What’s your personal brand on LinkedIn? What do you want people to know about you? Have you hyper focused on what differentiates or distinguishes you from someone else? Does someone know your expertise so well that they can recite your elevator pitch when you are not even present? Have you built a virtual sales force for referrals because you have focused on the concept of RICHES IN NICHES?
LinkedIn can certainly help you portray your niche, but you must optimize your profile to convey your brand, share your personal attributes, strengths, and areas of expertise, values, passion, and purpose. Below are some of the considerations you want to explore to build your brand:
- Have you customized your URL? If not, read this previous article
- Have you added any emojis to your strategically crafted research-based headline?
- Does your summary state why you LOVE to do what you do so you are relatable and likable?
- Have you added the right keywords that you have researched? LinkedIn is a search engine and is a gold mine of a database.
- Are your keywords included in your summary, embellished in job titles, and present in the skills and endorsements section? Have you prioritized the top three skills and endorsements?
- Do you have a custom banner?
- Have you created a custom hashtag for all your social media posts?
- Is your photo professional, friendly and charismatic? See previous article.
- Have you defined your target audience and positioned your value proposition to solve their problem or fix their pain points?
- Have you added your volunteer experience and organizations to which you belong?
- Are you participating on the platform daily by posting content or liking, sharing, or commenting on the content of others to create engagement as a thought leader?
- Have you got over 500 connections?
- Have you connected with your alumni network?
- Are you reaching out to your network on a regular basis to keep yourself top-of-mind?
- Do you have recommendations corroborating your “social proof” of the claims you have made about yourself?
- Have you added media, photos, video, SlideShares, etc. below your summary and/or your work experiences?
Although there are many more things you can consider to build your brand, this is certainly a good start! Have fun!
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AUTHOR BIO
Lynne M. Williams is the Executive Director of the Great Careers Network, a volunteer-run 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides career development and networking connections for 1) job seekers in career transition, including veterans, and 2) employed and self-employed for career management.
Aside from writing keyword-focused content for ATS resumes and LinkedIn™ profiles, Lynne is writing her doctoral dissertation on LinkedIn™ for Job Seekers. She is a contributing author on “Applying to Positions” in Find Your Fit: A Practical Guide to Landing the Job You Love, along with the late Dick Bolles, the author of What Color is Your Parachute?, and is also a speaker on career topics.
