photographer shooting a young business woman in a photography studio Rent a professional to take your headshot. The photograph is a first impression, and a starting betoken for establishing trust and credibility. (Shutterstock/LightField Studios)

Keeping your business—or professional person cocky—upwardly with the times could be equally simple as revamping your LinkedIn profile. This professional person platform is no minor fry when it comes to edifice a network in a digital world. According to OmnicoreAgency.com, of the more than 560 meg LinkedIn users worldwide, 5.5 million are accountants. Clearly, it'due south a platform our industry deems valuable. So, what does this mean for the more than 210,000 Canadian CPAs?

Here are some key tips from LinkedIn specialist, Stacy Maynard, on maximizing your contour's presence to engage, and sustain, existing and future connections.

ADD A GOOD HEADSHOT

As a concern and accounting professional person, this is no place to skimp, says Maynard, whose concern focuses on edifice personal brands in a digital globe. No desk selfies, vacation photos or images with your dog. Hire a professional to accept your headshot. The photo is a first impression, and a starting indicate for establishing trust and credibility.

"These are people that nosotros expect up to in the globe, and really value who they are and the education that they have behind them," says Maynard. Additionally, choose a embrace photo visually in line with your brand for consistency'south sake.

INCLUDE YOUR CREDENTIALS

Make sure your professional credentials are positioned following your proper noun, says Maynard. Rules effectually designations vary by province in terms of club, type, whether affiliated with a business firm or self-directed. In most provinces, professionals pb with the CPA designation first, followed by legacy designations (upwardly until 10 years later the CPA designation was adopted). Check with you local CPA torso for province-specific obligations including CPA Ontario, CPA Alberta, CPA Quebec and CPA Nova Scotia.

"This is an manufacture where the professional designations carry a lot [of weight]…and are [oftentimes] recognized worldwide," she explains.

USE AN ENGAGING HEADLINE

This is an opportunity to exhale life into those designations. Use the 120 characters, just below your headshot and business title/credentials, to differentiate yourself, says Maynard, be information technology with the clients you serve, approach you lot accept or services you offering. "Focus on who you are, what you exercise and who y'all help," she says.

If you specialize in a item clientele, such as female entrepreneurs or peradventure family unit finances, let that be known off the top, she adds.

"That'due south a big area when it comes to the fiscal industry considering people [clients] want to make sure that you specialize in who they are as a person."

SUM It Upward SMARTLY

Be strategic when choosing keywords (such as accountant, bookkeeper, professional accountant, CFO) to include in the career summary and experience sections. Think of your industry, of course, but also consider the users you hope to accomplish and what they will search for.

"This is not a place to exist fancy when it comes to words because people are looking for specific things and for a specific professional," says Maynard.

HIGHLIGHT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

This is where Maynard feels financial professionals miss out. Rather than just listing your roles and tasks, explain how y'all achieved results or evoked alter at an organization. Bullet bespeak specific metrics, if applicable.

"There are lots of people out there who believe that they know what a CFO is, or that they know what a CPA is," she says. "I disagree…what their accomplishments are, I think, needs to be a bigger part of their profile."

TAKE Advantage OF VIDEO MEDIA

Putting yourself upfront behind the video camera—for case, offering tips and communication or showcasing your latest speaking engagement—builds rapport and trust with users who land on your contour. It's another opportunity to reinforce your brand and phonation, while emphasizing what you take on offer.

"With financial professionals the trust is then huge because I'm taking my money to you, so existence able to accept an opportunity to see them talk [allows us] to see them in action, instead of just a photograph," she says.

However, be sure the content you post adheres to whatever industry regulations or compliance requirements, adds Maynard.

TARGET YOUR TESTIMONIALS

Maynard's No. 1 tip: avoid seeking testimonials from colleagues—past or present—if new clients are what you're seeking. Testimonials are an opportunity to showcase how those you have served feel about your service and treatment. How branch you lot were to piece of work with or whether you took the team out for lunch one time a month are nice-to-haves but doesn't mean much to prospective clients. Instead, request results-focused feedback that says exactly what your client got out of working with you.

"Sure, we desire to work with dainty people, but when we are talking near money and we are talking about finances, [nosotros] want to see results," shares Maynard. "Results-focused recommendations carry a lot more weight with this manufacture."

BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP ABILITIES

Join LinkedIn influencer, Tom Hood, for a hands-on workshop in Toronto on February 27, 2019, to identify trends that are drivers of change for your organization.