Build your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
Whether you’re on LinkedIn with bare bone information or you’re pretty active but get crickets results … this blog is for you because I share with you how you can stand out without being loud; without spending hours on the platform; without spending a cent on it and most importantly, without creating a ton of content.
Sounds too good to be true?
Well, keep reading to find out …
Want to take it up a notch then I have you sorted there as well!
Download your free checklist HERE so you can make the platform work for you!
Truth bomb: getting active on LinkedIn has been the best thing I have done to build my Personal Brand.
Like, ever.
For so many reasons.
It helped me to transition career, not one but 3 times.
First, it was the transition from marketing where I didn’t spend a single minute on LinkedIn to then recruitment where I literally spent most of my day on it – initially to teach myself how to use it and then of course, to use it as business tool)
This first shift didn’t just help me to establish myself in a completely new industry and profession very quickly, but it also fast tracked my career progression from there on:
I got invited to speak at workshops and conferences, was engaged by large companies to train their teams, could connect to decision makers without having to find ways to bypass roadblocks, I could speed up the time those people engage with me through putting out content that established a relationship before there officially was one.
One of my favorite examples is getting one of my board roles where the chair reached out to me after having followed my LinkedIn journey for a bit and mentioned in our very first meeting that he thought he already knew me and my combination of authority, personality and community was exactly what the board needed.
I didn’t have to pitch myself.
I also didn’t have to negotiate on price with companies because they already bought into what I stood for and my online presence supported that image.
And that’s a big one here:
We make decisions about someone in split seconds, if it’s online or offline.
This is how our brains are wired. And I always say- perception is reality. And since we can only make a good first impression once, it is very much your responsibility to ensure that you’re happy with what people perceive about you.
Now speaking of first impression – let’s talk about LinkedIn.
Why?
Because LinkedIn is SEO Gold!
Google sees LinkedIn as trusted source of information so your profile comes up on top.
Don’t believe me?
Take the test yourself and google your name.
See what the first results are.
I bet that your LinkedIn profile (given you have one already) is one of your first few results.
Question is – what will people see when they land on your profile?
‘Let’s not talk about that’ I can hear you say?
That’s what most of my clients would respond with but today I’ll share with you what you can do straight away to change that, change your perception, change your reach and with that, change the opportunities you’ll be able to get exposed to!
It doesn’t matter if you’re on active (as in actually posting) on LinkedIn or just have a profile there – you should see results in one or another way.
When I’m talking about results, I mean:
- Getting tapped on the shoulder for job opportunities by recruiters and companies
- Being contacted for speaking engagements
- Bypassing roadblocks and get in touch with decision makers directly
- … the list goes on.
LinkedIn is a powerful Brand and career builder and booster if you know how to use it the right way.
It comes down to nailing 3 activities:
Clear profile and compelling presence
Consistent and engaging content
Building connections and a diverse network
Now let’s start with your profile
Because before you consider to create any fancy content and get active on the feed, you want to optimise this first.
See it as your landing page, this is usually the first point of contact people have with you.
Now what do they see?
Is it clear what you stand for?
What your area of expertise is?
How you do things differently?
What will they remember when they leave your profile? Anything? Maybe nothing at all?
There are a few ways how you can communicate your Brand on your profile, from:
Profile picture
Having a profile pic that doesn’t just look like you but conveys a feeling you want to have other people associate with you
Things to consider:
do not not have a profile picture
keep it up to date
only person in the shot
high resolution (not blurry)
no sunglasses, caps etc
wear what you usually wear or what is suitable to the work environment
mind the background (not too crowded or distracting)
ideally have natural light
Need help with your shots?
Check out our next 1h Express Personal Brand shoot here (every last Saturday of the month)
Your backdrop
The standard setting shows you the generic blue banner behind your profile photo.
Didn’t know you could change that?
Well, there you go.
It’s actually the marketing real estate for your Brand Nr1 as images are 60,000x faster processed than text alone.
So you want to use it for your area of expertise, your speciality, your passion, maybe a promotion for something. You can change the banner and use it for different reasons.
Your summary
This is where you want to tell your story rather than just list your roles.
Leave that for the experience section.
In the summary section you want people to get to know you by sharing:
your story how you got to where you are,
what you’re excited about
what your interests are
what are some of your highlights you’re proud of and of course-
what’s the best way to get in touch with you.
Ideally it should be a good intro to your secret sauce, the intersection of your character, your credible credentials and your competency. If you have no idea what am I talking about, go back to this blog as I share with you what it takes to identify your Secret Sauce
Experience section:
This is where you add your roles but I always recommend to add any experience, incl volunteer roles, projects you work on, associations you belong to etc. It’s a great way to showcase your breath of experience but also your involvement.
For example if you’re an IT professional but you also coach U18 in basketball, you can showcase your coaching abilities, your involvement in sports, your give insights into your character to actually volunteer, you also show experience in a different industry/ environment compared to your day job.
What it does it highlights your diverse skill sets (and this is so important if you want to build a portfolio career and/or transition into a new career or industry) but also helps you gain industry experience that makes a switch easier.
Skills:
This section is often neglected but it is pure SEO gold since you can literally focus on keywords that you want people to associate with you. So when they look for certain skill sets or industry experience, your profile should come up if you do it right. Get rid of the skills you don’t want to be known for anymore and hone in on those that are relevant for your current, but also for your next career.
On top of that, it also is a ‘social proof’ section as people can endorse you for those skills. It’s nice but not nearly as powerful as our very last part to focus on, and that is:
Your recommendation section:
This is where you can get written and more in depth feedback from people you’ve worked with, reported to, contracted for … even character references from people you attended the same course are relevant because you’d have worked on a project together etc. You want to see the common theme there, what do people value and appreciate in you? What do they associate with you? That’s a good indicator if you’re on the right track with building your Brand or if you need to make some twist on how you interact and come across.
Now let’s talk about the 2nd part to building your Personal Brand on LinkedIn.
That is:
Compelling and consistent content.
Again- this is a topic I could talk about for another 3 days straight so I’ll do a separate episode on it but just so much:
If you don’t get traction – don’t blame it on the algorithm, because chances are … it probably hasn’t got a single thing to do with it.
Because, here’s the thing.
The LinkedIn algorithm (like other social media platforms) is actually fairly simple.
And even MORE than that? It’s also FAIR.
At the end of the day, LinkedIn wants to make money.
That’s how the world works.
BUT! Here’s the cool bit.
They make money from advertising.
And, in order for that advertising to be valuable, they need engaged users on the platform.
Users won’t stick around unless they LOVE the content on there.
And so, the LinkedIn algorithm is set up to show people what they like, engage with and makes them come back for more.
That’s it.
Simple, and it’s that hard.
Some tips to get you started and make your content more compelling and with that,
helping in building your Brand (rather than damaging it):
1) Be clear: share content that is aligned with your (ideal) position (or what you want to get into). Focus on content that is related to your profession, industry and/or interests which is connected to your professional positioning.
Stay away from content that adds noise to this very noisy world.
I’m talking about content that is out of context (eg showing your lunch plate when you’re not a nutritionist or connect it with a business meeting that is aligned with your profession)
2) Be consistent. Whether it’s committing to showing up once a week or daily. Stick to it and make it a habit. You only build trust by repetition and give people a chance to get to know you.
3) Alternate content and avoid people getting bored. Switch between educational, entertaining, inspirational and every now and then promotional posts.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they only post when they have something to sell, have a job vacancy, promote an upcoming event … that gets boring.
No one wants to be sold to but everyone wants to buy.
If it’s a follow up from some education and some inspirational posts on transitions that the product or service has been able to achieve … different story.
Finally, let’s talk connection.
We all heard that your network = your net worth.
However, it’s your diverse network that gets you to your next career opportunity.
Never before has it been any easier to connect with decision makers directly; to get insides from the source; to get in touch with people you look up to and want to learn from.
This is what LinkedIn allows you to do.
4 in 5 people on LinkedIn drive business decisions and that means – you can get in front of the right people when done the right way.
The easiest way to get on their radar is to engage in their posts and articles, comment and share it. What this engagement does is giving them a notification about it.
They will then check out your profile and depending if you’ve done your home work, aka: optimised your profile and created some content that gives some insights into your area of expertise, experience and approach, they will be more likely to continue the conversation.
This is exactly what LinkedIn (and every other social media platform) is all about: starting the conversation, create some awareness, build relationships. It’s not a deal closer because deals come from relationships and they’re built over time.
And so is your Personal Brand.
Now there you have it … the 3 steps to build your Personal Brand on LinkedIn.
Is it a quick fix?
Definitely not.
Is it your insurance?
You bet it is!
Now it’s your turn!
Connect with me on LinkedIn and share with me what you’re doing to build your Personal Brand.
Don’t forget – I created a cheat sheet for you that covers all 3 steps we just discussed, from your profile to content and connections.
Get yours HERE
