As a multi-business owner, personal branding is something I have always been passionate about. Personal branding not only helps expand small businesses, but it also helps you, as a person, become more marketable. In my opinion, there is no better place to build your personal brand than LinkedIn. LinkedIn is known as a professional website where you can build your network and resume. So let’s jump into how to build your personal brand on LinkedIn by optimizing your profile, expanding your network, and posting intentionally.
1. Optimize Your Profile
Your LinkedIn profile is your online resume. You want it to be as professional and presentable as possible. It’s also important to consider what you want to be known for and what the purpose behind your personal brand is before you dive into optimizing your profile. In this section, it’s important to note, that I won’t be covering all the features on a LinkedIn profile, but several features you can focus on to stand out.
Profile Picture
Profile pictures have the power to attract, persuade, and sell. According to Hubspot.com, if you have a profile picture your profile is 14 times more likely to be viewed. Getting a professional headshot done with good lighting can be consequential for the success of your LinkedIn profile. Although headshots can be costly, they will pay off in the long run if you have increased traffic to your profile. As a little plug to my photography business, portraits are one of the
areas I specialize in. Reach out to me here, if you are interested in scheduling a shoot.
Headline
Headlines need to be compelling and eye-catching. Keywords can be used within your headline that you think potential customers or employers will search for. Some examples of keywords I have used before are, “photography,” “marketing,” or “business.” There are many headline generators present to help you come up with a starting point. Some examples are Taplio and Copy.ai.
Bio
The LinkedIn bio should be about a paragraph long. In your bio, you should include your role, your unique value proposition, and why you are passionate about your job. It is always okay to include a little bit about your personality as well. Semrush recommends including a good way for people to contact you.
Recommendations
Lastly, getting recommendations on LinkedIn is also important. Others will be able to see exactly what made you stand out as a team member, employee, or business owner. Although it may be intimidating at first, be bold and ask a few individuals to write you a recommendation and write them one in return to thank them for their contribution.
2. Expand Your Network
To me, relationships are one of the most significant parts of life. By expanding your network on LinkedIn, you get the opportunity to build more valuable relationships. You can multiply your connections in a variety of ways—by joining groups similar to your interests, engaging by commenting and liking others' posts, personalizing connection requests, and starting meaningful conversations from your posts.
LinkedIn Groups
First, you can join LinkedIn groups that help you engage your target audience. For example, some groups I am a part of on LinkedIn are a digital marketing and a marketing industry professionals’ group. By being active in the group, you open the opportunity for like-minded individuals in the group to view your profile and connect with you. Even if you didn’t have any mutual connections, being in the group together is a similarity.
Personalize Invites
If there is an individual you want to connect with, but don’t know personally, sending a personalized message with the request can be very helpful. Doing this helps provide context to why you want to add this individual to your network. In this message, you can talk about a mutual friend or an experience on their page that stood out to you. Shorter messages are more effective than longer messages in this context.
Connect with professionals who inspire you. These could be peers in your field. You can also connect with potential future customers if you are a business owner.
Share Content That Is Helpful To Others and Stay Engaged
Share valuable and insightful content that relates to who you are trying to reach with your account. This can be original content or curated content that is relevant to your business or personal brand. According to Hubspot, your goal should be to share information that speaks to the main challenge your target audience is looking to overcome. When your ideal target audience sees content that they like, they will be more likely to engage and continue following your account.
Sharing posts on your page that start meaningful conversations will help expand your reach and keep your audience engaged. Even commenting and liking individuals' posts you want to engage more with will make all the difference. For example, comment on posts made by thought leaders in your industry. Take the extra time to congratulate people when they obtain a new position or have a professional accomplishment. Reply to comments on your page and messages in your inbox promptly.
Know Your Audience
Knowing your goals and purpose behind your personal brand will help you know who your target audience should be. According to Hootsuite, LinkedIn analytics are a great way to find the specifics of the demographics of your current audience.
3. Post Intentionally
Establishing a strong personal brand involves being active on your profile through posting. To be truly intentional with your posts, you must consider post analytics, curating content, length of the caption, post timeframe, scheduling ahead of time, and other marketing tactics.
Analytics
In addition to knowing your audience, you can track the performance of your posts through LinkedIn analytics. By knowing your audience, you will be able to know what posts will resonate with them. If a type of post or topic continually has low engagement, it may be time to try something different.
Curate Content
Creating your posts is creative and original. However, be sure to share posts from other companies too. Don’t take on the underwhelming endeavor of creating all your posts. Share what would appeal to your target audience and what is in line with your personal brand goals. Pick several topics that you want to be known for and post about them often. For example, I like to post about photography, ministry, and entrepreneurship.
Caption Length and Content Statistics
For caption length, Hootsuite recommends making LinkedIn updates just 25 words for an ideal length. In addition, according to Hootsuite, using a photo to post gets a 2 times higher comment rate and videos get 5 times more engagement. You can experiment with which posts work best for your audience and goals, check your analytics, and adjust your strategy from there.
Marketing Tips
Hootsuite also recommends using “a hook above the fold.” This term makes the most sense when it comes to newspapers. Although screens don’t have a fold on them, “above the fold” refers to the words people can see on a post before they have to click to read more. The beginning of your post has to intrigue people so that they want to continue to read on.
Create content that shows your expertise and knowledge. Share personal stories or mistakes you’ve made. Another helpful posting tip is to place outbound links in the comments, not the post. The algorithm won’t show your post as much if it is linking to an outside source. Study LinkedIn influencer accounts and implement a couple of ideas for your account.
Post at Optimal Times
Another part of being intentional is posting at the times that are most likely to get the best engagement. According to Hootsuite, the best times to post are Tuesday and Wednesday at 9 a.m. However, it’s important to consider when the best time to post is for your specific audience. Thinking through when they are most likely to be online and engage will help you decide on the right times to post consistently.
Post Scheduling
If you post a lot, then it is wise to schedule your posts ahead of time. There are many post-scheduling resources out there such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Buffer. Creating your posts ahead of time will also help with time management. If you block off time to create and schedule posts, you will have the headspace to get the job done efficiently. It can be easier and more effective than trying to think of posts on the spot. You can also make your posts fit into a strategy and stick to a content calendar when you post them in advance.
Enthusiasm Trumps Perfection
Throughout this blog post, we’ve discussed the significance that enhancing your profile, expanding your connections, and being intentional with your posts have on your personal branding success on LinkedIn. As a final note, I want to encourage you that being passionate trumps doing every little thing perfectly. If you are enthusiastic, you will be more likely to enjoy taking time to improve your profile or brainstorm post ideas. Personal branding will become natural, due to your zeal.
Resources
Frost, A. (n.d.). Social Selling on LinkedIn: The Ultimate Guide. Blog.hubspot.com. https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/social-selling-linkedin.
Newberry, C. (2022, December 1). LinkedIn Marketing Strategy: 17 Tips for 2023. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-marketing-strategy/.
13 LinkedIn Marketing Strategies You Wish You Created & Why They Work. (n.d.). Semrush Blog. https://www.semrush.com/blog/linkedin-marketing/.
To learn more about LinkedIn marketing, go read my colleague Trevor's post here.
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