5 Things You Should Have on Your LinkedIn Profile

While LinkedIn falls squarely within the realm of social media sites, it's hardly synonymous with Facebook or Twitter. LinkedIn isn't about sharing photos or funny stories. People don't sign up for LinkedIn accounts so that they can watch cute animals do endearing things on video. By and large, folks flock to LinkedIn to get down to business - very little else. Because of this fact, great care and attention must be paid towards creating a professional, high-impact and strategic profile that offers interactivity, information and interest to those who visit.

By incorporating the following five elements into your LinkedIn profile, you can improve your page's performance, grow your network and uncover a host of new professional opportunities.

Success Element #1: Inspiration
Creating a killer LinkedIn profile can seem like a daunting task. There's a lot of work involved. You have to carefully research and gather relevant career information and package it attractively. But doing so when confronted with the proverbial "blank page" is overwhelming, to say the least. Instead, look for a little help from your friends and colleagues. Start out by making a list of the top four or five names you can think of in your industry. Take some time to look them up on LinkedIn and get a feel for how they're using the headlines, tools and space to their greatest advantage while seeking clues on how you can make your profile shine in comparison.

Success Element #2: CompletionOne of the biggest wastes of LinkedIn profiles is failing to achieve the 100 percent completion status. Don't stop till you reach the max. 50 percent isn't enough. Neither is 70 percent or even 90 percent. Don't waste space. Make ever single square inch of LinkedIn real estate space work overtime for you. Bare bones profiles never make any significant impact. Most are quickly browsed away from in search of those who care more, who have more to offer.

Success Element #3: Custom URLIf you're a LinkedIn newbie, you may not realize that when you create your free (or paid) account, LinkedIn randomly generates a URL for your profile. You don't have to have this randomly generated list of letters and numbers that has nothing to do with your business or your brand. Your free account is eligible to employ your own custom URL. This is great news, but now that there is quite a huge following on LinkedIn - some 150,000,000+ worldwide - finding a unique URL may be difficult. Use your name, brand or integral keywords to get the greatest impact from your URL.

Success Element #4: A Call to Action
When space isn't being wasted on LinkedIn, what generally is being wasted is opportunity. Some people take a great deal of time and effort to build an incredible profile but fail to incorporate one of the most critical elements in any marketing or promotional piece: a clear call to action. As more and more individuals and professionals are learning to monetize social media, about the only way to consistently do this is to have a call to action. Direct response marketing doesn't work if you don't make the desired response quite clear to your audience. If you're offering a free estimate or consultation, broadcast that. If you're offering a free content review for websites, let folks know and tell them how they can take advantage of it. Then, sit back and watch the leads pour in.

Success Element #5: Keywords, Keywords, KeywordsOne of the greatest ways to improve the performance of your LinkedIn profile is to devote the same amount of time and attention towards optimizing your profile as you would your own website or blog. Having the right keywords can help you attract the right attention. Better yet, when you optimize your profile with those keywords, take the time out to sign up for free LinkedIn groups that are associated with your keywords for even greater relevance and profile performance.

While these five simple elements will be enough to help you create a competitive and compelling LinkedIn profile, the most important success element is dedication. Stay on top of your profile and update things regularly so that your LinkedIn profile can generate leads even when you're sleeping!