I’ll admit it, sometimes I get bored stares when I start talking about LinkedIn. The most bored stares come from artists or other creatives who feel LinkedIn is a boring, simple platform. As a creative entrepreneur I definitely understand the desire to use a platform that “looks pretty,” and one that can also showcase your own art at the same time.
Now more than ever LinkedIn is useful for visually-focused people such as designers, artists, and others of the same tribe.
3 Fundamental Ways To Use LinkedIn’s Visual Elements
There are 3 fundamental ways that LinkedIn can and should be used to use full advantage especially if you are the artist or creative type.
First: Your header image.
As of early this year LinkedIn rolled out the ability to add header images to profiles. This profile header image can be used to your advantage in a number of ways:
- Showcase a testimonial
- Brand your business with an eye-catching logo
- Describe what you do
- Mention a current promotion
- Show someone how to find you easily (@twitter handle, website, etc)
Don’t miss this opportunity to make an additional colorful and striking impact to those who find you and your profile. But work hard to make it look good, take your time.
Here is my header image. I chose bright colors that match my branding and I am currently showcasing an online tutorial of mine. Yours could be a series of your drawings, award winning photos, or a current makeup photo shoot scene. Truly the ideas are endless here.
What you must know:
- Dimensions are 1400 x 425 pixels
- Not all of the space is useable space
- Some of the space is best used, and some best left alone, even if it’s visible.
- Use this template here to create your image so you know what will be seen and what won’t.
With an eye-catching header image you can show your art, your work, and your vision on your LinkedIn profile to spice it up, make it shine, and make it 100% unique to you.
Second: Add media to each profile section you can.
Nothing adds visual expertise, creates engagement, and interest like clickable media with a great image – am I right? LinkedIn gives us the opportunity to add links to websites that populate with an image on your profile, PDFs, full images in a variety of formats, as well as videos. You can truly show a full portfolio here on your LinkedIn profile which is exactly where it should be!
Some ideas of media to add:
Are you an artist that can show a stop-motion video of you creating your art? Whether that is painting, sculpting, or creating a beautiful face, a short video is always a great way to give your audience a true peek into your style and expertise.
Do you have a portfolio of photos of your own or from a photo shoot? Add them here and make sure to add some interesting descriptions that tell people the story behind the image.
Are you a jewelry designer, interior designer, feng shui designer? Showcase before and after’s, add pictures of your newest creations, or add a picture that gives people an idea of how to create that look themselves with step-by-step instructions.
Have fun with it, and show people that you truly are an expert in your art online and off. Adding media to your profile is truly as easy as click, copy and paste.
Here is one of my media sections following my summary section:
Looks colorful and makes an impact no? This section tells readers everything I can do for them as a service or product, how to find me, how to interact with me, what I’m about and why I am good at what I do.
Just to be fair here is an example of another LinkedIn member who has done a great job of using media in her profile. (click here to see her full online profile)
Lyndsay Petruny has showcased her awards, videos of her on TV (demo reel) and other highlights that show us exactly what she does and how she does it. So easy to click on her perfectly described “demo reel” to get a quick taste of her on camera if we were a recruiter looking to nab a new prospect for their channel.
Third: Add symbols to your profile!
This is a fun one, and one I get asked about all the time in my LinkedUp in 30 challenge groups. Go here to find hundreds of different bullets, icons, shapes and fun designs of the perfect size to add to your profile to make it pop just a little bit more!
All you have to do is highlight the symbol, click copy (command or ctrl + c) and then paste it to the exact spot you want to use it in your LinkedIn profile.
Use these little symbols in:
- Your header to delineate skill sets
- Your summary section to bullet important parts you really want to make sure people read.
- Your experience section to denote a list of skills, achievements, and successes in the main text as well as in your experience headlines.
I love stars and use them throughout my branding, take a look at my headline you can see where I sprinkled in a few stars to really make my main profile headline pop.
One item to note, be consistent with your symbols please. Don’t choose 5 different symbols to sprinkle throughout your portfolio. Just like in your messaging and branding you want to be consistent and steady so people come to recognize that this special magic is something that only you can create.
A sampling of all the “stars” you could use:
Bonus tip: Post to LinkedIn, posts that have beautiful header images. These posts and their main image will be showcased at the top of your profile underneath your profile picture and headline.
Mine aren’t so “pretty”, but they serve their purpose by explaining exactly what the post is about and are still eye-catching at the top of the page.
Here are two examples of how posting to LinkedIn can do double duty on your profile:
Mine:
A fellow creative friend of mine:
Both styles serve their purpose well.
So, my dear creative entrepreneur, no more stalling on getting your beautiful self and your amazing work up and showcased on LinkedIn. There’s never been a better time to use this robust platform to show the world how unique you are!
Have questions or concerns? Worried about the technical nitty gritty? (It truly is very easy) Come on over and join my LinkedIn group where you can ask any question and get support and answers from me and the rest of my group. See you there!