You embody your business—the representation that clients encounter when engaging with your products or services. Therefore, developing your personal brand is essential and non-negotiable.
A common struggle for numerous business owners lies in becoming entangled in the day-to-day operations, overlooking the crucial time required to strategically market themselves and develop their personal brands.
What they overlook is that they act as a direct representation of their brand. This brand becomes their signature, and it’s vital to remember that fixing a negative first impression is a challenging task.
Creating an identity and a thriving personal brand not only helps distinguish oneself from peers but also generates more leads, attracts additional business, and ultimately boosts business income.
LinkedIn stands as an excellent avenue for constructing your personal brand, and I have some insights to share today to assist you in shaping your brand on the platform.
Here are some key recommendations for building your personal brand:
Identify Keywords For Visibility:
- Pinpoint the keywords you aim to rank for and incorporate them throughout your profile. For instance, if you’re a sales coach, utilise words your potential clients are likely to search for, such as Sale, Sales Training, Sales Management.
- Once you discern your keywords, integrate them into your headline, job title, summary, about section, experience, and consistently across your profile.
- Selecting the right keywords can make a substantial impact and determine whether your profile surfaces in search results.
Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile Headline:
This segment offers you a space to clarify to your audience your identity, your role, and how you can support them. With only 120 characters, it’s the perfect opportunity to be extremely precise about your expertise and, crucially, the challenges you address for your clients.
Feel free to use my profile as an exemple:
Optimise Your Profile Summary:
This segment provides a perfect chance to express your identity and professional role, allowing a substantial 2000 characters to communicate your message. Consider integrating the following components:
- Present a genuine portrayal of yourself in your own voice.
- Express how you effectively address your client’s challenges.
- Offer clear instructions on how clients can connect with you.
- Conclude with a clear and compelling call to action.
Update Your Profile Image:
Taking on the task of enhancing your profile and building your personal brand requires an impeccable profile photo right from the start. Creating a positive first impression for visitors to your profile is crucial. To achieve this, follow these tips for the ideal profile image:
- Ensure you are the sole subject in the image, capturing undivided attention.
- Choose a background that complements rather than distracts from your headshot, keeping it uncluttered and straightforward. Refer to my profile picture example at the end of this section for guidance.
- Align the background with your profile header for a cohesive visual presentation.
- Utilise soft, natural light to enhance the overall quality of the image.
- Opt for a high-quality HD image to exude professionalism and attention to detail.
When uploading your background image make sure to use the appropriate sizing, your logo image should be 268 (w) x 268 (h) pixels in size.
Revamp and Brand Your LinkedIn Cover Photo:
Just as your profile picture plays a pivotal role in crafting an impactful first impression, so does the selection of an appropriate banner on your profile. Feel free to take inspiration from my example above as a reference point.
Ensure your branding remains sharp and consistent, steering clear of excessive distractions, particularly in terms of textual content. Remember, your profile summary and headline will provide ample opportunities to elaborate on your professional narrative and offerings.
Revise Your LinkedIn Content Strategy and Share Relevant Content:
LinkedIn has always been a great place for networking and building relationships with your clients, building content that engages your audience is essential for success on LinkedIn. By creating quality content you will not only generate higher engagement you can also become the trusted source for your audience which is going to add to your personal brand. Being the trusted source in your industry is really the goal for any content maker and a great way on the platform to build your brand.
LinkedIn has consistently proven to be a valuable platform for networking and cultivating relationships with your clients. Crafting engaging content is vital for success on LinkedIn, as it not only encourages higher engagement but also positions you as a trusted source for your audience, contributing significantly to the prominence of your personal brand. Becoming the go-to authority in your industry is the ultimate objective for any content creator, and LinkedIn provides an excellent platform to achieve this goal.
Here are some content ideas to establish a meaningful connection with your target audience:
- Host Live Events on LinkedIn: Conduct live streams via LinkedIn Live, engaging your entire audience in a real-time environment. Consider collaborating with other speakers for joint events, leveraging their audience for broader reach.
- Leverage LinkedIn Polls for Engagement: Implement interactive polls to encourage engagement and boost response rates for your posts, fostering a dynamic and participatory community.
- Publish Articles: Share noteworthy company updates, promote upcoming events, express your opinions on relevant industry trends, and enhance your authority by consistently publishing pertinent content tailored to your ideal audience.
- Create Newsletters: Develop themed newsletters, allowing your audience to subscribe and receive regular updates on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. Newsletters serve as an effective tool to build a community, disseminate company updates, showcase emerging trends, highlight upcoming events, and unveil new products.
Feel free to explore one of my recent newsletters for inspiration and insights into effective communication with your audience.
Personalise Your Profile URL:
Invest the time to customise your profile URL, aiming ideally for your name. However, if it’s already taken, experiment and devise an alternative that remains relevant to your identity.
For example, here’s my URL for your reference: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhoulahan/
Keep in mind that LinkedIn permits changes to your URL only once every 30 days. Therefore, commit to your chosen URL with certainty, as it will be fixed for at least a month.
Recognise that LinkedIn serves as your professional calling card. Refrain from commenting, sharing, or publishing content that you wouldn’t convey directly to a client, face to face, or during a phone call. Maintain a positive and on-brand tone, ensuring your posts and comments not only solve problems but also deliver significant value to your audience.
Building your personal brand is an ongoing endeavour. Stand out from your competitors by showcasing genuine uniqueness and infusing your distinct flair into everything you undertake. Differentiate yourself, be authentic, and ultimately, imprint your personal touch on every aspect of your professional presence.
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