Five Easy Habits to Grow Your Brand, Help More Dream Opportunities Find You, and Stress Less

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for finding jobs, negotiating salaries, and accelerating your career, but knowing where to concentrate your efforts can be difficult. Here are five ways to create a LinkedIn game plan to drive your professional growth.

Without structure and accountability, the habits and routines we set for ourselves are detrimental to our overall success. LinkedIn’s platform provides us with a network full of success-oriented and forward-thinking professionals whom we can look up to, grow from, and even mentor ourselves.

To conquer your habit routine, you must first understand the act of habit formation. When habits are formed, our brains develop new neural pathways, meaning whether good or bad, the patterns we form are permanently etched into our brains, making those actions autonomous. Therefore, if we want to make an action stick, we must consciously practice them every single day until it becomes second nature.?

Our mind is naturally wired to seek pleasure, so to grow, your routine has to be associated with a sense of happiness. To do this, you can do things such as write down how productive you feel while going through your new routine, share the joy you experience, or applaud yourself for taking one step in the right direction to achieving your goals. LinkedIn is a great tool for finding new clients, leads, and employees. It’s also a great way to build your personal brand and grow your business. If you pay for one of LinkedIn’s premium services, you could additionally look up the statistics of your reach-out efforts to see how you’re performing on the site. If done well, these numbers can help you increase your endorphin level, bring you joy and pleasure, or motivate you to try again.

There is a common misconception that habits form after 21 days. However,?too many variables ?exist to make this accurate across the board. The number of days it will take will vary from person to person and from task to task. More complicated tasks or tasks that don’t see immediate results and therefore lack the “pleasure” factor right away will likely take longer to form a habit, which is why many goals people set for themselves ultimately fizzle out. Rather than be disappointed in this fact, we should all welcome the challenge because what we receive at the end will make it all worthwhile.

So, if you’re ready to take that leap of faith into the potentially arduous journey of achieving your goals and are interested in utilizing the power of LinkedIn to help you get there, let’s review the habits you need to master.

At the beginning of each new day, decide on the tasks you want and need to accomplish and WRITE THEM DOWN! When you write down your tasks and daily goals, you increase your efficiency and further improve your focus to focus on the things that matter the most.

Here’s an example:

1. Follow up with all current prospects.
2. Check messages on LinkedIn and reply to Tasha about the upcoming event.
3. Write and publish company feed posts.
4. Send connection requests to 10 people within the Marketing Director list.
5. Begin making a list of article topics for January’s newsletter.

Hint:?Numbering your list in the order you’d like to work off of will help your efforts significantly.

It’s also important to be specific. For example, in number 3, rather than a vague “send connection requests,” we were specific by stating the number of requests we’d like to send and which Sales Navigator list to work from. Remember, it’s okay to start small! Think of this process as a long game that will benefit your career for years to come.

Whether working around children and home life, a job (or 2), or your regular day-to-day activities, you must find a routine that works for you and then stick with it to formulate those pathways. (Within reason - Life does happen, so if you get knocked off the bandwagon, it’s okay. Just try again the next day. The key to success is getting back up again each time you fall.) Don’t forget to incorporate the amount of time you will dedicate to each task. If you know a task will be a bit more tedious and time-consuming (such as writing an article)

When working LinkedIn into your daily routine, consider the order of events you do to work through everything on LinkedIn. Does it work well, or do you log out feeling unproductive?

If you need a little help developing a consistent LinkedIn routine, here’s a routine recommendation that works for our clients.

1. Check your notifications. Respond to those who commented on your posts, and make time to comment on your network’s feed post. (15-30 minutes)
2. Review connection requests and accept or decline any you may have. (5 minutes) Go to your sent connection requests and delete anything over four weeks old.?
3. Check your messages and reply to any new ones you may have. (10 minutes)
4. Send new connection requests. (30-60 minutes) Don’t forget to personalize your messages! If you have Sales Navigator log into Sales Navigator and begin going through your lists to build your network.
5. If you manage any groups, check them out and see if you have any new join requests, messages, or notifications. (15-30 minutes)

?

You're a busy person. We get it. But that doesn't mean you can't find time to grow your personal brand on LinkedIn. Here are five tips for making the most of your time:

1. Organize your tasks with a to-do list

2. Use the Pomodoro method to stay focused

3. Take breaks every 90 minutes (even if it's just to change your desk location)

4. Be realistic about how long each task will take you and plan accordingly

5. Don't be afraid to ask other people for help

We all know that LinkedIn is a great way to keep up with what's going on in the world of business and personal branding, but did you know it can also help you improve your own personal brand?

Here are five easy ways to continually educate yourself as a professional:

1. Join groups related to your industry or niche.?

2. Watch videos on Lynda.com, Udemy, and other platforms.?

3. Read books about marketing and business development.?

4. Read articles on Medium and LinkedIn Pulse (and share them!).

5. Ask questions when you don't understand something!

Even during tribulation, reflecting and noticing all you have to be grateful for is essential. Practicing gratitude daily, you sleep better, improve your relationships, increase your resilience, and more.? Here are five thought starters to help you find gratitude on a regular basis.

1. Find something you're grateful for every day

2. Create a gratitude journal

3. Showcase that gratitude on LinkedIn

4. Acknowledge others' work and successes

5. Be thankful for the opportunities that come your way

When you develop a routine to consistently work your LinkedIn presence and build the pathways to creating impactful habits even when the going gets tough, you place yourself on the track toward completing your goals.

So remember:

1.?Be consistent

2.?Be helpful

3.?Be thoughtful

4.?Be interesting

5.?Be yourself

Kim Peterson Stone is a three-time business founder, keynote speaker, and leading?LinkedIn strategist ?that has amassed a global following of over 225,000 on LinkedIn. Not only has she authored hundreds of articles on LinkedIn and become a verified thought leader, but she has helped her clients do the same.

Her B2B digital marketing agency,?Linkability, Inc. , has?helped many clients from Intrapreneurs and Entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies ?work smarter on LinkedIn by leveraging the art of surviving disruption. With her intimate knowledge of thought leadership, entrepreneurship, and global business communications, Kim uses creative and purpose-driven solutions to?develop a strong brand presence , generate targeted leads, and maximize online visibility for their clients.?

Kim has changed the lives of many, not by selling products but by?solving?problems, and she can teach you to do the same.