7 ways to Leverage Your LinkedIn Profile as a Personal Branding Tool

According to LinkedIn, the platform has 800 million members in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. It’s a place for decision-makers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and employers to connect, collaborate, recruit, and share their thought leadership in a specific industry or area of expertise.

But did you know that when someone conducts an online search for an individual, their LinkedIn profile is usually the first online link in the search results or one of the top five links on the first page of those results? This simply means that your LinkedIn profile page may be the first and last impression that someone — a potential client, investor, employer, mentor, or friend — has of your personal brand.

You may already have a LinkedIn page, but it may only be serving as a placeholder for your online resume, which may or may not include an updated profile image, headline statement, or even updated work experience. If you are not optimizing all of the features provided by the platform and updating your content to make your brand stand out, this simple link could be putting your brand at risk.

You must remember that every day, even if you are not aware of it, your name is already appearing in LinkedIn searches for individuals and companies looking for people with your knowledge, skills, education, and expertise. Because LinkedIn is a professional platform, you should use it to promote your personal and professional brand.

Here are seven ways to start using your LinkedIn profile page as your personal brand website to boost your personal brand.

 

1. Make changes to your content

This is the initial and most crucial step. You must update the existing content on your page because it should reflect your brand today, not three years ago:

• This entails changing your profile photo to reflect the person you are today. Get a professional headshot with a clean background or use your company’s color.
• Include a photo as a background. This could be a call to action, a list of services, or a link to your website.
• Make changes to your headline statement. Include more than just your job title; tell people what you do, how you do it, and for whom you do it.
• Turn on creator mode and include your key areas of expertise and focus.

2. Include a welcome video or voice recording as an introduction

Yes, you can now add a video to your profile image, as well as record an audio greeting that will appear on your profile page. This allows someone to virtually meet you, get a sense of your personality, and learn about what to expect on your page.

3. Use featured posts

When you start sharing content on LinkedIn, you can make your posts “featured,” which allows specific posts to appear on your profile page. If you publish content that contains useful information or demonstrates your thought leadership, make it visible so that anyone who comes across your page for the first time can find it.

4. Demonstrate your worth in the “about” section

In this section, don’t just list your experience and credentials. Use the “about” section to tell potential viewers more about yourself. Demonstrate how you add value and assist your target audience. In this section, I also recommend including links to your website and direct contact information.

5. Extend your experience

LinkedIn gives you the option to include supporting media files with your experience. This could be in the form of video, images, podcast episodes, certifications, case studies, presentations, or anything else that can provide social proof of the work you’ve done during your experience.

6. Create a newsletter

The ability to create your own subscription-based newsletter on LinkedIn is a fantastic and relatively new feature. Choose your focus and begin creating a weekly or monthly newsletter to share with your current followers and subscribers. This also helps you gain thought leadership and be discovered by other platform members.

7. Request recommendations

LinkedIn makes it simple to request recommendations from other LinkedIn users who have worked with you in the past. Begin by contacting previous clients who had a positive experience working with you and requesting a recommendation. You should also make suggestions — after all, this is a community.

With these seven steps, you can begin to feel more confident about your online brand and begin to leverage it across the LinkedIn network. But, more importantly, you will be aware that an online search will now yield updated and accurate information about you and your brand, allowing you to begin attracting the right individuals, brands, and companies to your profile.