I’ve been on LinkedIn™ since its early days.
As a consultant in the tech field in Boston, I was on a new assignment every 6 to 12 months. At the end of each assignment, I exchanged my LinkedIn™ profile and connected with other consultants, colleagues, and managers.
Back then, LinkedIn™ was a placeholder for my resume and staying in touch with colleagues.
For me, it was very helpful as I moved from assignment to assignment. Anytime I was seeking a new role, I could reach out to my network.
Now, let’s fast forward to the past few years. LinkedIn™ is still the professional network, but it is more than just a placeholder for your resume and work history.
It’s a place to research, learn, network, find new opportunities, and recruit talent. Unlike other platforms, LinkedIn™ is viewed as a more reliable source of information.
Here’s the stop-in-your-track stat that I learned this week:
4% of the individuals on LinkedIn™ post content.
4%!
That’s crazy, considering the noise we are so accustomed to on other platforms.
What does this mean for you as either an entrepreneur or an employee?
By establishing your own personal brand, you have a greater chance of standing out.
The competition is less.
The noise is less.
By demonstrating your expertise in your field, building a network, and developing your personal brand – when you do need to tap into LinkedIn™ to offer a service or product (and again – this includes employees, possibly looking for a new job) – you have developed yourself as an expert that you can tap into.
There’s quite a lot to LinkedIn™ with strategies, stats – I’m going to provide 5 tips on how to start developing your personal brand:
Use a professional-looking profile picture
An image that has most of you in the image and is memorable. You want people to recognize you when you comment and post on the platform.
Create a banner image
Leverage the space above your profile image and create a non-generic banner image. Use this to showcase what you do and who you are. Canva is a great simple to use graphic design tool with templates for a banner image.
Update your headline
Update your headline in your profile to something that doesn’t reiterate your current job title. This is an opportunity to stand out with what you do, how you do it differently, and who you work with.
Stand out from the other marketing managers, SVP of sales, and bookkeepers!
Create a summary
The summary section of your profile is powerful to state how you solve problems and what your bring to the table.
Do not cut and paste of your resume.
Your resume is listed below!
Use this section with a leading thought of how you fix the pain points of the person reading your profile.
Post valuable and interesting content
I’m not saying to do this daily – unless you want to. Commit to sharing your knowledge, demonstrating how you solve problems, and what you do. This includes comments on other posts.
I’m currently in the process of testing out some ideas on LinkedIn™ and different formats of content. Looking for future newsletters with updates or follow along on the platform!
