5 Colossal LinkedIn Profile Mistakes
That Most People Make
by Nick Nichols, B2B Sales and Marketing Expert
Recently I spent the better part of a day database building on LinkedIn and I viewed more than 1000 profiles. I found that the overwhelming majority of them had multiple opportunities for improvement. Below are the five major areas that need attention on many of the profiles I looked at. I believe that if you want to be taken seriously on LinkedIn you should avoid these all-too-common errors and omissions.
Your Photo:
- Was obviously taken with a consumer camera or smart phone.
- Has a busy or inappropriate background.
- Includes another person or a pet.
- Shows you inappropriately dressed.
- Is an image instead of a photo of you.
- Or worst of all, is nonexistent.
Your Headline:
- Lists only your title and company.
- Does not utilize the full 120 characters and spaces.
- Is not benefit-oriented toward your target audience.
Your Contact Info:
- Doesn’t list an email address. (You want to connect with people, right?)
- Has no link at all to a professionally created website.
- Links to a GoDaddy "Website Tonight," Wix or other "beginner" design.
- Uses "Company Website" as the link text instead of keyword-optimized text.
- Links to an unrelated "side business" personal website.
Your Summary:
- Is non-existent.
- Is written in the 3rd person instead of the 1st person.
- Is inner-focused instead of outer-focused (more "I, me and our" wording than "you and your" wording).
- Does not include a compelling offer of some kind to get qualified prospects to contact you.
- Does not include a video.
Your Experience:
- Lists only mundane, "name, rank and serial number" content, such as job titles, companies and job functions.
- Does not include keyword-rich, benefit-oriented, value-based wording.
- Is inner-focused ("I, me and our" wording) instead of outer-focused "you and your" wording).
- Does not include a compelling offer of some kind to get qualified prospects to contact you.
- Does not include a video.
