We get it.
A full optimization of your LinkedIn profile can take more than an hour.
And, if you’re really into the B2B LinkedIn growth space, it could even last days just to get it right.
But, how about if you want to deploy quickly?
Say you have an event in the next few days, need to launch something big, or just want a quick guide for your team.
This is where our 30-minute LinkedIn profile optimization checklist comes in handy.
All you need is 30 minutes to do most of the things listed in this guide.
That half an hour should be enough to help you get going!
Disclaimer: only use the guide for quick deployments. There is still no substitute for the more detailed guides we have our site and testing each aspect of your funnel for maximum conversion.
Ready?
Let’s begin.
Profile Photo
Make a good first impression with your profile photo by making sure that you get a close-up of you smiling behind a plain background.
Quick fix:
- Find a photo of you smiling
- Upload it on software like removal.ai
- Download the photo
- Upload it on Canva on a colored background
- Upload it on LinkedIn
- Zoom in to where you face covers 70 percent of the circle
- Presto, you’re done
Cover Photo
When a prospect lands on your profile, they will immediately be staring at your cover photo since it takes up the most visual real estate on the platform. It needs to stand out, and it’s one area that takes a long time to fix.
Ideally, you would want a cover photo that converts, but that requires a time of investment of about an hour. If you do have that hour check out this guide:
If you don’t, here’s the quick fix, look for photos to upload that are:
- 1128 x 191 in size
- Have good lighting
- Have a space towards the bottom left that won’t distract people from your profile photo
What kind of photo can you quickly upload?
- Group photo of your organization doing work that matters (CSR, helping customers, etc.)
- Shot of your product (as long as it’s not too sales-y)
- A photo of your office/building with your team outside
- Group photo of you and key industry leaders
- Wide shot of you teaching or giving a talk or presentation
Ideally, you would want to spend more time doing this, but if you’re in a pinch, this is by far the fastest way you can optimize your profile.
Headline
Your headline is what makes people decide if they actually want to follow you or not.
The best headlines we’ve experimented with usually take a lot of testing and prep work, which highly advise you invest your time in, but there are hacks that you can follow to get things rolling.
A quick LinkedIn headline formula to follow:
What is it exactly you do for people + your organization + achievement 1 + achievement 2 + achievement 3 + fun fact
You have no idea how effective this is
Alternative 1:
Inspirational line that’s written in your voice + contact details
Alternative 2:
What is it exactly you do for people + your occupation + inspiring line about life + CTA/contact details
At BAMF, we spend the most time optimizing the LinkedIn headline because it’s the copy that makes people act.
Remember, you can mess up the images, but getting the content right is much more critical.
Why?
People read your headline in your voice.
And, remember people judge not by your appearance, but more by what you say.
Summary
Let me tell you this straight.
Writing an “about me” summary on LinkedIn is no easy task especially if you’re pressed for time, but here are some quick things to take an existing summary and optimize it in less than 5 minutes.
- Leave a maximum of three to four paragraphs about you.
- Make sure they are short; we’re talking three lines tops.
- Add a first line with your email address or Calendly booking link.
- Add a last line with a CTA telling them to go to your website.
You can always go back to this section later, but adding these elements can elevate your summary and allow you to position it as a funnel to bring leads to your landing page.
Featured Posts
The featured posts section on LinkedIn allows you to talk about what you do a little bit more
We know you can pick a bunch of stuff for the featured section, but you can keep it to two to three things to make the process easier for you.
- Add your website or landing page so that you can have a quick funnel link
- Add a project that you’ve been doing lately or something you’re proud of
- One post should just be a photo of you being human – this makes you relatable
If you still have some time remaining, you can also add some value posts here or maybe even a couple more pictures to give your prospects a glimpse of your life.
What’s Next
And, just like that, you’re done with the primary optimizations you need to get your LinkedIn up and running.
However, you can still do a couple of things in the next couple of days.
- Post a piece of content at least once a day. It can be anything from a video, a quick musing, or sharing something interesting that you’re doing.
- Engage with a couple of people every day. You need this to get the word out that you’re active on the platform.
- Go back to your optimizations and try to tweak if you have a couple of free minutes during the day.
Takeaways
As you can see, there are quick ways of doing profile optimization.
So, no growth-oriented marketer should have any excuse for optimizing their LinkedIn profile.
In just 30 minutes or less, you could turn your profile into a funnel.
But, here’s the thing.
It still doesn’t beat taking your time to do your optimizations.
By taking your time, you create proper behavior-focused designs that get your prospects to act.
After you go through this guide and get some traction, get back to your profile elements, but this time take more time to craft better ones.
