In our DIY Social Media: LinkedIn blog, we covered the basics of why you should create a LinkedIn profile to help bolster your promotional efforts.

From building credibility to expanding your reach, LinkedIn is a playground of opportunity. In today’s post, we want to maximize your profile to help you get noticed by the people who matter the most: your target audience. These are the people who are interested in your genre of writing, who find a commonality between your work and what sparks their curiosity.

So, what exactly makes up a good LinkedIn profile? Well, we’re happy you asked because we’re going to offer you some food for thought to help you ramp up your efforts.

Picture

LinkedIn is a professional networking site that’s designed for the business community. To that point, a professional picture is imperative. If you don’t have a professional head shot, do your best to find the neatest, most professional picture that you have of yourself. The old adage was correct when it said, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Because your LinkedIn profile picture serves as a first impression to a future reader, smile!

Complete Profile

There’s plenty of information to enter when it comes to a LinkedIn profile, but a profile that’s complete helps build your credibility. Skills, volunteer associations, education and much more are the fields that you should complete without question. LinkedIn is essentially an extension of your resume. While resumes are meant to be short, this social media platform is where you can expound on your experiences.

Summarize

A LinkedIn summary is much like an elevator pitch. This is the portion of your profile where you really focus on your accomplishments. When crafting this section, you want to keep your target audience in mind. Outline a handful of achievements that would interest the people that you are trying to reach. Bullet points make this section much easier to understand and digest. Remember, this is where you can really sell yourself as an author.

Updates

As with other social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn gives its users the chance to publish updates on their profile. Status updates give you the opportunity to voice your opinions and share industry-relevant content. Always keep in mind that LinkedIn is a professional networking site, so keep your more light-hearted content reserved for platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

The goal of your LinkedIn profile is to show your network that you’re a professional who’s well-versed in your genre and can add value to their lives.

Check back in the coming weeks when we provide you with more tips to help maximize your LinkedIn profile.