The influence of LinkedIn cannot be underestimated. To start impressing potential employers, it is essential to stand out for all the right reasons. Organizations tend to recruit candidates who are passionate about what they do. Marketing on LinkedIn for students is an opportunity to showcase your passion, commitment and experience to help you achieve your dream job or get promoted. Here are 8 simple tips to build strong brand on LinkedIn that will impress your employer.
1. Make Your Visuals Professional
When someone says a picture speaks a thousand words, it's not a new idea. On a LinkedIn profile, you have two main pictures, your profile picture and your background picture. Use a profile picture that clearly shows your face against a simple background to show that you are there for professional communication. Your background photo provides visitors with an introductory description of who you are and what your profile represents. It's normal to see a company logo, quote or inspirational image that applies to your career. Using a graphic design tool like Canva, you can create your own background photo to draw a customer's header and highlight something that represents you.
2. The Importance of Your Summary
Marketing on LinkedIn for students can be perceived as difficult. However, it is easier than you might think. The overview is the place where you can introduce yourself, market yourself and set your goals, which people sometimes find hard to do. Your overview will highlight your personality. It is the first written message to a potential employer and what matters most to you is what you want to include in the report. Talk about the things you've always liked, why you're interested in the environment you work in, and the skills you've always excelled at. Business Insider has recommended a 40-word limit for such a short and simple description is the way to please employers. In addition, companies have recognized this challenge by writing summaries on LinkedIn and creating custom templates to help them.
3. Make it Personal
If your professional and academic achievements are to be at the heart of your LinkedIn profile, don't forget to make it personal and talk about your passions. Employers use LinkedIn to find suitable candidates for their company and brand. Whether you've played a sport, volunteered, or worked on a project with a group, put it in your profile. It's a testament to your passion for testing and dedication to what you do. It should also be noted that a recruiter may have been involved in the same activity and that being asked about, may or may not be a personal connection.
4. Showcase Your Skills
It can be difficult to recognize the skills you have acquired in a given position. In 2020, Marketing on LinkedIn for students is less complicated since the company has highlighted skills that are most in demand. Required skills include imagination, teamwork and business evaluation. When you can find some of the skills listed or any other skills in your experience, you can link them to a section at the bottom of the LinkedIn profiles. With these skills, the network will support you, showing employers that you have demonstrated competence in previous positions. Having a good skills section can be an easy way for employers to see if you are ready to meet the challenges that will come with a position in their company, so make sure you always fill out this section.
5. Write Articles for LinkedIn
Try to have your articles written directly on LinkedIn. You may be wondering why you should post on LinkedIn instead of your blog, and this is a relevant question. The advantage of publishing on LinkedIn is that all your contacts will be notified when you click "Publish", and it will appear in their feed. Your LinkedIn audience is encouraged to increase their chances of reading it. Of course, you can always publish an excerpt of an article on your blog or website and guide your LinkedIn audience to read the rest on your website. You can also group the content of your blog and republish it on LinkedIn. Of course, you can also create unique content on LinkedIn. For example, you may want to write an article about a business topic that resonates with your LinkedIn connections and makes no sense in your company blog. The purpose of this is to show employers that you are knowledgeable and passionate about your field.
6. Set Your Profile to Public
When Marketing on LinkedIn for students, you want to be transparent on your profile, especially if you are seeking employment. Why should you discourage potential employers? The only reason you might want to keep your profile private is to check other people's profiles without their knowledge (we all have our reasons). It is important to set you profile public, because it will give you exposure to a variety of employers who could be looking for someone with your skill set.
7. Engage Meaningfully
LinkedIn does not simply serve as a forum for your messages. Set the time it takes to browse your LinkedIn feed and find ways to share and comment. This is essential for building long-term relationships with potential employers. For example, if there's someone you'd really like to partner with in the future, or a CEO you'd like to connect with, take a look at LinkedIn to connect to. That way, if you're willing to work with them or sell to them, they'll have a story with you. This means if you ever decided to contact them, you won’t be a stranger but someone, they already met.
8. Use Your Description to Sell Yourself
Take the time in your explanation to make yourself true. Be concrete: make sure you have all the facts and figures. For example, you could say that you increased your site's traffic by X%, which will be much more convincing to potential employers than simply calling yourself an SEO expert. Highlight the biggest successes that will be important to the jobs you want to acquire.
Final Thoughts
Marketing on LinkedIn for students is a great idea. In the end, you are the most important element. By showing all your technical and personal achievements, you will find the right employer. Make your profile personal and embrace the concept of social media as you discover it. Employers are always looking for people with a variety of skills. Good luck!