Lesson Introduction
There’s so much more to your contact section than just your email address and phone number. There are incredible opportunities to showcase important additional elements of your personal brand.
1. Add Custom Profile URL
When you signed up for LinkedIn® you were auto-assigned a profile link. It’s usually made up of your name and a bunch of random numbers. For example: /Jane-doe-834635322
Yuck!
You can change this. LinkedIn® keeps a previous custom URL associated with your profile for a limited period, so avoid changing it unnecessarily.
- Your New Custom Profile Link Must Be Unique: If /janedoe is already taken, consider adding a hyphen between your first and last name /jane-doe, or add country at the the end /janedoe-usa
- Short is Sweet: Just sayin’
- Promote your New Link: Add the link to your website, social media profiles, and business cards etc
We saw a big increase in traffic to the website added as a custom button. The View my portfolio button performed better than the View my website button.
8 Simple Steps in 30 Seconds
2. Add Basic Contact Info
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Phone Number Type: Home, Work, or Mobile
- Address: A simple text field
Expert Tip
I use my personal email address to log in to LinkedIn®, but show my work email address in my contact info.
I have never added my phone number. I already get enough spam calls.
I have never added my address. It has made no difference whatsoever.
3. Add Birthday
Just Date and Month. Not the year.
4. Websites
You can add up to three website links to your LinkedIn® profile. Choose the three that are most useful to the people you want to reach.
- Personal
- Company
- Portfolio
- Blog
- RSS Feed
- Other
Expert Tip
If you don’t have a website, you may benefit from creating a free linktr.ee website.
Linktr.ee is a popular way to create a simple but effective landing page.
You can see an example I have created at linktr.ee/foxtucker
Important Note: I recommend that you DO NOT add the linktr.ee link to your email signature. Only include it where it is genuinely useful and keep the destination current.
5. Add Instant Messengers
LinkedIn® allows you to add details of a very limited list of supported Instant Messenger services.
- Skype
- ICQ
- Google Hangouts
6. Add Custom Link
A profile custom button is a Premium feature available to eligible LinkedIn® Premium Business, Sales Navigator and Recruiter Lite members.
LinkedIn® Premium Notes
Custom Button: As a Premium Business Member, Sales Navigator, or Recruiter user, show people the best way to engage with you by adding a custom button to the top of your profile. Current button options include Visit my website, Visit my store, View my portfolio, View my blog, Book an appointment, View my newsletter, and View my services. A super-cool feature is that you can tick a box to Increase button visibility on your posts, messages, and search results.
We saw a big increase in traffic to the website added as a custom button. The View my portfolio button performed better than the View my website button.
Action
Edit as appropriate using the guidelines in this lesson.
Where to Find These Settings
- Click your photo
- Click View profile
- Click the pencil icon
- Click Edit contact info
- or Click Edit custom link / button
