The LinkedIn Marketing Guide for Beginners shall be one of the many courses that will be released under “The Virtual Assistant Survival Guide” series. The module is divided into 9 parts.

LinkedIn is a professional networking site designed specifically for the business community. The goal of the site is to allow its members to establish networks of people they know and trust professionally.

It was co-founded by Reid Hoffman, a former Executive Vice President in charge of business and corporate development for PayPal.

Microsoft acquired LinkedIn on June 13, 2016 for $26.2 billion.

LinkedIn is the world’s largest social platform for businesses and professionals. 25% of adults in America use LinkedIn, while 22% of them use it on a daily basis. 75% of users access LinkedIn on their phones and are active on the platform six to seven times a week. According to a survey completed by 360i, 86% of marketers named LinkedIn as the most effective social media channel for lead generation.

No-Nonsense LinkedIn Marketing Guide for Beginners

If your virtual assistant business isn’t actively using LinkedIn, it’s time to get serious about LinkedIn marketing to connect with your target audience and establish authority. We want you to learn how to use LinkedIn effectively for business.

Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

1. Your LinkedIn Profile

First things first, LinkedIn is in no way like Facebook. So the “cool” profile pic that seems to get lots of likes and comments on Facebook will definitely not get the same reaction on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Image Sizes

Since LinkedIn’s last update and redesign — which took place last December — the ideal LinkedIn profile picture size is 400 x 400 pixels.

However, it’s fine to upload a larger picture as long as it is square, no larger in file size than 8MB in file size, and does not exceed 20,000 pixels in height or width.

See the black space there that happens if you don’t have the right image size.

Then, the background image can be chosen or uploaded just above your Profile picture.

Be sure to follow the LinkedIn background image requirements: Format—JPG, PNG, or GIF. Size—1400 x 425 pixels.

LinkedIn Profile Image Checklist

a. Choose a photo that looks like you.

Keep in mind that LinkedIn is not Facebook.

It is a professional network where trust is most important. Imagine your prospective client’s face when you have your first Skype meeting, and he or she looks like as if trying to connect the dots.

Trying to look beautiful is not your goal here, rather it is to look professional and smart. Embrace the real you.

b. Smile with teeth showing. 

Smiling is the socially acceptable way of greeting other people. This also helps them feel comfortable with us. It’s our way of saying, “Hi, I’m a warm & friendly person and you can reach out to me like you would to a friend.”

Not smiling makes you look angry and stiff.

You can’t smile with your lips pursed, it looks rather unnatural.

We smile with our teeth, our lips, our entire faces… that is what makes a smile a real smile.

c. Choose the right dress.

Choose a clothing that you would likely wear to a job interview or to a business meeting.

The clothes should fit your shoulder and neck area well.

d. Look at the camera.

Make sure to position yourself at an angle from the camera lens.

Don’t align your body to be perfectly square with the camera. If you do this, the resulting images will have the quality of a mug shot, driver’s license photo, passport or an ID picture.

Your LinkedIn Banner

This is similar to a Facebook banner.

You can create this on Canva easily. Use this additional real estate on your LinkedIn profile to showcase what you do. It does not have to be amazing images, text images work too if your creative juices are running dry.

Canva has all the elements ready for you – images, lay-out, background, text. Thus, you really have no excuse.

Use this space to tell people what you can do, as well as the services you provide.

2. Your Identity

Use Your Name

Yes, your name. Since this is a professional network, we want to assure our prospective clients that we are legit.

As an added note, since we hope to build professional relationships, we want to be known as ourselves.

Your 1st-degree connections always see your full name, regardless of your settings.

For those other than your 1st degree connection, you can choose to display your first name and only the first letter of your last name by going to the Settings page.

Here are more useful info about changing how your name appears on LinkedIn.

Think About Your Headline

Think about SEO, not just some fancy headlines you want to add to your profile.

The headline is the first three lines below your name that others can see when they view your profile. You only have 120 characters of space there to let others know more about you.

A successful LinkedIn headline should tell others your value proposition as well.

I have “Virtual Assistant” because that is what describes me best. If anyone on LinkedIn searches for a VA, chances are I will appear in the search results. Based on the email notifications LinkedIn sends me on a weekly basis, I appear in 30+ search results per week whenever someone searches for a VA.

When prospective clients also see that I’m a VA, they have an idea that I work for offshore clients and assist business people from abroad.

I added “Freelance Writer” because that is one of my best skills. There is “Excel Enthusiast” to explain other interests that I have. Remember to use the K.I.S.S. rule. The headline is one of the most important part of your LinkedIn profile, so make sure to have a thought about this.

Don’t worry as well, once you gain more confidence and clarity, you can easily update it if you can’t still come up with something today.

Your LinkedIn Summary

Imagine you’re meeting someone for the first time, and you want to make a great impression. Now, this isn’t just showing your credentials, but rather relaying a message how you can provide value to them.

LinkedIn gives you 2,000 characters (including spaces) to summarize your background and, besides your headline, your summary is the first thing people see.

T give you an idea how to outline your summary, think about:
What are you known for?
What’s your identity?
And how does your work help other people?

I’ve used this summary for all profiles for quite some time now:

“I’m a virtual assistant helping brands, startups & entrepreneurs grow their business since 2011.”

It’s not as complete yet though, but I do believe it’s enough for now to relay the message that I’m a virtual assistant with enough years of experience (since 2011) to help people achieve their business goals.

You can also find great templates here you can follow as a guide for creating a rockin’ summary.

3. How to Showcase Your Work Experience

Whether they are online or offline work experience, what have you done in a previous job to help boost your boss’ business profitability, or to help your client get things done?

I’ve seen that the usual problem lots of newbie virtual assistants face is the lack of online work experience.

I was working as a Software Management Consultant for Microsoft Philippines when I got my first $500 per month client online in 2011. (He’s still my client up to now, but the rates have of course changed!)

What made him believe in me though I didn’t have an online portfolio yet? My LinkedIn then was also still a blur – if there’s such a thing! I did not enumerate to him my educational background nor my past work experiences. I will just bore him for sure.

I just told him I’m fond of creating company procedures to streamline business operations by creating processes.

Then told him the things I’ve done to prove that claim. I think he found me interesting, and thus hired me. The rest, as the they, is history.

On LinkedIn we have a space there for adding our work experiences.

When adding work experience, remember to use the PARS method:
P – Problem
A – Actions
R – Results
S – Skill

After adding the company you have worked with, your official job title and length of service, don’t just copy and paste the job description given to you by your previous employer or client.

State a problem you have solved and add the methodology that helped you solve it. And then, add the result which have benefited the company. Along the way, while solving the problem, analyze what skills (or attitude) you have developed.

This shows your ability to think outside the box.

Use action words, and just keep it short.

If you’re aiming for a data entry post, show your ability to work faster. If you’re aiming to be a General VA to do different admin tasks, show your ability to stay organized. If you’re aiming for a sales post, like doing outbound calls for a prospective client, show your ability to get the sale.

It may seem daunting to translate your corporate or offline work experiences to “sell yourself” online. Hopefully this guide to LinkedIn marketing will give you the confidence to showcase your skills.

4. Grow Your LinkedIn Network

Growing your network isn’t something that happens overnight; it requires a commitment on your part and consistent work over the course of weeks or even months.

If you’re at the beginning of your LinkedIn marketing journey, it can feel a little confusing and mysterious. That’s because the platform has so many features, functions, and ways to engage with people. But with the right plan in place and following some beginner’s guide principles, you’ll be well on your way towards getting results.

5. Post Regular Status Updates

This is an easy way to get people to follow you on LinkedIn. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; just keep it short and sweet with relevant information about what you’re up to at work or in personal life.

Your status updates will appear in the news feeds of those in your network and beyond, so they’re a great way to build relationships with people who aren’t already connected with you. People will start following you because they want more information about what you do on a daily basis.

Besides regular post updating, you should leave comments on other people’s posts and update statuses when others comment on yours. This shows them that you’re engaged in their content and makes them more likely to connect with you. When a user leaves a comment on a post, make sure that you respond quickly. If it’s something positive, thank them for sharing their thoughts with you, and be sure to include an article from your blog or website that they might be interested in reading.

If they leave a negative comment or criticism, try not to get defensive or argumentative — just take what they have said into consideration and perhaps ask them if there is anything else that could be done better on your site so that they would feel more comfortable visiting it again in the future.

6. Check-out Who’s Viewed Your Profile

If you want to gain more followers, check out who has viewed your profile recently.

This will show you which companies have seen your profile and might be interested in hiring you or working with you in some way. When someone views your profile in their feed, they are interested in what you have to say or offer—so reach out!

Send them a message asking if there’s anything specific about yourself or your company that sparked their interest in viewing your profile, so that you can both learn more about each other’s businesses/industries. This can be a great way to discover people who might be interested in connecting with you and also gives you an idea of who might be interested in doing business with you. 

Remember, your LinkedIn profile is the first thing people see when they visit your profile page.

So, It’s important that you make it as professional-looking as possible and include all relevant information about your skills and experience.

7. Don’t Be Shy to Ask for Recommendations

LinkedIn is a professional social media platform and it’s vital that you use it as such. Don’t use it just as another social media outlet or as a way to connect with old friends from high school or college.

Use it as a way to build relationships with people who might be able to help to showcase your expertise. That means asking for recommendations from people who know your work well enough to recommend you for something specific. Don’t be shy about asking people you know. If they have worked with you in the past, they will likely be more than happy to write a recommendation for you. 

Ask for recommendations from people who know and trust you professionally. Ask them specifically for recommendations that show off their skills as well as yours. This will increase the likelihood of getting more recommendations from them and others in their networks. Make sure that when you write a recommendation for someone else, it is specific and includes specific examples of how they helped you or supported you professionally or personally.

Don’t be shy about asking people directly if they want to connect on LinkedIn — just make sure that you’ve got something interesting to offer them too!

8. Join Relevant LinkedIn Groups

There are tons of groups on LinkedIn for just about every industry and interest imaginable — and they’re a great place to start when you’re looking to expand your professional network. Not only will these groups allow you to connect with like-minded professionals but they can also be an excellent resource for learning more about topics that interest you — ideas that might lead to new business opportunities down the road.

When you join a group, you’ll be able to share content with other members and engage in discussions about topics that interest you. Make sure the groups you join are relevant to your industry and your career goals.

Otherwise you can also create your own group if there’s not one already available for what you’re interested in talking about!

9. Send Out Invites to Connect

Connect with people who share similar interests — If you want to grow your network quickly, start by looking at what other people in your industry are doing on LinkedIn.

Once you’ve identified your target people or group, it’s time to start sending out invites. Invite people who are relevant to expand your network.

For example, if you’re a virtual assistant from the Philippines looking for clients, it makes sense to connect with founders and C-level executives. 

Conclusion

With our LinkedIn marketing blog, we hope to answer your most pressing questions about marketing on LinkedIn and provide you with some helpful tips and tricks for creating a successful LinkedIn marketing strategy.

As with everything there isn’t just one way of doing things, take some of the advice here and modify it to fit your own needs.