Nine hundred fifty million people all over the world use LinkedIn. Few of them use it for personal growth, few of them seek jobs, and others use it for marketing. LinkedIn is the biggest hub for B2B deals, but it is the best platform for personal branding, too. Nowadays, personal branding is not a luxury, but it is a necessity; if you want to establish yourself irrespective of any field, your go-to social media should be LinkedIn.
Personal branding is an odd combination as personal refers to individuals, while the brand is associated with companies or collectives. Though our English grammar has a lot to offer, like brand, we can say that personal branding is the effort of an individual to distinguish them from the crowd.
LinkedIn has a lot to offer, connections, professional networks, and business opportunities, unlike other platforms. Till the last decade, LinkedIn was introduced as a job-hunting and CV platform, but in this decade, LinkedIn came with a new look; it is not a job-seeking platform only; it can offer according to the needs of the user.
What is Personal Branding:
Everyone active online on any social media has some personal brand established; it’s not what we are talking about. According to a study by McKinsey, strong brands outperform their less recognizable competitors by as much as 73%. And since 64% of today’s customers are belief-driven buyers, People always support those brands that have more credibility than others. This credibility comes with the process of building a personal brand. We will talk more about this in the next section. Twitter is the best platform if you want to study a person, as people generally share their raw thought process on it, similarly, personal branding is the display of an individual’s personality, skills, experience, and, last but not least, their behavioural pattern. Building a brand is the best way to identify yourself in the crowd. If you have a brand, you can set yourself apart from the other person in the room as you have a story to tell with your unique personality. The ultimate way to build a brand is to be yourself and stay genuine. Personal branding takes time, but it’s worth investing, as it provides the highest ROI.
Why invest in personal branding
People follow Alex Hormozi. Do you know why? He is a writer; you say no! He has a personal brand. He has his voice; he shares what others can resonate with but can’t copy, as everyone has different traits and parameters.
Similarly, you have your unique style and skills. In the journey of being you, no one can replace you. It’s time to learn why you should invest your valuable time in personal branding.
Authority
I started with the number 950 million. Does everyone post on Linkedin? No! Why, maybe they don’t have time or anything to share; the second one is not possible, but it’s what they all think. To build authority, you should have something to share. I suggest people choose a niche; let’s say you might be in the space of email marketing. Start sharing tips and tricks that show you that you know it with a deep understanding and are capable of teaching others; keep talking about it, and it will reward you as an authority. People will reach out to you and ask for your help on the same.
Trust and credibility
Do you believe b2boutbox? Yes! Why? Because the results b2boutbox has provided so far brought us trust and credibility, when someone needs service around a lead generation or outreach, they will always remember us. If you keep engaging and sharing value with your network and deliver high-quality projects within the due time, you can build it, too. If you fail to offer what you share, then your brand can be harmed.
Opportunities
With a solid personal brand, you will never leave out of opportunity; the time you invest in building the personal brand will give you the highest ROI, which will give you what you want; you can have multiple opportunities, and you need to stay open to it. It is an opportunity not in terms of earning but building credibility and reaching a wider audience.
How to establish a brand on LinkedIn
In this section, let us know how you can establish a brand on LinkedIn with three steps; as I have told you earlier, LinkedIn is changing like never before. Its algorithms are very hard to understand, and the basic factors and checklist will always remain the same.
Profile Photo
When someone lands on your profile, they always look at your profile. You need to have a clear, smiling picture with a background, preferably your brand colour; you can use tools like PFP maker to make it beautiful and appealing.
Banner
A banner is your perfect place to showcase what you do in a visual format; use it properly to add a CTA like ‘book a call’ and add relevant things that your prospects should know what you have to offer.
Headline
The headline is something where you make your prospects clear about your offers; don’t add multiple things to confuse your prospects or people who land on your profile: one offer, one problem, one target group. Let’s say I help 7 figs. D2C brands with performance marketing. It’s time to showcase your brand’s story.
Featured Section
In the featured section, you can display your offers, your proof of work, and the booking link. The offers will help people understand how you can help them, proof of work can build rapport with credibility, and the booking link will bring the prospects to connect with you on a call
Topics you know
Always talk only about the topic you know; if you don’t know the topic, it’s better not to pass any comments as you might be wrong or irrelevant to your audience.
Network
You need to network a lot and send connection requests to the ideal people. They might be your peer group or your ICP. Reach out to more people, build relations, and start conversations on DM’s.
Engagement
As I always say, engagement is more than posting; let’s consider a tree on a barren island; no one knows about it, whether it dies or stays alive; similarly, if you don’t engage with people, then how can people know you? You can use the 1+3 commenting strategy of Jasmin alic, one main comment, and three replies. It’s simple yet very effective.
Consistency and persistency
Consistency is key, and the fact is going to stay the same: stay persistent, and you will see results. The best advice here. Keep posting with consistency.
Content Pillars
Choose your main topic, divide it into segments, identify your content pillars, and then work on it, trying to understand the theme. Research other’s content and learn the formatting and hooks. Keep sharing relevant content, and you will see the growth with time. Try different types of content, carousels, text-based posts, videos, and image+text. Check which type of content your audience likes most, and build the empire on it.
Targeting and URL
You need to know who is your ideal customer persona, target them, talk with them on DM, and appreciate everyone. People generally overlook it, but you should change your profile URL and try to add the username you want. It gives your audience a better understanding and makes it SEO-friendly.
Audio events and groups
Audio events are so underrated; try to talk at an audio event or arrange it yourself; it will give you visibility and reach. LinkedIn groups are not that good, but you should give it a try and genuinely help people and try to reach with engagement.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is not an ordinary platform, and it will be changing with time; the last best time to build a brand on LinkedIn was yesterday, and the next best time is today. LinkedIn can give the ultimate value for a personal brand, connect, engage, and excel on this. It takes time; devote six months at least, don’t quit, and build on it. Remember, it’s an art, and every art requires setting clear goals and a deep understanding of the audience. Are you going to implement these plans on your LinkedIn? Let me know in the comments.
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