How to build your personal brand on linkedin

With 575 million registered members worldwide, and 25 million in the UK alone, LinkedIn is the world’s biggest B2B social media network. If you want to grow your network and reach a bigger audience, it is essential that you create a stand-out personal brand on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn can feel intimidating to people when they are just starting out, and I often hear entrepreneurs complain that “no one is seeing my posts”.

To get the most from LinkedIn, and all personal branding, you have to be brave and be your authentic self. Stop being afraid of the professional social network and put the fun back into your LinkedIn posts.

Set aside a bit of time every day to explore the platform. You’ll soon see that LinkedIn is much friendlier than it used to be and offers considerable networking opportunities.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PROFILE STAND OUT?

Your LinkedIn profile is your shop window for the world, so make sure it makes a great first impression.  

In the latest episode of Wunderbar The Marketing Efficiency Show I show you how to create a stand-out personal brand on LinkedIn in less than an hour and get found by more of the right people who you want to work with.

THESE FIVE SIMPLE STEPS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED TODAY TO IMMEDIATELY BOOST YOUR LINKEDIN PROFILE:

1. Have a top-notch profile photo on LinkedIn– this is a prime marketing opportunity, and the first thing people will notice about your profile, why would you waste it?
2. Get your keywords into your tagline and personal summary– for more tips on this watch my video
3. Ensure all your information is up to date
4. Add all your contact details, company website and social media handles
5. Complete the personal summary and experience sections with your proudest achievements and add plenty of media files!

One of my favourite tips for giving your profile that extra oomph is to upload an eye-catching banner image (the image behind your profile picture). Even if you are not a designer, it’s easy to create a banner image with a free design tool such as Canva.

Your banner image needs to be on brand and show off what you stand for or are passionate about, for example:

• If you are a designer, you need to make a visual splash with your banner image
• If you are a disruptive tech consultant, people wouldn’t expect to see you walking in nature – make it something techy
• If you are a fitness trainer, don’t show a photo of yourself in a suit – it will be much more impactful to show you leading a fitness class

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR REACH WITH YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ON LINKEDIN?

Now your profile is drawing attention for all the right reasons, you need to increase your reach and get more engagement for your posts.

Unfortunately, there is no quick solution to get your posts seen by more of the right people. It takes time and work to train LinkedIn into understanding that your posts are popular. I recommend these 7 techniques:

1. Comment on 5 posts in your network before posting something yourself
2. Don’t send people away from the platform – sharing external links is a killer for reach
3. Share your most popular blogs as long-form articles directly onto the platform – posting regularly and consistently is key here, as well as engaging with people when they comment
4. When posting, tag people in your friendly tribe – they are likely to comment on your posts
5. Create videos that share tips and pose questions – right now video is the best medium on LinkedIn for reach
6. Experiment with different types of posts as well – try text-only posts that pose interesting questions
7. Use the new hashtag feature to add relevant hashtags and make your post searchable

There are more tips for boosting your impact on LinkedIn in this episode of Wunderbar The Marketing Efficiency Show. I also share time-saving tips for growing your network on LinkedIn, even if you only have a small audience to start with.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Do you need help to grow your LinkedIn presence? I offer bespoke training to fit your goals and schedule. Get in touch for an exploratory chat.

It all starts with a review of your profile and actionable tips from me. Together we formulate your LinkedIn goals, followed by coaching sessions to help you grow in confidence, be equipped to navigate the ever-changing LinkedIn landscape and start using the platform to your full advantage.

I get a real kick out of helping entrepreneurs optimise their LinkedIn profile, and have a great network of experienced copywriters and designers to make you sound and look fabulous on LinkedIn.

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