Since the beginning of the great pandemic, the global workplace has changed dramatically. While many businesses have begun to return to the office, others have chosen to continue working from home (WFH) or in a hybrid environment.
Many professionals have begun to recognize the importance of developing their personal brand and increasing their visibility on LinkedIn as a result of this new business norm. After all, LinkedIn is the world’s largest business social network, and it’s where most business networking takes place these days.
So, if you want to advance in your business or professional career, now is the best time to start. Here are ten things you can do right now to start building your LinkedIn personal brand.
1. Begin by fine-tuning your profile’s header
You should begin by optimizing your LinkedIn profile if you want people to notice you. The following sections make up the Profile page:
- The Header
- About
- Experience
- Education
- Awards and Recognition
- Articles
- Groups
- Recommendations
These sections will be discussed later. But let’s start with the header, which will help to attract people who want to learn more about you.
You should use a professional but friendly profile photo of yourself to create an appealing header. Take several photos of yourself and choose the one that best reflects your best features. In general, your photo should portray you as a professional who is also charming and approachable.
Use your header’s background as a visual portfolio. Yes, you are free to use a background photo of your hometown, family, or even your dog.
However, showcasing thumbnail images of work and accomplishments that you are particularly proud of, whether you’ve written a book, research paper, or another project, is a more effective use of the background.
You can also post a photo of yourself in action, such as when you’re giving a presentation or working on-site with colleagues.
Last but not least, there’s the title.
While your current job title is the default, you can add descriptive phrases that friends and colleagues have used to describe you and your work.
For example, in the headline, you could say “Writer | Author | Editor,” but you could also say “Copywriter Who Brings In Sales.” People will be drawn to your LinkedIn page if you use such self-promotion techniques.
2. Make your About section more appealing
You don’t have to include all of your achievements in your About section. You can do that with the Experience, Education, and Awards and Recognition sections.
Use your About page to discuss your company’s goals, mission, and vision, as well as how they relate to the services you’ll provide.
Write about your hobbies and interests to add a personal touch. Keep in mind that LinkedIn has a high search engine ranking, so make sure to include some keywords that will help people find you on Google.
3. Make your Experience, Education, and Awards & Recognition sections bullet lists
For easy reading, make a bullet list of your achievements and accomplishments in the Experience, Education, and Awards & Recognition sections.
You can also include visual media, such as photos and videos, to further enrich these sections. Add keywords for easy searching in online search engines, just like you did in your About section.
4. Use LinkedIn to publish articles
LinkedIn allows you to publish articles with your opinions, professional advice, and even personal thoughts. Publishing articles on LinkedIn can help you not only connect with and engage with people in your field, but it can also help you build your credibility and, as a result, your personal brand.
In the Articles section of your Profile page, don’t forget to link to any articles you’ve written. Make a point of publishing one to two articles per day.
5. Create a LinkedIn profile
After you’ve optimized your LinkedIn Profile page, the next step is to expand your network. Begin by connecting with family members, friends, former classmates, and coworkers who have LinkedIn accounts.
These people may be able to connect you with friends and contacts who work in your field. LinkedIn also allows you to connect with industry leaders and other reputable individuals. Always include a personal message in your emails, which includes a brief introduction of yourself and why you’d like to connect with them.
Read How to Succeed at B2B Marketing on LinkedIn.
6. Make your LinkedIn experience more personal
You should learn from other people’s resources on LinkedIn to help you build your personal brand. You have the option of sharing these resources on your LinkedIn page and/or expressing your thoughts.
If someone in your LinkedIn network doesn’t post articles or other media related to your field, you can unfollow them so their posts don’t clutter your news feed, but you’ll still be connected to them.
7. Participate in LinkedIn Groups
Joining LinkedIn groups allows you to connect with people who are not in your network but are in your field of work. Groups can be a great place to learn from seasoned professionals in your field. These same people can assist you in developing your personal brand if you have a higher level of engagement.
8. Sign up for SlideShare
Develop your personal brand by promoting and sharing your content on SlideShare outside of LinkedIn. SlideShare allows you to engage your audience with more than just articles and PowerPoint presentations. You can also share videos and infographics.
9. Use basic analytics to track your progress
You need to know if your efforts and strategies for building your personal brand are paying off. Fortunately, LinkedIn provides basic analytics so you can monitor the progress and engagement of your posts and other content with your target audience.
10. Make use of video or live streaming
If you’re comfortable in front of the camera, creating video content or live streaming is a great way to boost your personal branding. If you’re just getting started, you can simply record yourself sharing thoughts and ideas for your LinkedIn network using your smartphone camera. Video recording tools like Loom are another way to record yourself.
When you’re more comfortable with video and being on camera, check out tools like Streamyard, which allows you to live stream to a platform while creating a studio live experience. You can even invite people to watch your live stream with you.
Conclusions
While there are numerous ways to develop your personal brand on LinkedIn, we recommend focusing on one or two, to begin with. You can move on to more of the strategies we’ve shared as you implement them or find success with them.
The most important thing is to begin doing something right now. On LinkedIn, you can expect strong personal branding and thriving professional networks.
Learn more from business and read What Is Personal Branding and How Does It Work? Here’s Why It’s Critical.
