Having a strong presence on Linkedin is a must for all kind of professionals and entrepreneurs as it allows you free personal and business branding. Moreover, it also helps you trigger sales even in the down economy. However, just showing up in Linkedin search results is not enough, your profile should explicitly exhibit a reason for people to connect with you. For instance, I am searching for Social Entrepreneurs and you are the one; why should I connect with you and not the other twenty or thirty people……

I won’t click on your profile link if I do not have a reason. So, if you have your profile headline filled with keywords only (because you feel this is how to optimize Linkedin profile), it is very likely that people will consider it as just another random profile. To stand out in the crowd, Your Linkedin profile headline should have a compelling content to attract prospects.

• Social Entrepreneur; helping organizations in change management
• Motivational Speaker; helping organizations increase productivity
• Social Media Architect; Redefining the Social Media Marketing

Above are few examples of short yet explanatory profile headlines. Now if I am searching for a Social Entrepreneur and any of the above headline strikes in the search results, I am sure, I will be connecting to the person because I know what exactly he does and I can have a fair idea of what he can do for my business.

Here are a few tips to give prospects a reason to connect with you on Linkedin.

1- Have Your Professional Picture in the Profile:
Although a picture is optional people want to see whom they are connecting to. Your profile image gives a finishing look to your profile and your profile is also considered to be trusted one. According to stats, profiles with pictures receive 60% more views than the profiles without pictures, so make sure you do not less those 60% go away. But, make sure to have a professional image, not a picture that was taken in a beach party!

2- Do not stuff keywords; as discussed earlier, stuffing keywords may help you appear in the search results, but you will not see any increase in profile views and connections until your profile looks valuable. Work on the profile headline without stuffing keywords and also make sure that first two sentences of your Linkedin profile summary are highly convincing.

3- Be Approachable and Friendly:
Most of the times, people want to connect with you, but your privacy settings do not allow them, especially when they do not have any common connection with you. Privacy settings are totally your personal concern, but when it comes to brand yourself or your business on a business network like Linkedin, make sure you are easily approachable.

The Bottom Line:
You cannot generate business from Linkedin if your profile is not convincing to the prospects, so make sure your profile headline and summary are convincing enough because these are the areas which people focus more on.