LinkedIn is a social media platform for businesses and employment. It lets anyone create detailed profiles that show off their skills and experience, which helps them develop their personal brand & skills.
LinkedIn is home to a massive number of professionals from different industries. It is not only a platform for job research or recruitment. It is a place to share knowledge, learn and connect with like-minded people.
Your skills could be exceptional, but nobody will get to know you unless you showcase your abilities and experience. LinkedIn provides you with that window of opportunity to present what you are good at and then get recommendations, an employment or different freelance gigs.
In this article you will get to learn why personal branding is important and how to use LinkedIn to improve your personal brand.
What is personal branding?
Personal branding can be defined as an individual’s conscious and intentional effort to create and influence public perception by positioning themselves as an authority in their industry building their credibility and in turn advancing their career.
Importance of personal branding.
 The following are the importance of personal branding
1) Authenticity
Personal branding shows employers and recruiters that you are genuine. By showcasing your strengths and weaknesses, success and failures, the mistakes you have made along the way and the lessons learnt, people will get to witness your authenticity and you will become someone people can easily relate to.
2) Increased visibility
One of the importance of personal branding is increased visibility. By establishing yourself as a source of knowledge in your industry it will become easier for employers and recruiters to find and connect with you which will in turn lead to opportunities for you.
3) Network
By building your personal brand, you get to connect with like-minded individuals, people with the same interest with you, you get to collaborate, attend industry events, conferences and webinars. This will aid you in building and being part of a supportive network.
4) Career opportunities
Being a thought leader in your industry will open doors to career opportunities and advancement. This is because employers and recruiters are looking for people who have a strong online presence and have established themselves as a go to person in their industry.
4) Builds credibility and trust
A strong personal brand can help to build credibility and trust. By consistently providing value and maintaining a professional image, you will position yourself as someone who is trustworthy. This can lead to recommendations, endorsements, referrals and job opportunities.Â
How To Create Your Personal Branding On Linkedin
Building a personal brand on Linkedin is one of the fastest ways to position yourself as an expert in your industry. Linkedin offers you not just a platform to seek for jobs but a place to showcase your skills, build meaningful connections, be part of a community and attract profitable opportunities.Â
The following are ways in which you can build your personal brand on linkedin.
1) LinkedIn profile page
LinkedIn profile page has various sections to show employers and recruiters what you are all about. They include the headline section, the about section, the experience section and a section to show your educational experience and professional certificates.
2) Content creation
LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to create contents in different formats, texts, images, carousels and videos. These contents are the ways through which you connect with other LinkedIn users. These contents could be educational or entertaining, depending on the message you want to pass across. The main idea is being able to communicate your expertise through the contents that you create.
3) Connections and following
On LinkedIn you can send connection requests and follow creators in your industry, same way others can send you connection requests and follow you. This allows you to get to know other experts in your industry and be part of a network and community.
Read Also: How To Secure A Community Top Voice Badge On LinkedIn
4) Community Top Voice Badge
LinkedIn allocates to you a community top voice badge when you consistently contribute to collaborative articles. The badge is an indication of your expertise in your niche industry. This goes a long way to show that you are heading in the right direction in building your personal brand.
How to build your personal brand on LinkedIn
- Upload a clear profile picture of yourself.
- Describe what you do uniquely in your headline.
- Mention the services you offer and add a link to your portfolio.
- In your About section, craft an engaging summary of yourself, what you do and what you have achieved with your skills.
- Include your work experience, be it a full time job, a part time job, an internship or a volunteer role, highlighting your role and contribution to the organisation.
- Create your skill set, containing relevant skills in line with your niche industry.
- Do not send random connection requests. Connect with people who have the same interest as you, people in your industry.
- Send personalised connection requests.
- Join groups related to your interests and participate actively.
- Get endorsements as many as possible. Endorsements will go a long way in showing recruiters and employers that people have seen you use your skill so effectively, they are now advocates for you.
- Include your educational experiences and training certifications.
- Always aim to give out value with every content you share.
- Do not only showcase your wins, share your failures, your mistakes and how you overcame them.
- Respond to comments and engage with those who interact with your content.
- Engage with the posts of other creators leaving insightful contributions with your comments.
- Be Consistent in your LinkedIn presence. This means regularly sharing insights, updating your profile, and engaging with your network. It’s not just being consistent in posting content but also in contributing to conversations and acknowledging others’ achievements.
How to create a LinkedIn account
- Go to https://www.linkedin.com and click Join now. Or download the app here.
- Create an account with your email address or Google account.
- Click Agree & join. It’s the blue button below the information entry fields
- Enter your personal information. LinkedIn will ask for your first and last name, location, and most recent job title or school information if you’re a student.
- Confirm your email. LinkedIn will send a confirmation code to the email you signed up with. Enter the code from your email and click Agree & Confirm to move to the next step.
- Indicate if you’re looking for a job.
- Add up to five jobs that you’re looking for.
Read Also: How to search & get any jobs on LinkedIn, Best working Method
Conclusion
Linkedin is one of the best social media app to increase and build your personal branding from scratch anywhere in the world. by following this guide and tips, you should be able to known how to build your brand and develop your self on linkedin for more job opportunities.
