7 minute read
Building your online brand on LinkedIn
By Al Topping BUILDING YOUR ONLINE BRAND ON LINKEDIN
If you’ve been in the job market or started your own business, the chances are someone’s said to you, “You’ve got to get on LinkedIn.” And with good reason – LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking social media platform. But when you’re on there, what do you do? And what value can it bring to you, your career, and your business?
For the last three years I’ve been using LinkedIn as the primary social media platform for my business; I’m a commercial photographer by trade and know that my most desired audience hangs out on LinkedIn over any other social networking sites.
As a result of my presence on LinkedIn, I’ve been able to have conversations with new clients in person at trade shows because their colleagues have recognised me from the content I’ve pushed into their LinkedIn feeds. Getting noticed on LinkedIn has made it easier to be seen as an authority in my chosen niche and, therefore, I’m likely to make more sales.
This stuff works!
LinkedIn is more than a job-hunting platform; it’s a professional community. People use it to network for jobs, yes, but they also advertise vacancies, build relationships with people in businesses they want to work with, become aware of events, find contact details for persons of interest before making targeted sales calls, sell their products and services, and chat with former colleagues and friends about personal stuff.
BRAND MATTERS
To make some of those aforementioned things happen, you’ve got to have a profile and you’ve got to make some connections. What makes the second part easier is having a clearly identifiable brand.
But what exactly is a brand?
Will Kenton, www.investopedia.com
Simply put, it’s more than just a logo or your appearance; it’s the morals and ethics, the appearance, the voice, the messaging, the why and the how of an individual or group, and much more.
Having a recognisable brand will help you become more identifiable for the thing you do best; it will open doors that might previously have been shut, and it will allow you to charge more. And it can all start on LinkedIn, if you want it to.
BUILDING YOUR BRAND
The first thing to note is, this isn’t going to happen overnight. Even if you’ve got your profile in good order and you’re ready to start promoting your business/job hunting, you’re reliant upon other people seeing your brand and being exposed to it over a long period of time before you’ll notice the benefits. However, with persistence and consistency, you’ll get there.
If you’re thinking about starting a business, get an account NOW and start reading, liking, and, most importantly, ENGAGING. Trust me, you’ll thank me in the long run!
So, how do you create your brand?
1. Make a plan It is entirely possible to not make a plan and still create a brand, but it will be more difficult to remain consistent to it and that’s what will help you become recognisable and familiar to your target audience. Try answering the following questions: • What do you want to be known for? • What are your morals and how do they translate into the way you deliver your services? • How do you want to be seen? • Do you have a logo or colour scheme you want to use? • What kinds of things do you want to talk about on
LinkedIn? What are your expertise? How can you convey them to others?
2. Create a solid profile This is your ‘shop window’. Regardless of whether you’re looking to be employed or build a business, if you’ve got a sub-standard profile, people won’t be able to find you; they won’t know what you do or how your experience and expertise relate to solving their problem.
Here are some tips on creating a great profile: 1. Make your headshot as professional as possible.
If you can afford to, enlist the help of a skilled photographer. If not, read up on how to take one with your phone at home (tip – you can read my article on how to take a great LinkedIn headshot without being a pro in the 2021 edition of Career Pursuit).
2. Put something relevant into the space at the top of your profile – your banner. If you’ve got brand colours, fonts, a logo, and/or a strapline, put it in there, along with your email address and your phone number. This makes it really easy for visitors to see who you are, what you do, and how to get in touch with you.
3. Change your profile heading to include what benefit you offer the world. This is SO important! If you’re a service leaver, put what roles you’re looking for; if you’re a business owner, explain the value you give to your clients. Mine is “Providing outdoor businesses with epic eye-catching adventure-themed photographic content.” Why do this? Because every time you publish a post, an article, make a comment, or apply for a job, this text will appear next to your profile image, so anyone who sees that content will know how you can help them.
4. Use the featured section to highlight the key things you do and offer. 5. Start your ‘About’ section with your ‘call to action’.
This is the thing you want readers to do as a result of viewing your profile. For example, the first two sentences of my About section says, “UK Outdoor
Industry Branding and Product Photographer.
DM me to arrange your outdoor content creation discovery call.” Why start with this? Because the first three lines show up when the rest is hidden from view. Once you’ve done this, go into what you do and what you can offer in more detail. Be sure to put your contact details at the end and finish with a repeat of your call to action.
6. Make sure you don’t use any acronyms or jargon in your profile that others may not understand. Keep your language accessible and inclusive.
7. Ask people you’ve worked with for recommendations.
These are mini testimonials/references from people you’ve worked with in the past. The more the better.
But make sure to give them to others too.
LINKEDIN PROFILE HEADING WHAT TO POST
Knowing what to post is usually the biggest problem people have.
There’s a simple way to deal with this. If you’re looking to build a brand, base your content on ‘content pillars’. These are categories that your ideas sit within. For instance, as a photographer I could have photography tips, equipment reviews, case studies of work I’ve done, and my thoughts on what’s happening within my industry. All my posts then fall out from one of these categories.
HEADSHOT EXAMPLES
If you’ve got an idea of what industry or role you want to go into, pick your content pillars around establishing yourself as an expert within that industry or doing the kind of job you want to do. An example could be, if you want to become a leadership coach or consultant, your content pillars might be talking about leadership styles, discussions on historical leaders, conversations on current affairs and how leadership styles are good or bad, and top tips for improving your reader’s leadership abilities. Hopefully you get the idea.
GOING FURTHER
Doing these things already? Want a bit more? Here are some resources that will help you get on better with LinkedIn:
Richard Van Dem Blom – LinkedIn consultant – www.linkedin.com/posts/richardvanderblom_ linkedin-algorithm-report-edition-2021-activity6848141573990051840-spu1/
Michael Stelzner – Owner of Social Media Examiner – Social Media Marketing podcast and www.socialmediaexaminer.com
Louise Brogan – LinkedIn with Louise podcast and YouTube channel If you want an example, feel free to check out my profile at www.linkedIn.com/in/altopping. I can’t promise it’s perfect but it’s worked for me and has helped me to become a recognisable and trusted provider in my industry.
Good luck with your brand. It will take time but the important things to remember are engagement, consistency, and perseverance.
About the author Al Topping is an ex-regular commissioned army officer turned commercial adventure photographer. He started Xtreme Exposures in 2019 to help brands achieve their marketing goals by creating bespoke adventure-themed photo content within the UK outdoor industry. He also provides non-outdoor industry B2C services through his personal brand, Al Topping Photos & Film.
