Market yourself on LinkedIn

It's time to approach your job search from a marketer's perspective. At its most basic level LinkedIn is about marketing: marketing yourself.

Here are 6 steps from the digital marketing world, that are relevant increasing your reach on LinkedIn. 

Step 1. Revisit your goals. Your LinkedIn profile is not just your online resume. It should not be about a complete list of your work. Think about your goals and convert your goals into keywords, because keywords are how people find you on LinkedIn.

Use a keyword tool to find general terms that could attract a broader audience, and then dig deeper to target your niche by identifying keywords industry insiders might search for.

Then sense-check your keywords against your goals. If you’re a Web designer but you don’t provide training, the 7 million monthly Google searches for  “how to Web design” don't matter.

Step 2. Layer in your keywords. The headline is a key factor in search results, so pick your most important keyword and make sure it appears in your headline - don’t worry about a little repetition. A LinkedIn search scans for keywords, and once on the page, so do people.

Step 3. Strip out the clutter. Sift through your profile and weed out or streamline everything that doesn’t support your business or professional goals. Do keep less relevant previous jobs in your work history, but limit each to job title, company, and a brief description of duties.

Step 4. Reintroduce your personality. How would a potential employer know if you are great to work with? Share in your profile why you love what you do and/or what you hope to accomplish. Describe companies you worked for or projects you completed. Share your best or worst experience. Keep your keywords in place, leave out what doesn’t support your goals, and then be yourself.

Keywords are important but are primarily just a way to help potential clients find you. No one hires keywords; they hire people.

Step 5. Take a hard look at your profile photo. A photo is a little like a logo: On its own an awesome photo won’t win business, but a bad photo can definitely lose business.The best photo strikes a balance between professionalism and approachability, making you look good but also real.

Step 6. Get recommendations. Most of us can’t resist reading testimonials, even when we know those testimonials were probably solicited. Recommendations add color and depth to a LinkedIn profile.

Source: http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/how-to-market-yourself-with-linkedin-profile-6-steps.html