In the professional world, your personal brand often speaks to new contacts before you do. Personal branding is the process of marketing your business, career, or yourself to attract opportunities and grow your professional network. Because most of our networking occurs online, LinkedIn plays a considerable role in your branding. Business owners like you use LinkedIn to establish an online presence by posting content to their feeds and relevant LinkedIn groups.  Sharing your values and expertise through your digital content showcases builds professional relationships, showcases your experience, and helps you stand out from the crowd of professionals in your industry.  To be effective, you need to deliver LinkedIn content that is engaging, inspiring, and serves to further develop your brand.

1. Include personal LinkedIn brand profile features

Typically, the sales and marketing sector prefers writing that isn’t “me-centric” or overly personal. However, when selling your personal brand on LinkedIn, you have to tread your profile as a living resume. 

• A professional profile picture

Ensure your profile picture is clear, well-lit, and communicates who you are as a person. It doesn’t have to be a headshot, but it should clearly show your face and have a neutral background. 

• A creative cover photo

This overlooked profile element is a great way to stand out and add an extra layer to your branding strategy on LinkedIn. Incorporate a high-quality image of your company’s logo or a graphic associated with your profession. Remember that the dimensions should be 1884×396 to maintain the image’s quality. 

• A solid ‘About You’ summary

In your about summary section, use straightforward language with SEO keywords to describe who you are and what your brand is all about. However, avoid jargon; it tends to clutter your message. Be sure to fill out all profile sections, including your background, education, licenses, and certifications. Only include information relevant to your current or desired job title. 

• A well-planned featured section

Use the Featured section to highlight your work or content from industry thought leaders you find helpful. Include a link to your company page to generate leads, link an industry podcast you find intriguing, or connect your other social media platforms to allow followers to connect with you across social media channels. By curating content in your Featured section, you will attract and encourage like-minded people to follow you and increase your profile views. 

2. Offer free resources to your followers and LinkedIn connections

Now that your profile is polished, think about what content would be relevant to your followers. Freebies encourage page views and increase connection requests.  Go through your files and find materials you created for personal use and edit them for general use. Some great shareable items include: 

• Checklists 
• Templates 
• eBooks 
• How-to guides 
• Slide decks 

Post these free items on your LinkedIn profile, as well as on your other professional social media accounts.  To make life easier, enlist publishing tools that will enhance the quality and reach of your content by offering access to high-quality content libraries and analytics to inform your posting schedule.  This marketing strategy helps you gain brand exposure and lead generation as others download and utilize your free content. 

3. Host some live coaching sessions on LinkedIn

Job seekers often flock to LinkedIn hoping for leads on a new profession or to expand their professional network. Many of these users would love an expert, such as yourself, to coach them as they search for a new job or switch careers.  Establish yourself as an expert in your industry’s thought leadership by hosting live, free coaching sessions aimed at professional development in your field.  You can offer free one-on-one, small-group, or large-group video meetings. Because LinkedIn now allows you to share your calendar, you can advertise coaching sessions and gather survey data once the meetings are over.  By asserting your authority in the industry, you will build trust with followers and potentially attract new customers or recruiters. 

4. Build your personal LinkedIn brand using LinkedIn Stories 

LinkedIn Stories allows members and organizations to share content, like images and short-form videos, related to their daily professional moments.  Much like you may post your lunch to your Instagram stories, you can post pictures of yourself at work, your meetings, and other brand-related topics. Sharing Stories is a great way to communicate your insights and experience and build meaningful relationships within your professional network.  Because you can add text overlays, mention accounts, share an interactive ‘question of the day’, and add stickers, it’s another way to easily engage with your target audience and expand your online presence.

5. Use LinkedIn content to build your personal brand 

Whether you’re selling yourself or your small business, posting engaging content for your social network is a great way to improve your personal branding efforts.  While many view LinkedIn as a living resume, expert marketers like you know that it’s a great way to build your personal brand and engage your industry.  When you create content that resonates with your target audience, you can attract the people you most want to do business with. LinkedIn content adds value to your network and permits you to be authentic when developing your personal branding.  Creating content takes a lot of time, patience, and a willingness to act as a strategist as you analyze posting time data.