How you can build your personal branding on LinkedIn
Seven easy tips to create your personal branding on this fabulous platform.
As a social media marketer, I help my clients identify the benefits, plan and execute tactical marketing campaigns to get maximum reach and outcomes for their brands on different social media platforms. For clients whose target audience are B2B customers, my advice would be for them to have a social media footprint on LinkedIn. There is a misconception among some that LinkedIn is only a job search or recruitment platform. However, it is beyond that. It is one of the best channels to build relationships, raise your expertise profile, get new customers, and find new business opportunities.
According to LinkedIn, there are 627 million users in 200 countries and regions worldwide. Made up of affluent professionals, decision-makers, and business leaders, it is one of the top marketing channels for B2B businesses. Here are some easy tips on how you can join on the LinkedIn bandwagon and turn it into a lead generation platform for you.
1.Choose your most flattering and professional image
Make a positive first impression by displaying your most flattering picture. It should shout out your personality as well as your professional image. Consider either a close-up face shot (up to your shoulders) or a half-body shot with a clear, clean background. Keep the image size to 400 x 400 pixels and under 10MB. A picture says a thousand words, especially on such a professional platform. If need be, consider hiring a professional photographer to help you take your best shots.
2. Utilise your LinkedIn owned property
Take advantage of the ample rectangle space at the top of the LinkedIn page as your advertising property. Design a banner that displays your brand logo or tagline. If the budget is tight, use free tools such as Canva or Crello to create simple yet pretty banners. If you are a professional speaker or trainer, you can display an image of your last workshop or the cover of your latest book. Alternatively, you can choose an image to describe or depict your business or your profession. The banner is not cast in stone. So, change it anytime when you need to.
3. Create a compelling title, headline or your unique selling proposition
Your title should reflect your current role. After your picture, the next thing people will notice is your title or designation, so treat it like your brand tagline. If you are a birth coach, your title can reflect Certified Birth Coach. If you own a consultancy firm, you can indicate, Founder and Consultant of XYZ Pte Ltd. While there have been some suggestions to reflect what you can offer in a few words, such as ‘I help business grow their sales by 100% in 1 month,’ I prefer a specific title for easy reference. Find something that works best for you.
4. Develop an engaging elevator pitch on your summary page
Maximise your summary page and treat it like your elevator pitch to potential recruiters, clients, employers or, even potential new hires. Describe your role and your achievements. It can also include a short brief of what you are passionate about outside of work such as mentoring or volunteering activities. If you are yet to complete university or just graduated from college, do not fret. Indicate the various roles you held in your university student clubs and the significant achievements. What about your internships and involvement in other relevant work stints? These can be a start as well.
5. Personalise your LinkedIn URL
Rather than having a public LinkedIn URL that has a bunch of mashed alphabets and numbers, edit and change your public profile LI URL to your own name such as linkedin.com/in/kartinarosli. This way, it will make it easier for people to find you when they search your name on search engines or the LinkedIn platform.
6. Share your knowledge and increase your visibility
One of the best ways to generate awareness of your expertise and build connections with like-minded professionals or raise your profile as a thought leader is through actively publishing regular posts and articles on LinkedIn. Share your knowledge, cross-share information, and engage in other people’s posts as well. If you need help to curating and managing your social media, connect with a social media management agency who can help you do just that.
7. Build strong connections with people who matters
LinkedIn is a great platform to connect with fellow professionals with similar interests, exchange knowledge, and find potential customers. Do send a personalised note when you add a new connection by introducing yourself and say how you resonate with their story, posts or experience. A note of precaution. Just like dating, you do not say ‘I love you’ on the first date and scare your potential life partner away. Thus, avoid bombarding your connections by selling your products and solutions immediately. Work on building relations first.
These are some of the easy steps to start building personal brand on LinkedIn. The key to having a good experience on LinkedIn is to publish quality and consistent content and most of all, be respectful of the people who use this platform. Do you have any other tips to help start building a personal brand on LI? Share your tips at the comments below.
