All SMEs need customers. A strong and complete business profile will help in the journey to landing more sales or deals. Whether you know it or not your business has been found through the profiles created online. The better they are, the more they are seen and those results will help you rank higher in search results.

That is what you want? Isn’t it?

Would you ever hire someone who only filled out half of your job application? Of course not! Similarly, an incomplete profile may lead to poor optics for your business. Being consistent and having a complete digital profile puts you in the best possible light for someone to engage with you. 

Why do you need to make sure that your profile is complete and professional?

If someone searches for your business you want to be found right away. Not only that, you want to dominate that first page of results. Today people don’t just trust the recommendations from one place anymore. Being consistent and having a complete digital profile puts you in the best possible light for someone to engage with you. If things are inconsistent or incomplete, what are the chances you inspire confidence in viewers? Slim at best. Would you ever hire someone who only filled out half of your job application? Of course not! An incomplete profile may lead to poor optics for your business.

Let’s make sure that doesn't happen to you. In our previous article we shared 7 easy hacks to improve your digital profile in one hour. In this post we share with you a list of seven things you need to do to get the maximum impact from your business profile. 

1. Get all the basic information in order and up-to date

This one is a no-brainer.  Make sure that your business information on your profile is current. There is nothing worse than someone interested trying to reach out only to receive a ‘return to sender’ e-mail. We suggest you create a document and list all the places your public profile lives online and list the most recent version of your information.

Pro tip for GlobalLinker:  Fill in all your profile details on GlobalLinker. Easy breezy isn’t it?

2. Optimise your company description/summary

One of the first things you need to update is your company description/summary. This is on every profile out there and can really make a difference.  It’s one of the first things people will read and the perfect opportunity to bring your company, products, or services to the forefront of your audience. Remember it should be keyword enriched to increase your search visibility.

Pro tip for GlobalLinker:  Update your company profile, explain more about your company, what do you do, list down your products and services, website address and social media handles.

3. Be visually appealing

People tend to look at pictures first and words second. Optimise your profile picture and pictures of your products and services for each digital network to make it look appealing. Make sure that the pictures you use are of high quality.

4. Share company news or content

You’ve spent the time to fill in all the blanks and make it visually appealing, now it’s time to add updates that are relevant to your business and industry. Maybe you want to post regarding a recent blog post, or share a very interesting research article. Showcase the most relevant content from your company to increased exposure.

Pro tip for GlobalLinker: The 'write an article' feature on GlobalLinker allows you to submit articles and blog posts easily. They are then featured on the 'Knowledge’ section and reflect on your profile as well.

5. Get your team involved

If your employees haven’t connected with your Company Profile, encourage them to do so, and be sure to write an endorsement to their personal page in return. Your employees’ networks will act as the second level to distribute any updates, news, articles for your business. When they share, you’re both winners and reaching a much larger audience.

6. Collect and give endorsements

Build trust for your business by engaging with your customers and asking them to give you an endorsement. Similarly, if you are working with a company and the experience has been nothing but positive, write an endorsement sharing your praise. After that, message them and ask if they could return the favor. The answer is almost always ‘yes’. Each endorsement is a positive public facing interaction building up your company’s social proof.

7. Join relevant groups

If there are groups where you have an active profile, joining and participating in relevant groups won’t just expand your network; it can improve your businesses SEO performance, too. Since the group names appear on your profile, search engines have no choice but to crawl the titles and share who you are and what you do. Try and find groups that speak specifically to your local market.

Pro tip for GlobalLinker: Use the ‘Groups’ feature on GlobalLinker to join specific industry or interest groups. This way you can start discussions, be part of conversations and learn about relevant updates in that particular industry.

There you have it! Remember that above all, your business profile is a professional tool that helps you build credibility, showcase your work, and glean on the expertise of other established experts in your industry. It’s extremely valuable, so make sure that you are focusing on maximising its impact.

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