LinkedIn is the place to be for business owners, corporate executives, and professionals that want to connect with other people in their field and with potential clients or hiring managers. It also happens to be the fastest growing social network in the world and it is getting increasingly harder for professionals to stand out from the crowd.

Advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather put together a fantastic infographic that outlines 5 Ways to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Irresistible.

The following is my summary of the key points that they outlined in the infographic:

1. Keywords in your profile

– In many ways LinkedIn is a search engine. If you don’t make use of keywords in your professional headline, summary, and experiences then your profile is not going to be easily found by the people that you need to see it.

2. Who do you want to be seen as?

– Ensure that you are very clear about who you are and what you stand for, and that your public brand matches up to the real life you so that when you meet people offline then you will match up to the impression they formed while online.

3. Tell us your story

– Make sure that your work history and connections provide some good flow about how you got to where you are now. People do business with people and they want to understand who you are and how you got there.

4. Use a Professional Profile Photo

– This is an opportunity for your prospects and clients to meet you before meeting you in real life. Your profile photo needs to be great!

5. Personalize Your Profile Link

– It shocks me how many people and businesses are still using generic email addresses provided by their internet service provider rather than using a custom email address tied to their business domain name. this just gives a bad impression and isn’t professional. Using the generic LinkedIn profile address (with a long string of numbers and letters) instead of customizing it with your name or business gives the same impression. Take advantage of the opportunity to present a cohesive and professional brand whenever you possibly can.

The photo you choose for your professional profile image on your company website, LinkedIn, and other social media marketing tools sends a strong message about who you are and what you believe. If you use a professional photo that shows that you take yourself and your business seriously then your profile will be taken equally seriously.

Many will argue that having a bad photo is better than having no photo at all, but it’s definitely a debatable point and there is no clear winner here. Having a bad photo and having no photo on LinkedIn will both leave a bad first impression for hiring managers or potential clients for your business services. The only clear answer is that you need to have a great photo on your LinkedIn profile.