Personal branding has exploded in recent years.
Its growth in a professional context, largely driven by LinkedIn, has helped employees and business leaders promote their identity, share their expertise and demonstrate their value.
But what is personal branding and how crucial is it for professional success and career development?
Whether for immediate career opportunities or longer-term career growth, personal branding is an intentional practice to express your own value proposition and visibility.
Fundamentally, it’s a personal PR campaign. The chance to promote your unique skills and reputation. It’s a way to influence how others perceive you and build trust.
Although LinkedIn data published by Forbes, highlights that professionals with a strong personal brand are 27 times more likely to be found online by recruiters, there are some key points to consider before launching in to your LinkedIn activity.
Elements that will help your identity, expertise and the value you offer stand out from the platform’s 1 billion global users.
Define who you are, what you offer and your purpose
Your personal brand is the combined beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and expectations that others hold about you. The aim is for you to ensure that people’s perception of you is accurate, coherent and compelling.
Start by thinking about your key interests, skills, competencies, traits and who you are trying to influence.
Be clear about your value proposition and how you will position and present it all to the audience you are looking to influence.
Consider how much time you have to invest in growing your personal brand. It’s important to be realistic and build it over time, rather than let your activity fizzle out after a few weeks.
Building a successful personal brand on LinkedIn is about positive, consistent and authentic storytelling.
Getting the most out of LinkedIn
Your profile is so much more than presenting a list of clichéd phrases or a repetition of your CV / resumé.
With recruiters spending an average of 6 seconds scanning a LinkedIn profile, most of which is spent viewing the headline, photo and the summary, you will need to make it stand out and catch the eye. Some key steps to enhancing your profile include:
- A suitable profile photo and banner – whilst you don’t have to use a professional headshot, LinkedIn Official Blog states they do get 21 times more profile views and 36 times more messages. Either way, it’s important your photo presents you as both professional and approachable. Your profile banner image is ‘prime real estate’ too, giving you more opportunity to stand out. Think creatively about how you can use it to demonstrate your expertise and catch the eye of your profile viewers.
- A compelling headline – think beyond just stating your job title or position. Use the available text space to demonstrate your expertise. Use metrics too, as a way to show your value proposition. Using keywords strategically in your headline and profile summary increases discoverability by up to 30% in search results, according to Hootsuite/LinkedIn
- Your contact information – it may seem obvious, but make sure all your contact details are current and professional, especially personal email address.
- An engaging ‘About’ section – include a concise yet persuasive summary of your core skills, achievements and future career goals. Focus on the value you bring to your role, business function or organisation. Use key metrics and data to support the impact you make.
- The ‘Featured’ section – pin your most engaging posts, thought leadership articles or notable achievements, so they remain front and centre. add links, images, or documents to highlight your work. Used well, this section will boost profile dwell time significantly and increase average engagement by 20-40%, according to Social Media Today
- A customised URL – use a custom URL rather than LinkedIn’s default setting. Make it clean and clear, for example www.linkedin.com/in/yourname or words associated with your job role. Personalising your URL will increase your profile visibility, looks more professional and ranks better in external search engines
- Your experience & achievements – more than just listing current and previous job titles, it’s a chance to highlight your achievements. Profiles that show quantifiable results (e.g. “increased profitability by 25%”) receive more interest from recruiters, say LinkedIn Career Experts
- Skills & endorsements – Adding all your relevant skills and endorsements from current or previous colleagues will help boost your credibility. Members who list 5 or more skills on their profile receive up to 17 times more profile views (LinkedIn Talent Solutions)
- Recommendations – ask colleagues, industry peers or stakeholders you work with for written testimonials and social proof to reinforce your skills, accomplishments and what you’re like to work with.
- Interests – emphasise your professional interests and pages you follow.
Once you have a profile that both reflects your knowledge, professional achievements and ambitions, as well as makes an impact visually, it’s time to put yourself front and centre of people’s minds.
Being visible and growing your personal brand on LinkedIn is about interacting, not broadcasting. Listen and reflect. Be thoughtful about how you can join the conversation.
Share valuable and regular content
Publishing regular thought-leadership articles that emphasise your industry knowledge are a great way to build trust and credibility.
Personal stories will also show your authenticity. “Behind-the-scenes” posts are 35% more engaging than traditional updates, especially when accompanied by visuals or storytelling (Source: Buffer / LinkedIn). Training for a marathon or volunteering at a charity will help paint a picture of your personal side and passions.
Consistency in personal branding is also important, increasing perceived trust. Much better to post 2-3 times per week ongoing, rather than post every day for a month, then post nothing the next month.
Tell meaningful stories and embrace the growth in video
Differentiating yourself and building your credibility will open doors to new connections and help you attract new opportunities.
But you will need to identify and craft your personal career story in a compelling way that helps you stand out. Be creative and use a variety of media – written and visual, short-form posts and longer-form articles.
Think about the images you use as well. Make sure they are relevant to what you’re sharing.
Video content is growing significantly on LinkedIn, so step out of your comfort zone and embrace it. It doesn’t have to be professionally polished. Some of the best, most engaging video content is authentic and filmed on a phone.
LinkedIn Business state that video posts are shared 20 times more than other types of content.
Engaging with your network will help you stay visible
Posts don’t always have to be your own original content. Share articles with a comment to help extend their reach. The more you interact with other people’s content, the more likely it is they will engage with yours.
Be where your target audience is. Joining and participating in industry-related groups and following company pages will connect you to new individuals and help you build a network of like-minded contacts.
Is it all worth the effort?
Having a strong personal brand and active presence on LinkedIn is crucial for career development and growth. It will help you differentiate yourself in a competitive job market and in a crowded field of candidates.
Researching a prospective employee’s online presence and profile is one of the first things employers do. Having an established, strong personal brand can be a catalyst to interviews and job offers, even if you’re not actively seeking a new role.
With 70% of employers using social networking sites to research job candidates, with LinkedIn being the most commonly used platform, demonstrating your experience, expertise and achievements is essential.
A proactive presence and active personal brand, will build trust and credibility with potential employers and increase your chances of securing future opportunities.
It may well open up doors to business functions, industry segments or locations you may not even have considered.
In summary, creating and building a strong personal brand on LinkedIn is a strategic process that requires clarity, consistency, and engagement.
Optimising your profile, sharing valuable content, and networking proactively, will help elevate your professional presence and open up new opportunities.
Invest time in developing your LinkedIn presence, and the rewards will follow. It will transform how you’re perceived in your industry and ensure you’re not just ‘another face in the crowd’ but an authoritative voice worth listening to.
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