ere you can truly mine platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook for the best features they offer businesses, so you can utilise your social media at full capacity rather than, say, 30 per cent. To help you make the most of your professional presence and improve the time and money ROI from managing your socials, I have compiled a list of my top LinkedIn tips, so you can dive below the surface and see just how deep this iceberg goes. 1. Perfect your profile There are many opportunities within your profile to maximise your relevance, engagement and interest from your audience. For the most professional appearance, make your headline work for you, by including your top accomplishments or areas of expertise, a description of how you can help others and keep it short and impactful. Use the Summary area to show a little bit of personality and tell your story in a way that makes others want to learn more about you and what you do. Choose an anecdote unique to you, write in the first person and consider who you are talking to. What kinds of people make up your audience? Direct your summary to them. Also, a call to action at the end never hurt anybody! 2. Know where your content belongs LinkedIn rewards native content – that is, content that originates on their site. To ensure your posts get as much exposure as possible, avoid adding links to other websites or YouTube videos. Rather, post everything on LinkedIn and when redirecting, do so only to other LinkedIn sites. 3. It’s all in the details Next, ensure you are posting content that has detail, personal anecdotes, examples and screenshots. While LinkedIn is a platform designed for professional networking and development, it is also a great place to show a human side to your brand. Talking about your journey, a challenge your business has overcome or a goal you have finally reached is engaging for your readership and demonstrates a unique perspective. If you keep it honest and real, you might find people outside your network wanting to follow you to keep up to date with your journey. This is because people want to learn about you on LinkedIn! Posting quality content is a great opportunity to control what they discover and highlight your strengths and brand. A great example is this post by Tapt By Hatch founder, Elon: A little insight into your day or something related to your inspiration or motivation just might cause others to take another look at you or your business. 4. Build relationships with your audience  Following on from my previous point, posting food-for-thought style content and asking questions is a great way to engage your network and start a conversation. Topics such as productivity, creative problem solving and overcoming adversity are universally relatable and are sure to garner some interesting insights from a range of perspectives. If you’re wondering how to get this right for a LinkedIn audience, I advise structuring your posts like this: Start with a hook. This could be a question or eye catching statement. Follow with a well laid-out body. Use emojis (such as a tick or star) to break down your points for increased readability. End with a powerful call to action. Whether that be to prompt deeper thought on the subject at hand or a more direct link to your business, finishing with a directive will round your content out nicely. 6. Consider video If you’re looking for something a little more dynamic, another great way to engage your audience is through video content. I truly believe video content is the way forward and will become ubiquitous across all platforms in the near future. Now that LinkedIn allows for ‘native’ videos, their algorithm will favour it, increasing its exposure. Investing in some quality pieces of well-edited video content that have captions, music and eye catching visuals not only adds to the professionalism of your brand, but it is a great way to communicate your message, goals and/or brand story. Videos are also more likely to be seen than static pieces of content such as an article, so the investment does pay off. It’s also a fantastic way to present success stories –another content idea I recommend ustiling on LinkedIn. Talking about previous business wins builds trust with your audience and gives you power, authority and credibility. As LinkedIn is already saturated with businesspeople trying to be heard above the noise, bringing in real world examples of how you have improved the lives of your customers will stand out from the other “fluff.” 7. Network, network, network That’s what LinkedIn is for, right? Building your network is important, as it allows you to keep abreast of the latest events in your industry (and others as well) and discover people who can bring value to your company or goal. I know this recommendation sounds obvious, but the key to making the most of your network is consistency and personalisation. Make sure your network is always growing steadily by constantly seeking out new connections who may be relevant. 8. Don’t be generic Finally, in today’s LinkedIn landscape, being generic does not cut it. Gone are the days when you could simply hit ‘connect’ and wait to be accepted. Personalised messages are the way to go if you want people to have a reason to accept you into their network. Explain why you are reaching out and what value you bring. You can do this by offering your expertise, offering a freebie or even inviting them to join an event or opportunity. Don’t be afraid to follow up, either. Actioning these suggestions should help you take advantage of all the great features LinkedIn has to offer, as well as get your name and brand out there like never before. Good luck. Talia Datt is the founder and drector of digital marketing agency, The Social Cliq. Talia has transformed over 100 brands’ digital footprint since launching her agency in 2018. www.thesocialcliq.com