LinkedIn is a must for marketers at any stage of their careers, which begs the question: Is your profile serving you?
According to Michelle Griffen, a personal branding thought leader, LinkedIn is “the most powerful branding tool for enhancing visibility and being positioned as an expert.”
It isn’t like other social media platforms where you post every passing thought and share life updates, hoping to get some likes. But it’s not a digital resume either—sterile, factual, and bland. Think of it as a game of chess. It’s all about strategy and positioning.
Below, you’ll find a helpful “P.R.O.F.I.L.E. checklist” that Michelle shared as a special guest on one of our recent Marketing Boards to help marketers stand out—whether that’s positioning yourself or your company as thought leaders, starting your own consulting gig, or standing out to a recruiter in a sea of applications.
Optimizing Your LinkedIn: The P.R.O.F.I.L.E Checklist
The first step before optimizing your LinkedIn profile is to make sure you understand your personal brand. Then, pull open a tab with your profile next to this article and walk through the steps to follow.
P – Personal Branding
- Create a branded banner that conveys your value and is aligned with your personal brand.
- Set a (public) profile picture that is current, approachable, forward-facing, and high-quality.
- Record an audio greeting with a 20-second share of your name pronunciation and message.
- Write a BIO (Headline) that is clear, congruent with your title, includes your USP (what makes you special), contains keywords, and emphasizes your expertise. And – *Don’t forget to sprinkle personality with other passion areas all in your 220 allowed characters.
- Set a branded URL that is customized and searchable. Remove numbers and use your name for SEO and LinkedIn search maximization.
- Share your preferred contact information that is up-to-date and accessible with a personal email.
- Turn on the Creator Mode to make visible the “Follow-First” button and add 5 “talks about” hashtags, add a CTA website link, start a newsletter, host audio or host video events. Include content that helps make you relevant and visible.
- Reach Verified Status—as this is important for search and trust credibility. Here’s how.
- Update your Featured Section to showcase your relevant content and assets to highlight expertise and achievements.
R – Relatable Rapport
- Turn on the Activity Section under settings > visibility > manage active status so you can show off your posts, comments, shares, articles, events and communicate your insights, interests, and active presence.
- Write an About Summary. This is not a resume. Keep it compelling. Share your story and career journey, convey experience, career aspirations, and the value you offer. Make it scannable, and be sure to leave white space to enhance readability.
O – Outstanding Experience
- Share your work experience and expertise.
- Expand on your job titles with key words. The first work experience listing will show up in a Google search, so make this compelling and relevant.
- Highlight your top 5 roles and use a ladder listing to expand on each role if you have had promotions.
- Add skills in each section for searchability (craft them using keywords).
- If there is a gap in your career, include something you did during that time to sharpen your skills.
- Include board positions that align with your goals and reflect your leadership, strategy, and governance.
- Don’t use resume language, but do showcase targeted achievements and include the results your achieved for yourself and the company.
- Add media and brand assets that ‘pop’ when scanning that can serve as a portfolio of accomplishments.
F – Featured Learning
- List all education, but you don’t necessarily have to delineate dates. Include traditional and online professional programs.
- Include licenses, certifications, and credentials that are most relevant to leadership or board service.
I – Important Insights
- Include your skills and areas of expertise. These are great keywords and highly searchable. List your top 5 skills for board competencies and your strategic experience area(s).
- Share high-level skills for positioning and add these to all applicable profile areas.
L – Leading Testimonials
- Ask for endorsements from credible sources to showcase your expertise and drive social credibility.
- Give, receive, and request recommendations with each role you have. Try to update this yearly.
- Make sure your recommendation section spotlights your leadership qualities, and expertise.
- Note that past and current clients, colleagues, collaboration partners, and credible industry professionals are great to ask for recommendations.
E – Extracurricular Activities
- Go to the “add to profile section” and add the additional sections listed below.
- Volunteer Experience—List all relevant volunteer experience, board, or leadership roles.
- Honors & Awards–Provide contributions and leadership awards, both personal and professional.
- Projects—Share your publications, presentations, podcasts, and company projects.
- Courses—Include your professional training, higher education, credentials, and additional certifications you have.
- Publications—List your published books, eBooks, white papers, journals, or guides.
- Organizations—List memberships in professional organizations and communities (like Marketers That Matter!).
- Interests—Share interests aligned with the sectors and industries where you seek board roles.
- Causes—List the causes that resonate with you and your board aspirations.
Michelle B. Griffin is a certified personal brand and PR strategist, speaker, author, and podcaster dedicated to transforming execs and experts into Standout Leaders. Through her Powerfully Position Yourself™ Initiative, she empowers leaders to elevate their professional visibility and build industry presence to seize more opportunities for career and business growth. Michelle authored The LinkedIn Branding Book, hosts the “Ask The Brand Therapist” podcast, co-hosts “The LinkedIn Branding Show,” and leads a community of 1,700 global professionals building their LinkedIn presence. Discover more at MichelleBGriffin.com, or follow her on LinkedIn.
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