) when you have something worthwhile to say. Now, with this one it’s important not to go too OTT (you don’t want to turn into their stalker or look desperate!) and not to just comment for the sake of it or you’ll end up doing more damage than good. At the end of the day, you want to become known to the prospective employer for all the right reasons – so then when the time comes to apply for a job with them, you won’t be a total stranger.
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