If you’re a business owner, you might have 99 worries, but what job recruiters think of your LinkedIn profile probably isn’t one of them. While Vivid Visual Solutions is here to help make your business successful (so you never have to join the workforce for another company again), we still think there’s plenty to learn from the way recruiters sort through job applicants.

[bctt tweet=”Marketing yourself for a job opening is a lot like marketing your business to clients. “] You have to prove you’re reliable, capable, and positive.

In fact, we recently read a study that had plenty of lessons for small business owners using social media to gain clients.

 

The Study

 

A study conducted by TheLadders, a career growth services company, showed job-seekers just how important their LinkedIn profile photos are. During the study, the eye movements of 30 job recruiters were tracked while viewing LinkedIn profiles of potential candidates over the course of ten weeks.

Here are some takeaways small business owners could learn from, too:

 

Your profile photo gets a lot of attention!

Good Linkedin Profile

If you’ve been following the Vivid Visual Solutions Blog, you know about the importance of using images in your social media posts. But guess what? Your profile photo is just as important! Recruiters in this study spent almost 20% of their time on a person’s profile photo. What do you want to bet that’s what your customers’ eyes do, too, when checking out your about page? Doesn’t it make sense to spend 20% of your time and money making this one image stand out? We think so!

Six Seconds to Wow

The study found that recruiters spent an average of just 6 seconds on each LinkedIn profile. Like recruiters, your potential clients and customers are busy people. And chances are, you’re not the only company they’re looking at. That means you need to wow potential clients instantly with a profile image that’s professional, appealing, and clear. Making users squint at a low resolution, confusing imagery, or tiny objects only hurts your chances of capturing their attention.

Take Focus

Many recruiters in the study were distracted by other imagery on candidates’ LinkedIn profiles, like ads, buttons, and breakout boxes. The same happens thing will happen on a cluttered webpage and other social media pages.Since social media platforms each have their own structure, there’s not much you can do to remove these distractions from your profile page on, say, Facebook or Twitter. But you can maximize the focal points of your images so they demand more user attention. Make your profile image stand out with appealing lines, color choices, and of course your beautiful smile!

(Have we mentioned you need a professional photo yet?)

Make it Professional!

Linkedin unprofessional profile pic

Can you imagine what these recruiters thought of less than professional images? Like job seekers, you have just seconds to tell potential clients that you are reliable, professional, and great to work with. So I’m sorry, ladies and gentleman, but that selfie you took on your last vacation or that shot of you enjoying a glass of wine at your favorite bar just isn’t going to cut it! To maximize your instant appeal you need a photo shoot with a professional photographer and branding coach to help maximize your image.

Luckily, Vivid Visual Solutions can help you with that! We can help you find a look that’s going to blow your clients away – and a photographer to capture it all. If you’re in the Detroit area, come join us for Sip and Makeup! If not, Contact Vivid Visual Solutions today to learn more!


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