Are you ready to challenge yourself in new ways? Are you ready to take steps to establish your credibility and professionalism online? An effective way to do that is by ensuring your LinkedIn Page is updated and active.
You might think: “But Paul, my Perfect Patient is much older and doesn’t use LinkedIn. How does this article impact me?”.
LinkedIn Learning is also a great way to learn to utilize the site, and other skills you might need in your profession. Optimizing your LinkedIn profile will help tremendously. I’ll explain more as I go on, but it is of the utmost importance that your page is active and up to date.
Personal Profile
OK Planet Paul readers… so I went through a handful of your LinkedIn accounts for research purposes and I am basing these tips off of what I encountered on YOUR pages. Here are some small tips to look more professional in this online space. If you can manage a business, you (or your marketing assistant) can update your LinkedIn Profile.
Profile Picture
Please have a profile photo. It helps potential clients (or hires) know just exactly who you are. It can be an overlooked part of a personal profile. Remember, this is not Facebook or Instagram. You want to have either a professional headshot or one that clearly shows your face, even when it’s a small icon. Having an updated profile will only enhance your lead generation strategy by establishing credibility with who you are.
Cover Photo
Your background photo is the second visual element at the top of your profile page. It grabs people’s attention, sets the context, and shows a little more about what matters to you. More than anything, the right background photo helps your page stand out, engage attention, and stay top of mind.
Summary
Turn this into a story. Your summary is your chance to tell your own story with your own voice – so don’t just use it to list your skills or the job titles you’ve had. Try to bring to life why those skills matter – and the difference they can make to the people you work with. Don’t be afraid to invest some time, try a few drafts, and run your summary past people you know. This is your most personal piece of content marketing – and it’s worth the effort. Because, in the end, you are marketing yourselves to anyone who comes across your profile.
Grow Your Network
Having a good-sized network (I’m talking at least 100+) will establish credibility to your profile: It shows that you are a real person, have contacts, have influence and that you are actively looking to grow professionally.
How do you do this? Go to the home page of LinkedIn and at the top, click “My Network”. Just scroll down and you’ll see people to potentially connect with based on your university, old jobs, or your local area, and start clicking that “Connect” button. You also have the option to write a message to anyone you want to connect with. Make sure to also utilize the LinkedIn search field to help you find connections that you may want to connect with on the platform.
Website & Links to Other Socials
If you are your business has a website, you can also link it in the header of your profile. Also, feel free to include your links to social media.
Request Recommendations
Recommendations give people viewing your profile a quick, visual sense of what you’re valued for. They are personal testimonials written to illustrate the experience of working with you.
List Relevant Skills
Scroll through the list of skills and identify those that are relevant to you. Doing so helps to substantiate the description in your Headline and Summary and provides a platform for others to endorse you. However, the key here is staying relevant.
A long list of skills that aren’t really relevant to who you are and what you do, can start to feel overwhelming. Target the skills that are important to the position you have or want to have. (Tip: people can endorse you for the skills you put on your profile to back up what you are saying. So people don’t have to just take your word for it.)
Books or Publications
If you’ve written a book or published an article, you can link it here, adding credibility to you and your title.
(LinkedIn is more than just an online resume. Share ALL of your accomplishments. It’s a platform where you can show off without showing off.
URL
When you copy your LinkedIn URL and send it to a client, it’s going to look more professional if it’s a custom URL. And if your URL reflects your name, people will be more likely to click on it.
To change your LinkedIn URL, go to View Profile under your profile, click Edit public profile & URL, press Edit your custom URL and personalize it for your profile. I guarantee that it will look much better to see linkedin.com/in/maciedelnay than linkedin.com/in/macie-yae1-delnay-h0n4k3r
When you do this, it shows that you are attentive to the details and care about how you come across to viewers. It’s a quick, free, and easy fix.
Company Page
You need to have this page fully filled out (everything mentioned in the Personal Profile Section of this article) with content that is posted to it regularly. Showing that it is still relevant and active (much like a personal page), but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to this. When I post or schedule things out for social media, I use SEMRush. It allows me to post to Facebook, IG, LinkedIn (personal page), LinkedIn (company page), GoogleMyBusiness, and more. Whatever you’re posting to Facebook (ie. a blog post or offer in your clinic) it can easily be duplicated for LinkedIn.
Services is a new LinkedIn feature that helps consultants, freelancers, and those working for smaller businesses to showcase the range of services that they offer. Filling out the Services section of your profile can boost your visibility in search results.
It never hurts to check your company page every now and then to make sure it’s still communicating what you want. If things have changed or there are major updates at the company, then it’s time to refresh your LinkedIn Page. Having a fully filled-out profile helps with recruitment efforts, especially if you’re using the network to make new connections.
When to Use a Personal vs Company Page
When your company has a face or spokesperson, it’s best to use a personal profile over a company page because people already associate that company with the person. For example Paul Gough is the main page we use instead of the company page Paul Gough Media LLC…. and I bet most of you didn’t even know the page existed.
If the company doesn’t have a particular name/face attached, like Apple, then a Company Page is better to use.
(Tip: You MUST have a personal profile to have a company page)
Groups
Much like Facebook, LinkedIn has groups that you can be a part of, which when used correctly, can be a fantastic recruitment and business growth tool for you.
Join groups that are relevant to you and your job, such as industry-specific groups, alumni groups, local or regional business groups and more. If you happen to be looking for a Marketing Assistant, make a post in the local University group. You’ll have a direct line to high-quality candidates who are pursuing a career in the field that you are hiring for
All these groups are access points for you to post jobs or learn about the latest things others are doing in the PT and healthcare world. However, don’t be the person who only posts about job openings. It’s still a social network and you’ll need to be interactive within the groups.
Post your blogs to expand your network to find like-minded people or potential clients. Either way, you will be driving people to your website, gaining exposure.
This pie chart shows the top industries that are on LinkedIn which means there will be a plethora of groups to choose from in those fields. (and healthcare happens to be #2)
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I need you to do something for me.. Please. Sign up for a LinkedIn account. Go to your LinkedIn login page right now and create or update it. Is your profile picture more than 5 years old? Change it. Make a post. And cement your credibility and professionalism online.
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