Optimize your LinkedIn profile for social selling
To achieve social selling success on LinkedIn, start by optimizing your profile.
Social selling. A term you keep hearing more and more often, as sales activities shift increasingly to the online world.
LinkedIn has become a powerful force in the new sales trends, as the platform is great for B2B connections, prospecting and even customer care.
Regardless of how you choose to seize opportunities on LinkedIn, your profile will be the starting point. To stand out, focus on building your personal brand by optimizing your profile.
In this article, we’ll share tips on how to set up your LinkedIn profile for success in social selling.
How to strengthen your LinkedIn profile (step by step)
Gone are the days when LinkedIn profiles were replicas of a traditional resume.
If you’re serious about selling on LinkedIn, you’ll have to implement a couple of tweaks that will make your page more engaging and appealing. As a social seller, you want to showcase your professionalism, but don’t forget that your profile is also a reflection of your company and the services or products it offers.
Profile picture
What you really want your profile to embody is expertise, legitimacy and most importantly – your personality. So why not start with the obvious? The profile picture.
Make sure you choose a picture that depicts you in the most authentic way, but keep it classy. You want your prospects to trust you, so pick your favorite business attire and smile for the camera.
It’s important that the picture is shot in good lighting and uploaded in good quality. If you can have your photo taken professionally – even better!
A good profile picture goes a long way
Headline
A good headline can be a game-changer when engaging with a prospect. Instead of using your job title or industry, think of a way to communicate your value proposition. For social selling, you want your headline to be brief yet exhaustive: talk about how you help your prospects and what benefits you provide.
Try this simple formula for inspiration: Helping [your prospects] do [what benefits their business]. (P.S. You can also add the optional “by [doing what you do best]”)
Make your headline show your value proposition
About section – concise summary
Treat the Summary of your profile as another opportunity to tell your prospects how you can help them achieve their goals or solve problems. Include a short intro about what your company does, but also focus on your personality and experience. Try to give insights towards what you’re like as a person, so prospects will resonate with you.
Keep your summary short: 2-3 paragraphs should be enough for your personal pitch!
Take a moment to create a compelling profile summary that will show your personality
Activity
Since your activity is visible on your LinkedIn profile, use it to showcase your expertise and build relationships with other users. It’s important to share content on a regular basis – whether it be brand new posts, re-shared company posts or repurposed content from your other channels.
Although, as a social seller -you need to engage with what other people are sharing too. Make sure to like and comment on your connections’ updates, and feel free to share content you think would benefit your audience. This way, you will appear more genuine and human.
Lastly, don’t forget to interact with your colleagues and your company postings. Not only does it provide greater visibility, but also demonstrates your company culture.
Be sure to stay active and engage with your network
Build your network intentionally
Before you even start social selling, you should look into making insightful connections that will reflect your personal brand and benefit you in the long run. Build your network with purpose – start with your friends and acquaintances as well as leaders or influencers you find inspiring. Think of how you can help your new connections and the value you bring.
When reaching out, stick to a personalized approach and leave short and specific notes, explaining your motivations to connect. If you want to save some time while remaining personal, try using Surfe’s message template feature.
Establish your personal brand
If you want to leverage LinkedIn as a social selling platform, you definitely have to work on your personal brand. Taking into account all of the steps you’ve completed to create your ultimate profile page, start showing your personality through activity.
Find your forte: are you passionate about sharing articles? Love curating content? Or maybe you create great visuals and share inspiring stories? Whatever you prefer, remember to be authentic.
Slowly build up your style and voice. Stick to what you believe in. Your authenticity will ensure the growth of your personal brand while attracting interesting connections which is exactly what you need when building a strong base for prospecting!
Bottom line
LinkedIn is quickly accelerating as the go-to platform for B2B connections and sales. If social selling is what you’re after, make sure to optimize your profile, stay active and engage with your network.
Taking the time to create a unique presence and personal brand will drive ROI in terms of connections, leads and conversions. Make it easy for your prospects to understand the value you bring and provide insight towards your personality to yield the best results.
To learn more about the value of social selling and how to implement it, check out what digital marketing guru Mario Martinez shared with Surfe in our article titled The Truth About Social Selling.