LinkedIn Profile Critique – The What, How and Why!

You may be able to apply the ‘one size fits all’ approach the majority of the time when it comes to marketing socks (everybody needs socks and generally they come in one or two generic sizes) or when it comes to promoting holidays for couples (bright photos of sun-kissed beaches seals the deal for most consumers). But when it comes to marketing yourself, the universal mentality needs to be discarded – immediately.

We are all unique and therefore the way we project our best selves is bound to be exclusive to us – showcasing our individual strengths, qualifications, talents and experience in our own special way. For this very reason, when I carry out a LinkedIn Profile Critique, I base my assessment purely on you, establishing whether your profile does your professional accomplishments and knowledge justice and enables you to stand out in the industry you are aiming to be successful in.

LinkedIn is THE business-to-business social platform you need to be marketing yourself on. Potential clients are over 60% of their way through their decision-making process before they even contact your business. What have they been doing up until that point of contacting you? Researching your business online, including on social media platforms like LinkedIn, that’s what!

People make instant choices based on what they see, within a fraction of a second. If your LinkedIn profile fails to create a great impression immediately, opportunities and potential leads that are arriving at your digital doorstep are likely to take themselves – and their business – elsewhere.

How is my LinkedIn Profile Critique Carried Out?

‘Criticism’ and ‘scrutiny’ often spring to mind when the word ‘critique’ is mentioned. However, the purpose of my LinkedIn Profile Critiques is to highlight elements of your profile that can be improved to help invite more leads and opportunities your way, not tell you off for poor profile practice! (But I might do that a little bit!)

1. You get in touch with me and let me know you would like me to review your/your employees’ LinkedIn profile(s).
2. I will ask you a bit about how you use LinkedIn and what your goals are for the platform, starting with 5 key questions. I like to call it homework!
3. I then carry out an in-depth assessment of your profile including:
   • Your LinkedIn headline – ensuring that it communicates how you can help your target market and includes the relevant keywords you wish to be found for, all in 120 characters if possible.
   • Your profile photo and banner image – checking that you appear approachable and friendly and that you are dressed to impress.
   • Your LinkedIn profile URL – making sure it is personalised with your name – it represents you after all!
   • Your location setting – is it set for where you want to be found rather than to your home address?
   • Your contact details – ensuring they are up-to-date and include your preferred email address and number.
   • Your LinkedIn Summary – does it tick the boxes of being written in the first person, telling readers in short, concise sentences about YOU and not about your company? What is YOUR professional story?
   • Your LinkedIn Skills – checking that you have prioritised the most important ones first.
   • Your Recommendations – do you have up-to-date recommendations against your most recent job roles that portray you as the expert you are?
   • Your ‘Experience’ and ‘Education’ Fields – does your Experience section for each job role outline what you did or what you achieved? The latter is more likely to build trust with readers. A job title alone doesn’t cut-it!
4. Once your LinkedIn Profile Critique is complete I virtually meet with you to explain my findings, flagging up areas that need improvement and creating an action plan that you can use to implement the suggested improvements.
5. A month later I contact you to follow-up and see how you got on with making the enhancements to your profile – offering further advice where necessary. (And you can decide on a further improvement plan to increase your engagement.)

What Are the Benefits of a Value Exchange LinkedIn Profile Critique?

• LinkedIn isn’t about direct sales. It is about communication and engagement. I improve your profile to develop relationships with potential leads.
• My LinkedIn Profile Critiques are detailed and insightful – I leave no stone unturned! It will be completely unique to you.
• I have worked on improving the profiles of professionals from a variety of industries, from the recruitment and finance to education and retail sectors. You will never quite know the calibre of profiles I have had a hand in!
• You don’t need to be a digital marketing expert to implement the advice I give, I provide that – I offer support and guidance along with practical tips that you can implement.

I offer LinkedIn Profile Critiques as a component of my In-House Training and LinkedIn Consultancy services and deliver actionable ways to improve your profile and share valuable techniques which enhance the SEO rankings of the content you produce on LinkedIn, so your articles appear higher in search results and have the potential to reach more readers*. This results in more positive business opportunities for you to develop.

*The actual reach of LinkedIn content is determined by LinkedIn’s algorithms!

I also carry out detailed LinkedIn Profile Critiques for people attending my LinkedIn courses. I often prepare these reviews in advance, so I can provide beneficial tailored advice to each course attendee and avoid providing a ‘blanket’ approach when it comes to offering profile enhancing insights.

For a comprehensive critique of your LinkedIn profile contact me today.