A statistic released by Hubspot earlier this year stunned communications and marketing professionals across America. LinkedIn is 277 percent more effective at generating leads than Facebook and Twitter. The day that statistic was released, the game changed for LinkedIn. 
What was once thought of as simply a place to post your resume, quickly turned into a viable sales and marketing channel for businesses and organizations. However, even with such a staggering statistic in its favor, many professionals still aren’t taking full advantage of the platform. Before you can begin to generate leads you need to make sure your profile is complete and fully optimized. Here’s how:
Include Your Name and Photo
Many would think this goes without saying, but you’d be surprised. Your real name should be used to identify yourself on LinkedIn—not a generic or fictitious one only a few would understand. Also, you should upload a ‘work appropriate’ photo that truly looks like you. Professional head and shoulder shots are best, but any good quality snapshot will do. Sorry folks, no photos from the college days and certainly no posts of your pets or children.
Entice with Your Headline
The default on LinkedIn is to fill the headline area with your current title and organization. However, if you appear in search results this is the only information a user will see besides your photo and name, so why not provide them with some more information? Your headline should include information that entices the user to seek more information about you and it should include keywords that are relevant to your expertise and industry. By doing this you’ll be more likely to pop up if someone searches for those terms.
Write a Compelling Summary
Use this section of the profile to showcase your skills and expertise. What sets you apart from someone else who is in the same position and industry? Why should someone choose you over your competitors? Like with the headline, you should filter keywords that your ideal prospects would be searching for throughout the copy. It is a best practice to write this part of your profile in the first person.
Seek Recommendations and Endorsements
Many would argue recommendations are the most valuable component of your LinkedIn profile. In the decision making process we thrive on third-party validation. Anyone can toot his or her own horn, but seeing someone else who believes your skills or services are valuable can go a long way. Like with other social networks, often times people will reciprocate the favor. So, begin by writing some recommendations and endorsing people you’ve worked with, and you are then likely to receive some in return.
The first step to success on LinkedIn is ensuring that you’ve achieved 100 percent completeness on your profile. However, it’s important to have a strategy in mind when finalizing this task to optimize your profile correctly. By considering these items, you’ll be setting yourself ahead of your competitors.
You’ve got the completed profile. Now find out what it takes to generate leads with LinkedIn. Download our guide for seven simple steps.
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Emma Walter is an account executive for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @emmasreallytall.
