LinkedIn is not just a regular social media platform, it’s the world’s largest professional network. With over a billion users in over 200 countries, a well-curated LinkedIn profile can lead to countless opportunities.
Scrolling through your LinkedIn feed, it’s not uncommon to notice posts by professionals about career-related lessons, activities and achievements. You may even wonder why it seems professionals “show off” on LinkedIn. It’s not just for the sake of it. LinkedIn is one of the best platforms to build a personal brand.
Beyond the number of users, there are over 58 million businesses listed on the network. It’s also interesting to note that 65 million users are business decision-makers. To get noticed by the right people on LinkedIn, it’s important to intentionally craft your personal brand. If you’re looking to begin doing so, here are some tips you’ll find useful:
1. Start with Why
The reason you do something has a big impact on how you go about it. Professionals can build their brands to get access to job opportunities or business leads. Some professionals also develop their brands to build credibility and trustworthiness. Your reason for starting this journey ultimately affects your approach to using the platform and how you measure success.
Once you have a solid reason in mind, it helps you to focus on relevant content and opportunities as your network grows. It will also keep you from comparing yourself with other professionals because you can easily recognise that your goals are different.
For introverts or professionals who aren’t sure what to do with their profiles, a strong why might be the push you need to make your first post!
2. Consistency is Key
Consistency matters on social media because of two major factors – algorithms and human behaviour. Algorithms determine how a social media platform operates and they differ for each platform. For instance, algorithms monitor the engagement of your post before going ahead to either push it to other users or not. Algorithms also influence features such as search results. LinkedIn’s algorithm sometimes prevents you from viewing the profiles of users who are not in any way connected to you.
Human behaviour affects your social media presence because the more frequently you post, the more people are exposed to your content and are likely to engage with you. Your posts are also more likely to be recommended to professionals you aren’t connected with if they come out frequently and are deemed valuable.
3. Optimise your Profile
What does your LinkedIn say about you? LinkedIn profiles are continually gaining prominence in recruitment processes as well as the vetting process for opportunities. Now more than ever, you should ensure that your profile is updated with accurate information about your professional journey and competencies.
This lets recruiters, founders and potential clients know at a glance that they’re at the right place or in this case, the right profile.
4. Use clear Pictures
If you think that all you need for your LinkedIn posts is your words, you might need to reconsider. Pictures have a profound impact on your posts as they attract twice the engagement as those without images. Whatever your goals for the platform, clear images of yourself or an interesting subject will attract other professionals to your posts and your profile.
You don’t need to get into a studio every time you want to make a post, but you should bring out your camera or at least look through your gallery for pictures that are clear and aesthetically pleasing. Pictures personalise your posts and pass subtle messages about yourself to other users. They also encourage trust.
5. Connect purposefully with Others
Rather than trying to amass a large following that might not yield many benefits, it’s much better to connect with professionals because of the value they can add to you. Your idea of value can be that a professional shares content you want to see on his/her page. It could also be that you connect with professionals because they work in a niche that you’re interested in or they work in your dream company.
The quality of your connections most times determines the quality of your network and the quality of opportunities you are exposed to. This is not to deter you from connecting with professionals but to be intentional as you do so.
Building a personal brand is not an overnight activity, it’s a process that takes time but is always worth it.
