What do successful agribusiness people do to attract the right people to their profile?
Is your LinkedIn profile working hard for you?
We answer these questions in this blog.
Many people in agribusiness treat LinkedIn as a resume – when it’s actually a proven networking and prospecting tool that can help the right people find you, connect and learn of your value and experience.
LinkedIn is a highly effective B2B marketing platform for agribusiness and related industries, particularly within the commercial sectors. The key to making the relevant connections starts with optimising your profile to attract your ideal prospect.
Your LinkedIn profile should:
- Tell people who you are and what you stand for
- Showcase your value while building trust
- Build credibility
- Promote the next step that businesspeople can take with you – similar to a value proposition
But how can you communicate all of this through your profile?
We’ve crafted a step by step process to help you reel in the full benefits of this platform, and to optimise a professional personal profile to attract your ideal agri-rural customer. Let’s dive in:
- Welcome people with a great profile picture
Your appearance matters, and similarly your LinkedIn profile image holds significance when talking about lasting first impressions. Research suggests that just having a picture makes your profile 14 times more likely to be viewed by others – a high-resolution picture is a fantastic place to start.
- Add a supporting background photo
Following your profile picture, establishing a background photo can round out your profile’s visual appeal perfectly. Automatically, your profile will have a generic image featured – but we can do better. With some creativity and influence, this image can veer from the mainstream and set your profile apart from the rest.
- Include a relevant headline
You wouldn’t tell new networks that you work for a previous employer or anywhere that isn’t your current organisation – LinkedIn is no different. Be sure that your headline is reflective of your current position and company.
- Optimise your ‘About’ section!
A pivotal point to any profile, your ‘About’ section is the first piece of content your viewers will see. The key to writing for this purpose is to be clear and concise, talk about what’s important to what you do and the value you offer.
If education or a specific qualification is relevant in your industry and your mission for your next job, highlight your possession of it. Similarly, utilising this section is a sure-fire way to reinforce any claims or achievements of yourself or brand.
Strengthening this idea of a lasting first impression, a well-written paragraph or two here can give great insight into who you are, and the value you offer.
- What are you ‘Open to’?
Employee or employer, LinkedIn allows you to communicate both. Utilising the ‘Open to’ section showcase your eagerness to seek employment or to offer it. This information will be displayed at the top of your page, making it easy for your page viewers to find.
- Highlight your experience
Not dissimilar to a resume, LinkedIn is commonly used to promote your experiences clearly and concisely. The main benefit of their layout is making your credentials easily digestible to viewers. When you’re completing this section some things to consider and shed a light on include your:
- Work experience
- Education
- Key skills
- Awards obtained
- Utilise the ‘Add section’ – tell your full story
LinkedIn offers no shortages when it comes to showcasing your talents and successes, a bulk of these features can be found within the ‘Add section.’
Under this section you can find shortcuts to profile aspects including:
- Sharing a post
- Showcasing particular skills and accomplishments
- Writing your ‘intro’ or ‘about’ sections
- And more
A particularly powerful tool to help gain exposure and visibility within this section is the ‘Featured’ tab.
Like any company marketing endeavours, gaining exposure and continued relevance are paramount – your personal marketing is the same. Within this, LinkedIn encourages you to share posts, articles, links, and other forms of rich media – this is powerful when done correctly. Express successes, external resources you’ve found beneficial relating to your field, interact with others and much more with this feature.
- Additional information
Similarly found within the ‘Add section’ this shortcut prompts you to request a recommendation – tapping into previous relationships and experiences to promote future ones. This is a powerful tool as it acts as another ticked box when people view your profile – edging you closer to your desired goal.
- Endorse your skills
Endorsements can be found near the bottom of your profile and too rely on networks and established relationships. The ‘Skills and endorsements’ section allows you to promote certain skills that you’ve obtained along your career – and endorsements are your connections attesting to them. Your profile can display up to 50 different skills and your endorsed skills will appear first, followed by other unendorsed skills listed.
- What’s new on LinkedIn?
Once your profile is established there are scores of features that are now at your disposal. Outside of the above, LinkedIn has rolled out some wildly beneficial features within the last year alone – some of these include:
- LinkedIn has adopted Stories
- Record the correct pronunciation of your name
- Video meetings and LinkedIn Live
- LinkedIn Polls
Audiences on LinkedIn can typically be categorised in two – organisations and individuals. Therefore, having your individual profile work collaboratively with your company page can produce a well-rounded and seamless experience for interested parties. There are a few ways to do this including:
- Linking the company’s LinkedIn profile and website within your ‘Headline’ or ‘About’ sections
- Share your company’s posts making them visible to your network
- Included a branded background image
The benefits of linking these profiles together are plenty, including:
- Improved search results
- Aided branding efforts
- Linking together employees
Keep an eye on this space as we’ll share all we know regarding your company page and how to maximise its performance in our next blog. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions relating to your ag business’ marketing – we’d love to hear them!
