Your personal brand is your image. The right image can get you that job, attract people to your business, and win over connections that you would have never stood a chance with otherwise. Boosting your personal brand on LinkedIn should be a priority whether you are the manager of a large firm or launching your first startup.
Boosting your personal brand requires time and effort. You have to commit to using LinkedIn if you are going to make your mark on 400 million users. These simple tips will show you how to use LinkedIn.
Tip #1 – LinkedIn is Not X Social Network
It’s easy to treat all social media networks the same. And that’s because most of them are the same. What you post on Instagram may be transferred to Pinterest. What you post on Facebook can be shortened to go on Twitter. You don’t have to put much thought into what you post.
LinkedIn is different. The best thing you can do for your personal brand is to publish unique content on LinkedIn. It’s worthwhile to link it to your other social media networks, but this isn’t the same as simply copying your Facebook update for LinkedIn.
Tip #2 – Fill Out Your Profile
This is the simplest tip of them all, and yet people fail to do it time and time again. It’s a time-consuming process to completely fill out your LinkedIn profile, and yet if you put the effort in it can make such a difference.
Many people will view your profile before they consider formally connecting with you. Make your profile public and allow people to find out about you first. This will encourage people to find out about who you are as a brand.
Tip #3 – A Professional Tone
It’s good to innovate and to think outside the box. But that doesn’t mean you should go against what everyone else is doing. LinkedIn is different to every other social media network because it’s the one network that adopts a professional manner. Whenever you are filling out your profile or writing to someone, make sure you adopt at least a semi-formal tone.
Avoid any slang or shortened words. This is the easiest way to not generate business leads on LinkedIn.
Tip #4 – Can the Default Messages
LinkedIn has a default message for everything. Whether you’re connecting with someone or just asking to be invited to join a group, you will notice default text populating your window. It’s tempting to save time by sending this, but this is really a huge mistake.
Anyone who has used LinkedIn for a certain length of time is well aware of what the default text says. If you send it, you are sending the message that you don’t really care about that person. They are not worth a personalized message. You are not serious about forming a relationship with them.
Cancel these default messages and write something personal. It can be a rewritten version of the default message, if you like, but the point is you have done something different. You have gone out of your way to respect that person.
Tip #5 – Participate in Group Chats
The easiest way to spread your reputation as an authority in your field is to participate in group chats. Give people the benefit of your wisdom by answering questions and posting opinions on current topics.
This is where LinkedIn can become time-consuming because it can take many hours out of your working week to get this done. But it’s what most people don’t do, so that fact alone is going to make you stand out from the crowd. Choose only relevant group chats. For an added bonus, you should target the groups that your prospects are members of. To build authority is a great way to create connections.
Tip #6 – Take the Relationship Away from LinkedIn
Building your personal brand is one thing, but it doesn’t mean anything unless you can make that personal brand work for you. Whenever you connect with a lead on LinkedIn, offer a face-to-face meeting or the chance to exchange email addresses. Get the relationship away from LinkedIn so you can advance the relationship early.
This is a statement of intent and this statement could make all the difference with your ability to turn that lead into a customer or something more.
Tip #7 – Recommendations
Finally, wherever you can, have people recommend you for certain skills. Repay the favor and this will help you to craft a profile filled with skills that other members can vouch for. These are essentially brand testimonials.
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