Get ready to update your LinkedIn profile.
The professional social network is rolling out a new profile element which will enable users to showcase key achievements and updates in a separate 'Featured' section right at the top of their LinkedIn profile.
As explained by LinkedIn:
"The Featured section allows you to showcase samples of your work to people who view your LinkedIn profile. This is a great way to provide evidence of your skills and experience."
As you can see below, the new section will sit below your main profile header, and above your Activity listing.
Users will be able to add any of their LinkedIn posts to their Featured listing, while you'll also be able to add links to external websites (for example your personal blog or portfolio), images and/or documents, in order to showcase specific aspects and achievements to your profile visitors.
According to LinkedIn, Featured has been a highly requested update, and aside from enabling users to showcase key aspects of their professional capabilities, it will also enable freelancers and/or small business owners to share more about the services they offer by highlighting their work directly on their profiles.
To add something to your Featured listing, you'll be able to select a new 'Featured' star below updates in your activity feed, which will then add that content to your Featured section.
LinkedIn notes that you need to have "authored and published a post or article on the LinkedIn platform to be able to add it to your Featured section". But that's not a huge limitation - for example, you could post a LinkedIn update that links direct to your business home page, then add that link into your Featured section, providing a direct business referral from your LinkedIn page.
Once you’ve added some to your Featured section, you'll then be able to edit how it's displayed, and re-order the content. You'll also be able to delete anything from your Featured section at any time.
It's a significant addition from LinkedIn, providing a whole new way to demonstrate your professional competencies, achievements, services and more.
There's a range of ways in which it could be used - already some people are using it showcase articles they've written, YouTube videos, and more (as in this example from Julia Bramble).
But the option is not widely available as yet. LinkedIn is in the process of rolling the feature out to all users - so if you don't see it yet, it'll be coming shortly.
So, time to get thinking - what are the key elements that you want to highlight on your LinkedIn profile, the key links that you want to direct people to which best showcase your skills and experience.
As noted, there's a heap of ways this can be utilized - you can read more about the specifics of the new section here, while LinkedIn says that it's aiming for a broader roll-out beginning next month.
