Stop Being the "Best-Kept Secret" on LinkedIn
Ever catch yourself explaining how you're the "best-kept secret" in your industry? It's time to change that once and for all on LinkedIn.
Becoming the go-to expert in your niche does not happen by accident, it's intentional.
That intention begins with an awesome LinkedIn profile that commands the right attention of the right people in a way that feels authentic to your personal brand.
Crafting an irresistible LinkedIn profile is the single most important thing you can do right NOW to start building your brand, growing your network, and landing that next opportunity.
In this episode of Mondays with Mindi, we talk about how YOU can become that go-to expert in your niche on LinkedIn starting with your LinkedIn profile. Plus, I'll show you a few examples of LinkedIn profiles to get your creative juices flowing!
Why “Best-Kept Secrets” Fail on LinkedIn
Many of the experts I talk to who want help with their LinkedIn profile and presence often say, “Mindi, I’m the best-kept secret in my industry! Problem is I have no idea where to start to get traction on LinkedIn!”
Anyone else ever feel like they are the best-kept secret and that if people only KNEW about them, the entire trajectory of their career or business would shift in a positive direction?
You’re not alone.
At some point in time, most of us have all been in this position, but the key difference for those who become the in-demand, go-to experts in their field are the ones who decide they will NEVER be the best-kept secret ever again.
They make an intentional decision to learn what they need to do in order to get the attention of the right people in the right mindset and at the right time.
This doesn’t happen overnight, but what can actually supercharge this process is an optimized LinkedIn profile.
Most experts on LinkedIn gravitate towards posting a bunch of content and trying to send connections to grow their network FIRST before they ever refresh their profile.
If you’re just starting out on LinkedIn or making a pivot or simply want to get the best return on your time and investment in LinkedIn, then you should start with your profile.
And many of you who are job seekers or subject matter experts within a company will not need to do much more than that! You’ll notice that the inbound opportunities accelerate and you have more amazing connections and collaborations than you expected.
Those of you in the entrepreneurial or high-level consulting space may need to go beyond your profile refresh to get the new business opportunities that you want, but you still must start with a kickass profile!
Now that you’re on a mission to stop referring to yourself as the “best-kept secret” or a variation on that line of thinking, what should you do next?
Today, we’ll talk about how you can use your LinkedIn profile to attract more opportunities and deepen your professional relationships!
“But, I’ve tried everything on LinkedIn!”
One mistake that a lot of experts make on LinkedIn is assuming that they just need “do more” by clocking more time on the platform, sending more connection invitations or posting more content.
What they don’t realize is that none of the clever tactics on LinkedIn actually work if your profile is not optimized for search and also speaking directly to your target audience.
It’s easy to run an online search and find a YouTube video or article that has “10 ways to grow your business on LinkedIn” with a bunch of tactics listed that may or may not work very well, but what the authors don’t tell you is that the prerequisite is an ah-maz-ing LinkedIn profile.
Funny thing is that LinkedIn itself does not really teach you how to create an awesome profile. You have to figure out what a good one looks like on your own, and many of the sample “awesome profiles” you can find online are a year or two old, or they are not relevant to your business or career.
When we think of an incredible LinkedIn profile, we often think of influencers who are marketers by trade, and what looks awesome for them may not at all apply to you.
For example, I was working with a senior executive who is also on a number of corporate boards, and she wanted to optimize her profile. Thing is that if she did what a typical marketer would do and added all the “bells and whistles” that look really snazzy visually, it would actually devalue her in the marketplace.
For her, we needed to focus on making it look professional enough, but not like she had nothing better to do than spend time updating her profile and posting content every day on LinkedIn.
On the other hand, I have marketers and personal branding experts who come to me and actually end up using just about every single LinkedIn profile feature because it makes complete sense to show off their cleverness and marketing prowess to potential clients or recruiters.
Creating an optimized LinkedIn profile is quite nuanced, and you must understand where your LinkedIn profile fits into your business objectives, how it’s perceived by your target audience, and which features actually make the most sense for you.
Let’s take a look at a few LinkedIn profiles to get your creative juices flowing!
Cate Agnew
Brigitte Bojkowszky
Brent Lamphier
What Matters Most on Your LinkedIn Profile?
As we talked about earlier, your LinkedIn profile sets the stage for everything that is to come in your professional interaction with a potential new connection, hiring manager, board member or peer in the space.
Paying attention to the details on your LinkedIn profile matters more than you might assume.
Think about the last time you came across someone via word of mouth, hearing them on a podcast, mentioned online by an influential person you trust.
When you look them up, you expect to find an updated profile where all of their current information is updated, matches across channels, and feels like attention was paid to the details.
If you look them up and find an outdated website, land on a broken link in one of their posts, or see that they haven’t updated their job history since that day job a few years ago, your trust in them immediately comes into question.
Let’s talk through some of the most important sections in your LinkedIn opener to pay attention to as an expert!
5 Must-Know LinkedIn Profile Tips
We’re not going to cover ALL of the sections today, and if you truly want to optimize your LinkedIn profile once and for all, join me next week for The LinkedIn Accelerator LIVE Experience where we’ll spend five focused sessions on optimizing your individual profile and getting every section dialed in based on your niche, market and personal brand.
Let’s talk through a few of the basics today!
#1 - Your Header Image
If this is blank, you’re going to immediately turn people away because they think you’re not even on the platform. Only people who are completely new (or too busy to care) skip this section.
What to do: Add something that shows you in action here or helps people to get a sense for your areas of expertise.
#2 - Your LinkedIn Headline
If you’ve followed any of my videos or content, you’ve likely heard me talk about the headline as your first impression.
You may not get it right the first time, but you can always change this down the road.
What to do: Focus on the formula of - Who You Are + Whom You Help + How You Help + Results You Generate
#3 - Your LinkedIn Headshot
When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn headshot? I will confess to just updating mine yesterday because one of my clients asked me why my own headshot didn’t match what I was teaching around having a current headshot?
I had to explain how dreadlocks mature at different rates and that I had been waiting till they actually started to “loc” before I wanted to update it.
What to do: If you need to retake your headshot, find a blank wall or a spot in nature with good outdoor lighting and get a selfie stick or enlist a friend to help you with taking a natural-looking photo on your iPhone
#4 - Your About Section
If you don’t have one yet, or if it’s just a copy from a bio or executive summary on a resume, you need to get this section dialed in. You’d be surprised how many people don’t have one at all!
What to do: Make a note to come back to your About section once you’ve made the simple tweaks, and I have a plug-and-play templated formula that can help you knock this section out! Will tell you about it at the end if you’re interested.
#5 - Your Featured Section
Everyone needs a Featured section, no matter what your profession or focus on LinkedIn is. You need AT LEAST 2-3 featured items for this section to look decent.
What to do: Look for some posts that you can feature or a few PDFs or media or uploads you can add here to make it more visually appealing.
Let’s recap what you need to get clear on starting out with your LinkedIn profile:
Your header image
Your LinkedIn headline
Your LinkedIn headshot
Your About Section
Your Featured Section
If you’re ready to get started with LinkedIn and take the next step to optimize your profile once and for all, so you can start growing your network on the regular or land your next opportunity, join me inside The LinkedIn Accelerator program which is now open for enrollment with classes kicking off next week!
What additional questions do you have about LinkedIn profile refreshes? Leave your comments below or shoot me a private message. I’m happy to answer them!
