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How to Brand Yourself on LinkedIn

Hilary Morris

About.me/MrsMoNJ

What is LinkedIn

The leader in business-oriented social networks with over 313 million users

worldwide.

With LinkedIn, you can position yourself as an expert in your field with content,

engagement, and connectivity.

What is Your Brand?

Perception is reality: when you’re online, you need to be strategic about how you

present yourself.

Your LinkedIn Objective

To be a thought leader and trusted source in your field with a fully

optimized profile.

How to Brand Yourself

1. Have an Optimized Profile

2. Get Active & Stay Engaged

3. Publish Original Content

4. Share, Share, Share

Optimized Profile

Your LinkedIn profile should answer the “So tell me about yourself” question as if

you were in a first meeting with someone.

Optimized Profile

To optimize a profile means to write it in a way that will improve your search results both within LinkedIn and in

search engines.

Goal:

Optimized Profile

● Name, headshot, professional headline, industry, custom URL

● Robust Summary: Tell your story. Use thoughtful and specific keywords for your job and industry. You get about 2,000 characters of space.

● Other sections: Skills, Experience, Volunteer Work

● At least 50 connections

● Extra: Add a custom header (1400x425) to add visual interest to your personal brand. Not required to reach All Star status.

Optimized Headline - for Job Seekers

● Actively Seeking Employment

● Available for Employment

● Available for New Opportunities

● Unemployed and Looking for Work

● Operations Logistic Professional Seeking Work

● Experienced Retail Manager available for new opportunity

● Marketing Professional in Transition

● Pharmaceutical Sales Representative currently exploring

options

● Recent College Graduate Seeking Entry Level Programming

Position

Source: http://jobsearch.about.com

Detailed professional headline

Custom URL

Detailed Summary using

industry, specific keywords and a list of specialty

areas.

Header image can represent your brand with a logo, or it can be an eye-catching image to catch someone’s attention (and relates back to your brand in some way)

Regular Activity & Engagement

“If you build it, they will come” does not work with LinkedIn (or any

social network).

Get out there and start talking.

Regular Activity & Engagement

● Connect with people you know and mutual connections

● Follow thought leaders through Pulse

● Like, comment and share content

● Share status updates daily/a few times a week● Tips of the week● Articles of interest or your own published content like

blogs, articles, etc. ● Open-ended questions● Quotes

● Join and/or start groups

Stand out when you make connections: Include a personal message with your request to connect, whether you’ve met the person before or not. If you met in person, or know the person from another social network, make sure to reference that connection. If you have no prior relationship, then you should only connect with them if you see potential for networking or future business. Whatever you do, don’t do a sales push in the request to connect.

Post status updates daily or a few times a week. Types of content:

● motivational graphics● articles of interest● professional tips● blog posts● content shared from Pulse

Your activity shows up in the news feed as well, giving you even more of a presence.

To follow LinkedIn Influencers: Interests>Pulse>Discover

*Invite-only opportunity

Position yourself as an expert in your field by joining groups. Participate in or start discussion on various topics. To access: Interests>Groups

SEO: Google indexes and displays LinkedIn group discussions in their search engine results. Use targeted keywords in your discussion titles and descriptions.

Original Content

Content is King. Develop trust and improve your Google search results with original content.

Original Content

● Long-form posts● Slideshare

Long-form posts show up in your LInkedIn profile and are indexed by Google. You can share the posts to any social network, giving them even more visibility.

“I publish there and get views, comments, and likes better than anywhere else.” - Jennifer Gardella

SlideShare

● LinkedIn acquired SlideShare in 2012. It’s the leading professional content sharing community.

● Presentations strengthen your profile and can be shared on various social platforms

● “Professional Journey” allows you to visually tell your professional story and set yourself apart from others in your field.

● Automatically add your presentations to Summary section

Apps to Share Content

http://zite.com http://www.pulse.me

http://getpocket.com/a/ http://www.smartbrief.com

Questions?

Hilary Morrishilary@hm-pr.comAbout.me/MrsMoNJhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/hilarytroughtmorris