This blog forms the latest in our Comms Bootcamp series, giving you the tools, insights and techniques you need to get your marketing communications in shape and build a lean, mean, PR machine! For more posts in this series, visit our Comms Bootcamp page.
When it comes to LinkedIn, the personal brands of your executives and spokespeople are an essential part of your comms strategy. According to the latest data, sharing information from a personal profile racks up 2.75x the impressions — and 5x the engagement — than via a company LinkedIn page.
The message is loud and clear. Whether you’re marketing a mature brand or a startup, now is a great time to maximise the presence of team members as brand advocates on LinkedIn.
And with Gen Z joining LinkedIn in droves, building better human-to-human connections is not just for marketing — it’s also a great place for HR and recruitment to engage too.
So, where should you start? Well, to make a strong impression on LinkedIn, it’s crucial to get the basics right.
Start with a high-quality professional profile picture that accurately represents you and ideally shows a little personality. Pair this with a catchy headline that goes beyond just stating your job title. Make sure you make it memorable and reflective of your value proposition.
Next, craft an interesting profile summary that engages readers and gives them a clear sense of who you are professionally. While you need to make it clear who you are — and the professional contacts you want to reach — avoid being too ‘salesy’.
Instead, start by focusing on your personal ‘why’ — what motivates you professionally and makes you passionate about your work. Keep the tone authentic and relatable, blending both professional accomplishments and personal anecdotes that showcase your personality.
Once you’ve got a compelling headline, picture, and bio, the next step is to make sure your best content is getting in front of new connections.
First up, switch on your ‘Featured’ section. This allows you to showcase your best posts, campaigns or coverage front and centre on your page. To do that, click the ‘Add profile section’ on your profile and choose ‘Featured’ under the ‘Recommended’ options. Here you can pick your top three posts to promote.
Once you’ve got your profile ready to go, it’s time to start posting…
To make the most of LinkedIn, it’s essential to show up regularly on the platform, posting observations, opinions, and relevant content. Here are three of the most effective content types for building a personal brand:
Personal content: Posting about your personal interests is a great way to attract followers as your genuine enthusiasm shines through for the subject matter.
Open questions: Boost engagement by asking easy-to-answer questions in your posts, encouraging discussions and interactions.
Resources and Links: Offer value to your network right from the start by sharing insights, resources or help without expecting immediate returns.
Also, don’t forget to expand your reach by using relevant hashtags in your posts, making them discoverable to a wider audience interested in those topics. And when you invite people to connect, follow proper etiquette by personalising your requests and explaining why you’d like to connect.
Think about joining suitable closed groups within your industry or areas of interest; these can be excellent for learning from your peers and contributing your expertise to meaningful discussions.
To elevate your position as a thought leader, it’s important to understand and leverage the platform’s priorities. LinkedIn actively promotes relevant, high-quality content to encourage user engagement and platform use.
Focus on creating content that resonates with your target audience. Share insightful observations, valuable recommendations, and well-informed opinions related to your field of expertise. Be sure to identify and understand your target audience, tailoring your content to address their specific interests, challenges, and needs.
Consistency is key to building your reputation, so establish a regular posting schedule and maintain a steady flow of content.
By consistently providing high-quality, relevant insights, you’ll not only align with LinkedIn’s content priorities but also solidify your position as a respected voice in your industry.
While we all want to drive leads and sales on LinkedIn, it’s important to remember that social media is a marathon, not a sprint. You’re better off adopting a long-term strategy that prioritises sharing over selling when using the platform.
After all, LinkedIn is fundamentally a B2B social network, meaning the platform is designed for professional networking and relationship building, not direct sales pitches. Avoid the temptation to look for quick wins or immediate business opportunities. Instead, focus on building meaningful, lasting relationships with your connections.
The key to success is to continually add value to your network. Position yourself as a knowledgeable resource and trusted professional in your field and over time you’ll naturally attract opportunities and build a strong professional network.
This approach aligns with LinkedIn’s core purpose and will yield more sustainable results than aggressive selling tactics.
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When it comes to the LinkedIn algorithm, it’s rarely worth trying to game the system.
Instead, creating engaging content that attracts likes, comments, and shares will get the best results.
That said, timing is crucial — posting when your audience is most likely to be active on the platform between 10 am and noon is often recommended, although I find 5 pm to 7 pm can be equally as effective.
And make sure you engage with other peoples’ content authentically too. Everyone on LinkedIn has the same job to do, so engaging with their content — and extending their reach — is doing them a service.
Use a mix of content types including text, images, videos, and audio to keep your feed diverse. LinkedIn’s algorithm tends to favour native content over external links.
When you do share links, provide context and encourage discussion to boost engagement. By consistently applying this approach, you can increase your visibility on the platform and expand your professional reach for you and your brand.
AI-supported LinkedIn presence is a matter of personal taste.
It’s possible to have someone else, including your preferred AI, create your profile and populate your feed. But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.
For me personally, I believe that if your priority is to build relationships why would you forgo opportunities to have human-to-human contact? AI is a great tool, but it should support your efforts, not replace you!
My best advice is to be yourself, be curious, have fun and, wherever possible, do good! Of course, there’s probably a lot more to share, but why try to cram it into a blog post when we could have a chat?
If you’re planning to start building a personal brand for yourself or your executive, set up a call with us below!
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