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Updated: 1 hour ago How To

Three ways to use AI to stand out from the crowd on LinkedIn

By Nancy Marshall, Marshall Communications

In business, LinkedIn is a critical tool. Whether you’re an employer, employee or job-seeker, it is the social media platform for work, allowing you to connect with others and identify new business opportunities and jobs.

Nancy Marshall of Marshall Communications
Photo / Tim Greenway
Nancy Marshall

Therefore, it is just as critical to keep your LinkedIn profile updated. Think about it: You would never give people an outdated email address or a business card from a decade ago. So why would you let your LinkedIn profile get stale?

Whatever your brand may be, your LinkedIn profile is one way to convey it — from subject matter expertise to unique personality traits. A stale profile suggests that you don’t care very much about presenting yourself to the world. Keeping it fresh, on the other hand, shows that you are cutting-edge and tech-savvy. 

Fortunately, it is easier than ever to tell a compelling story via your LinkedIn profile.

Why? Because of artificial intelligence. Within LinkedIn itself or externally, AI can offer best practices and specific tips along your LinkedIn journey. Here are three examples.

Your LinkedIn headshot

Let’s face it: Your face is what people see first on your LinkedIn page. Just like an in-person conversation, it is important to make the first impression as strong as possible, so people aren’t thrown off or turned off by your picture. 

You want your LinkedIn headshot to pop. It should project professionalism, but not in an obnoxious or dime-a-dozen sort of way. You can get a professional photographer to take the picture and then have AI spruce it up. Based on an existing image or multiple pictures, there are various options for AI headshot generation, such as Secta Labs. These types of generators take existing content and then spruce them up, adding a new filter or using a new color for the backdrop. It can even come from an older picture or three.

You may need to input several different images for the best results, but it is worth seeing what AI creates. If you don’t like smiling, AI can even make you smile better.

Your LinkedIn details

A strong image is just one part of your LinkedIn profile. Text is important too, including your bio (the “About” section), interests and skills. And you want the writing to be as persuasive and informative as possible.

When it comes to text improvements, there are free options like ChatGPT, which can take sample content and improve it for readability. Simply copy and paste your current “About” section, for example, and ask ChatGPT to make it even better.

AI with LinkedIn Premium

What you convey through your LinkedIn profile — whether it’s an image or text — is important. You will also want to see how your LinkedIn content is performing.

AI helps you wade through all of the data, analyzing post performance and other metrics. This is available through LinkedIn Premium (a paid, but useful, service). You can only boost performance by knowing where you started. And, by using Premium’s integrated AI tools, it is possible to figure out exactly how visitors are interacting with your content — for instance, how long they are engaged and where they are clicking. Then, AI can reveal a few key takeaways, with simple instructions for improvement.

Data analysis is just one example. Premium’s AI tools can also help users draft resumes and apply for jobs. Similar to ChatGPT, LinkedIn’s AI-powered writing assistant is well-known for making personalized suggestions that can take “About” and “Headline” sections from zeros to heroes.

The way I see it, if you’re not taking advantage of AI’s capabilities for LinkedIn and other social media platforms, you’re falling behind. Your brand is losing out, and you’re not leaving your online contacts with the strongest possible impression of you. Over time, this is a slippery slope because the competition — another company, other job-seekers and so on — could be taking the lead with AI.

Of course, we can’t rely on AI for everything. We still need to be creative and resourceful on our own. However, we can use AI for lots of things already, and the best minds in business are doing just that.

Come aboard the AI bandwagon, starting with LinkedIn.
 

About the author

Nancy Marshall, a regular Mainebiz columnist, is CEO of Marshall Communications.

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