As a business leader, you pour your blood, sweat and tears into making your company successful. You’re always on and strategizing how to position your brand and generate meaningful results.

When it comes to connecting professionally on social media, you’ve probably established a thoughtful, well-curated LinkedIn presence for your company. After all, LinkedIn is most commonly viewed as the top social network for business and lead generation. 

Building company connections is definitely important. You want to make sure your business is featured in front of millions of LinkedIn users (more than 610 million, to be exact). 

Even if you’re keeping your business information up to date, you might be overlooking a secret weapon you can use to improve your business’s online presence and connectivity: your personal profile. 

When you have a personal profile that stands out, you can use it to attract attention, create familiarity, build relationships and position yourself as a trusted expert in your field, all of which can contribute to your business success. 

Making your profile stand out doesn’t have to be a long and arduous process. We’ve compiled some of our favorite tips and tricks to make your LinkedIn personal profile professional and memorable. 

Tip #1: Keep Your Photo Fresh 

Your profile picture is important, because it’s the first thing most people notice on LinkedIn, whether they’re looking for you specifically or searching for professionals in your field. A professional profile picture humanizes you and draws your viewer’s attention; in fact, profiles with photos receive 21 times more views than profiles that don’t include an image.

When choosing a profile image, your photo should be: 

• An image of you: not a superhero, pet or company logo (unless that matches your company vibe!)
• A recent, recognizable image: less than five years old is a good guideline, but it can also be updated more frequently if your appearance has changed significantly
• A professional image that reflects your brand: no selfies, dating site photos or casual/leisure pictures
• A photo that’s consistent with the rest of your online persona: if you maintain a professional page on other social networks, or if you have a photo on your company’s website, keep it consistent so you can begin to build familiarity with your audience

Tip #2: Amp Up Your Headline

Along with your profile picture, your headline and location are some of the first facts LinkedIn information seekers see. Think of it as commensurate with an email subject line; you want your headline to intrigue your viewer and to invite them to engage further. 

You can certainly feature your job title (no need to call yourself a ninja, guru or maven - unless that's part of your company lingo); however, you can also use the space to describe a problem you solve for clients or a benefit you can provide them. 

For example, instead of saying “Financial Planning Professional” or even “CEO/Owner of XYZ Firm,” something like “Investment professional helping executives meet their retirement goals” turns the focus on what you can do to make your clients’ lives better. 

Tip #3: Make your Profile Summary Pop

Your profile summary is your opportunity to tell your story. In your own words, you can let your potential clients and business partners know what differentiates you from others in your market, and can highlight the benefits you offer potential clients. 

Instead of listing a few plain-and-simple facts about you (“I employ 6 people,” “I manage investments for high net worth clients”), add some sparkle.

Use this space to show your potential clients exactly what they stand to gain from building a relationship with you (“Grew our business from a single advisor to a group of 6 professionals focused on providing investment strategies that help clients achieve their retirement goals.”). 

Tip #4: Give Your Website Some Link Love 

LinkedIn drives more visits to company sites than any other social media platform (accounting for 46% of social media traffic to corporate websites).

By making sure you include your website link on your profile, you can encourage additional interaction with your business from LinkedIn viewers visiting your site. If your online presence includes a blog, consider also featuring that link, as well as your email and other professional social media handles into your profile. 

Tip #5:  A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (Integrate Visuals). 

As part of your LinkedIn profile, you have the opportunity to share examples of your work or to highlight recognitions you’ve received. 

If you have online content you’re serving up in other areas (blog posts, social media images, infographics, webinars, etc.), use your LinkedIn profile as a way to highlight and cross-post them.

By using visuals when sharing your successes (awards, accomplishments, achievements), you can extend your reach, get your content in front of additional eyes, and continue to position yourself as an expert in your field. 

And, most importantly, your use of visual content can create opportunities for conversation, which can be nurtured into eventual business partnerships. Sharing content with a visual element increases the likelihood of receiving comments from other users by 98%. 

Tip #6: Take Time To Connect 

Making yourself visible and creating connections is important on LinkedIn. You have multiple options to do this effectively, including: 

• Sharing interesting, useful content: Sharing useful business information positions you as an expert and shows those who review it that you’re a professional they can trust. When they have questions related to your industry in the future, you’ll be top of mind. 
• Engaging with other users’ content: By commenting, sharing or liking relevant content from other users, you can begin to build or reconnect a relationship. 
• Sending inbox messages: If you’ve seeking to connect directly with a business connection or start a conversation with a prospect, you can send an inbox message. A typical LinkedIn message has a higher open rate than traditional sales emails (one company’s study reported an 11x better open rate for InMail than traditional email marketing), which means you have a better chance of your content being seen and taken seriously. 

Tip #7: Let Someone Else Tell Your Story (Request Recommendations)

We’ve talked about telling your own story through your profile summary and accomplishments. Your recommendation section allows your colleagues and business partners to tell your story as well. 

Ask colleagues and contacts to recommend you on LinkedIn. If there are specific projects or proficiencies you’d like them to mention or stay away from, don’t be shy; let them know. For example, some industries may have specific compliance guidelines regarding testimonials. If that’s the case in your field, your recommendations can focus on your willingness to create a personal connection and spend time outlining client goals, rather than on the actual dollars and cents results that were generated. 

Tip #8: Key in on Competitive Keywords. 

Searching for keywords on LinkedIn is easy but can require some creativity and experimentation. Keyword research can include reviewing competitor’s pages and searching LinkedIn hashtags, then plugging those terms into LinkedIn’s advanced search option. 

When you find keywords that resonate, use these words as naturally as possible throughout your profile, from your headline to your job descriptions to your skills section (listing at least five relevant skills can boost your messages by 31 percent). 

Once your profile is up to date, your work on LinkedIn is only halfway done. To optimize your LinkedIn presence, you need to continue to connect, build and strengthen relationships via the platform on a daily or weekly basis.

And, when you level up on something in life, whether it’s a new role, a new skills or training, or the creation of a new piece of content, don’t hesitate to share it. By sharing information on LinkedIn and updating your profile frequently, you can put your page back at the top of your connections’ news feed and create more opportunities for conversations and relationship nurturing. 

At Out & About Communications, we’re focused on building relationships and helping our clients become visible online. LinkedIn is just one of the many areas where we help our clients build winning strategies. Take a look at some of our other digital marketing how to guides here.

We’re looking to hire a Digital Marketing Assistant. A great fit would be someone who is detail oriented and enjoys working with teams to execute projects big and small. The full description is below!

DIGITAL MARKETING ASSISTANT

Out & About Communications, an integrative marketing and communications firm based in San Diego, CA, is seeking a go-getting Digital Marketing Assistant to join our team. This part-time position will include day-to-day administrative duties, assignments with quick turnarounds, scheduling content, updating design files, website updates and projects as assigned. Get the full scoop below.

TO APPLY, SUBMIT YOUR COVER LETTER, RESUME AND SOCIAL LINKS TO HELLO@OUTANDABOUTCOMM.COM.

THIS ROLE IS FOR YOU IF…

• You can work well under pressure. You get a task that needs an edit to polish it off, and you say “I got it!”
• Working with tools like Hubspot, WordPress and scheduling tools is your jam. You like playing around with the nitty-gritty details to polish off each product.
• You’re a digital maven. You love digging into all things digital. It’s pretty obvious to you if something looks like it isn’t designed for web or social media.
• You know enough about Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop to be dangerous. You can navigate your way around design files to edit and update them.
• The digital work is awesome, but you also enjoy working with a team to brainstorm, educate interns and plan events.
• Typo! Eek! Some call you the grammar police.
• Client photoshoots, video filming and costume prep, oh my! All of this sounds great and you’re on board to help where help is needed.
• You spot website bugs quickly and enjoy understanding UX, UI, and responsive design and how it works across platforms and browsers.
• The idea of working with a creative team — virtually and in person — sounds like an amazing experience to partner and learn from others who love their craft.
• Bottom line, you’re up for jumping in to learn and get your hands dirty on projects big and small.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Basic understanding of Adobe Creative Suite, social media, scheduling tools, WordPress, HTML and email marketing tools.
• Fluency in Google Docs and Dropbox.
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under pressure with strong communication skills.
• High attention to detail when making edits and reviewing documents.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, preferably in graphic design, marketing or journalism.
• 1+ years of hands-on experience with tactical marketing projects from development to execution.
• Must be based in sunny San Diego, CA.
• A self-starter who has a genuine passion for marketing, excellent judgment and an efficient work ethic.

WORK BENEFITS

• Flexible working environment (onsite and remote)
• 401(k) benefits available
• Breakroom stocked with snacks and beverages
• Regular team “lunch and learns”
• Parking available onsite

WORKING CONDITIONS

We operate in a collaborative environment, so the ability to work and communicate well with others is a must. Our office is climate controlled and has moderate noise levels.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Mobility and sensory abilities required for the organization of events, computer use, telephone access, and communication one-on-one as well as in group meetings. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. Must be able to lift 20 pounds and sit or stand for long periods of time. Work will include some long hours, evenings and weekends.

STATUS

PART TIME, HOURLY

CLASSIFICATION

NON-EXEMPT

We have great news! We recently found out we won a Gold Hermes award for our Integrated Digital Marketing Campaign for Coastal Payroll. We’re so grateful — for the award, which is going to look great in our office, but even more so for the dynamic relationships we have with our clients that allow us to achieve this recognition.

The Story Behind the Award

We started working with Coastal Payroll about a year and a half ago. The company had a really firm concept of who it was as an organization, its company culture and its unique identity. Team members knew what made Coastal stand out — but they weren’t necessarily leveraging that voice and sharing the message clearly.  

From the start, our relationship has truly been a partnership. We’ve gotten to know various team members and departments and developed a solid understanding of their goals as an organization. We’ve come alongside, as an extension of the company, to work through the team’s changing needs — daily. Everything we do is about driving toward the goals we establish — and tweaking or overhauling as company and department goals change.

With that level of trust, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot, including:

• Regular e-newsletters and emails
• Video series
• Social media posts
• Website optimization
• Marketing collateral
• Lead and referral partner engagement
• Events communications
• And more (a lot more)

Strategic Outlook

As we developed a relationship within the organization, working directly with the sales team has been key to our success. It’s more than just building an attractive campaign. We talk with team members to get an idea of their goals — as well as their interactions with potential customers, pain points, hesitations and common questions, and conversions. This helps us build a strategy that actually drives numbers.

Having Fun

At the end of the day, Out & About Communications and Coastal Payroll are first and foremost about people — and doing great work for them. One of the best parts about working with clients like this is our ability to really dig deep and create exciting content that converts. We all end up having a great time and developing concepts, even as we geek out a bit about the things we’re passionate about.

Thank you to Coastal Payroll — and all our clients — for entrusting us with your message and letting us work our magic to help you reach your target audience. We’re excited about lots of new projects on the horizon and can’t wait to see what comes of them.

Come learn more about how we can make these things happen for you. And follow us on Instagram to stay up on all that’s going on with us.  

At Out & About Communications, we love transforming and launching new websites for our clients that will help them connect with more of their target audience and grow their businesses. Here’s our latest website reveal for MJP Wealth Advisors, based in Connecticut.

At the beginning of each website redesign project, we sit down and listen to the mission and values each client wants to convey to their target audience. Then we create a design to help better achieve those goals, as well as infuse tested and proven digital strategies to generate more traffic and leads to reach that audience more effectively. Learn more about our process.

It’s also important to note that we never use templates or off-the-shelf themes. Every site we create is custom to fit each client’s unique needs. The site is responsive and mobile-friendly so prospects can move through each page quickly and easily find information while they’re out and about.

MJP Wealth Advisors had a website that could benefit from a facelift. It needed a more seamless user experience with clear actionable items on each page, like call-to-action buttons. Most importantly, it needed to tell more of its story: that its team brings balance to clients’ financial lives.

The firm also wanted to showcase its awards and new employee photography as well as provide better access to client resources and the client portal. So, we got to work!

We started with the value proposition — the main point MJP wanted to convey — and made that the first statement visitors read when visiting the homepage. It’s not just about financial planning and wealth management; it’s about what kind of life clients want to live long into retirement: one that gives them the balance and freedom to make the most of every day.

Before

The previous home page had a call-to-action to “learn more” that was almost hidden. Now, the call-to-action is front and center and encourages users to not only learn more, but begin the process of balancing their financial life with MJP Wealth Advisors. The homepage is more about the client and less about the firm. This allows prospective clients to start to feel like the firm really understands them and what they want.

After

Another important item is the risk-free assessment prospects can take to get started. Instead of dedicating a page to this, which could get buried or missed, this call-to-action — which leads to the assessment — was added to the bottom of every page.

We then moved on to reorganization of the site, starting with the navigation. The pages were re-sorted under new tabs to create a beginning, middle and end to users’ paths as they move around.

As mentioned above, one of MJP Wealth Advisors’ main goals was to make the client portals and resources more accessible; so we added these items to the navigation so they can’t be missed. The resources tab also houses the blog and other tools and resources clients or prospects might need to find quickly.

Top Navigation Before

Top Navigation After

The services page has been streamlined with easy-to-read sections to clearly convey all service offerings. The process page maps out the path clients will take. Both these pages bring much-needed confidence and clarity to prospective clients, who are probably feeling confused about where to start.

The team page also got a major facelift, to showcase the team’s updated headshots and bios. Team pages are often one of the most highly visited pages on a site because prospects want to see who’s behind the curtain. When you’re selling services, you’re really selling your team, so giving this page a lot of love will make a positive impact on your first impression and your bottom line.

Finally, MJP Wealth Advisors wanted to easily showcase the awards and recognition they have received over the years. They have a lot to be proud of. We folded that into the About Us section. The awards section is important because it builds trust and credibility and lets other people say how awesome you are.

Thinking of redesigning your website? Here are some more of our tips to get started. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to chat more. We’d love to hear from you.

At Out & About Communications, we’re committed helping you grow your business by strengthening your messaging, amplifying visibility and increasing leads.

One way we can drive more traffic and create a higher ROI for your brand is to redesign your website. You only have one chance to make a first impression and your website is often the first place your prospects interface with your brand. It’s very important to position your brand with the right design, copy and strategy to put your best foot forward.

How do you know if it’s time for a web redesign? Here’s a quick rundown of what to know and where to start.

Once a web redesign is on the table, Out & About has a specific website approach and process in place that will ensure every step is being addressed. Let’s take a look.

What is Out & About’s website philosophy?

Your business isn’t cookie cutter, and we believe your website shouldn’t be, either. That’s why every website we create for our clients is custom — not from an off-the-shelf theme. We build around your company goals, vision, target market, and how you want your brand to look in one year, five years, and beyond, then we get to building — from the ground up. (If you’re wondering how much you should be paying for a custom site, we’ve broken it down for you here.)

How do we do this? We rely on three pillars: design, content and marketing strategy.

Design that tells your story

When you think of search engine optimization (SEO), design might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but a well-designed site actually fuels your SEO efforts. That means visitors are going to be compelled to look around, get past the home page and stay on your site longer. Longer visit time means a lower bounce rate that often translates to a higher lead conversion rate.

When designing, it’s important to ensure you’re making the site as easy as possible for end-users to understand your message, navigate pages and respond to key calls to action (CTAs). We design with end-users in mind, considering how it’s going to impact their experience overall.

Content that speaks their language

People are too busy and overwhelmed these days to read a content-heavy site. What they do is scroll and look for headlines. That’s why having effective headlines as well as short and concise content is vital for powerful searches.

In our initial discovery discussion with you, we’ll outline your goals and objectives, and then conduct keyword research to help support them. We’ll then sprinkle those keywords strategically throughout your site to optimize content.

The key here is sprinkle. Gone are the days of stuffing your site with as many keywords as possible. Google’s algorithm is looking for organic content that appeals more to humans than robots. We find the voice of your target market and write the way they would speak and search. We can also help you hone in on words that might be too heavy or ambiguous to your target market and splice them out of your headlines to drive more traffic.

Architecture that stands the test of time

We don’t just build an amazing website for today. We build websites that are relevant and effective for years to come — ones that incorporate a holistic cross-channel marketing strategy to meet the unique needs of each client.  

Your website should seamlessly connect with your social media presence, advertisements, collateral, and in-person experience, so by the time your target audience contacts you, there’s no question about your company’s vision, mission, and services. Your website should be a tool to bring them a solution, so they keep coming back to you.

What is Out & About’s website process?

This philosophy might sound really great, but now you might wonder, how we actually accomplish these goals. We have a proven three-step process to get your new site up and running and generating leads!

1. Discovery and Design —In this stage, we’ll meet with you to learn  your company goals, target market and current needs for the website. After we have a clear understanding, we’ll design wireframes and draft copy with your objectives in mind.
2. Build and Test — Once step one is approved, we’ll build and lay out the site with content and images. We then test the site for responsive design across all browsers and devices to ensure compatibility. Pages will be filled up with final SEO-optimized content, meta tag descriptions will be added and we’ll test the site again for overall user experience.
3. Launch — We launch your website with Google Analytics hooked up and provide support with any questions and further testing. We launch late at night to ensure little disruption and a more seamless user experience. Ultimately, you own the website. We can hand it off to you to manage or help you with different levels of support as needed.

This is all part of Out & About difference. Your goals are our goals. We operate as an extension of your team and are always a call away. We won’t just hand you a website and say, “good luck.” Together, we’ll map a strategic plan for you and we’re flexible enough to grow as your business grows.

Let’s dazzle your clients together. Contact us to get started.

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Hi there! My name is Kaithleen Apostol and I am Out & About’s digital communications intern for fall. 

Out & About is a team composed of bright, talented individuals, and I’m excited to be part of it! I’m a senior at the University of California, San Diego, pursuing my degree in communication. Having grown up alongside San Francisco’s thriving art scene, I’ve been a creative for as long as I can remember. Dabbling in photography, music and writing, I’ve always appreciated the arts. Now that I’m in college, I’ve had a plethora of experiences that have allowed me to explore my passions. I’m a social media maven in love with all things beauty, foodie and nerdy. When I’m not in the office, you can catch me out and about trying new restaurants found on Yelp, exploring Southern California, or building playlists on Spotify.

Hi there! My name is Kaithleen Apostol and I am Out & About’s digital communications intern for fall. Out & About is a team composed of bright, talented individuals, and I’m excited to be part of it! I’m a senior at the University of California, San Diego, pursuing my degree in communication. Having grown up alongside San Francisco’s thriving art scene, I’ve been a creative for as long as I can remember. Dabbling in photography, music and writing, I’ve always appreciated the arts. Now that I’m in college, I’ve had a plethora of experiences that have allowed me to explore my passions. I’m a social media maven in love with all things beauty, foodie and nerdy. When I’m not in the office, you can catch me out and about trying new restaurants found on Yelp, exploring Southern California, or building playlists on Spotify.

Hi there! My name is Kaithleen Apostol and I am Out & About’s digital communications intern for fall. Out & About is a team composed of bright, talented individuals, and I’m excited to be part of it! I’m a senior at the University of California, San Diego, pursuing my degree in communication. Having grown up alongside San Francisco’s thriving art scene, I’ve been a creative for as long as I can remember. Dabbling in photography, music and writing, I’ve always appreciated the arts. Now that I’m in college, I’ve had a plethora of experiences that have allowed me to explore my passions. I’m a social media maven in love with all things beauty, foodie and nerdy. When I’m not in the office, you can catch me out and about trying new restaurants found on Yelp, exploring Southern California, or building playlists on Spotify.