If you already use LinkedIn on a daily basis to meet other bloggers, business professionals and influencers, then you understand how useful of a tool it can be for building connections and meeting people who can benefit from and help benefit your endeavors. If you are not using LinkedIn yet, then there is a plethora of opportunities you are missing out on, including valuable business to business connections and new job opportunities. With LinkedIn now being the largest professional social network in the world, it only makes sense to utilize this service to its full potential. How can you ensure that your LinkedIn profile is up to par and stands out above the rest? We will discuss four ways you can accomplish this in the following article.

Professional Photo

LinkedIn is all about connections, appearances and professionalism. If you do not have a photo currently added to LinkedIn or have neglected the use of a professional headshot in your profile, then you may find that others will not give you as much attention as they would otherwise. Your professional photo should be clear, taken recently and not distorted in any way. Do not upload pictures taken at random with a phone camera, unless you want others to take your profile with a grain of salt. As you are pinging links to search engines in an attempt to sell your content to readers, you too must provide a professional aesthetic on LinkedIn for a similar effect.

Updated Qualifications

Some people forget to add all of their recent events and experience to their LinkedIn accounts, which only serves to sell themselves short. If you want to appear active, informed and important within your niche, then you need to have all relevant qualifications listed under the work experience section of your profile. When it comes to searching LinkedIn for relevant professionals, those with updated work histories and experiences are several times more likely to be discovered than those who have neglected this key element.

Seek Endorsements

LinkedIn offers a function that allows others to endorse you if they believe you are a credible person within your industry or otherwise recommend your services. Anyone can write a recommendation for a LinkedIn user, which appears on the recommended person’s profile. The best way to obtain one of these is to ask for it, but keep in mind that a new profile will be limited in terms of how many people will be likely to do so. As you build connections on the network, this task becomes much easier to accomplish.

Provide Media

Especially important if you are pinging links with content creation and marketing strategies in mind, including media on your LinkedIn profile can be a stellar way to boost engagement and reach. Videos, links, documents and images can all be added to your profile’s experience and summary sections. These media examples can better serve to outline your credentials and qualifications to the community at-large.