Growing Your Brand: 7 Proven Strategies from a LinkedIn Expert

This week, I’m using my newsletter to give a platform to one of the best LinkedIn creators out there.

Jasmin Ali?

Over the past few years, Jasmin has built an audience of over 70,000 loyal followers that hang off every single word that he puts out (me included).

He’s done so by practicing what he preaches.

He has successfully crafted, honed, and executed a LinkedIn strategy that has grown his personal brand into a business.

Most importantly, the blueprint of how he managed to do so is hidden (in plain sight) in his posts.?

So, let’s have a look at some of his wise words (click here to see the original post), as well as my own (slightly less) wise words that I will put in italics to distinguish them from Jasmin’s.

REMEMBER: this information is just as important to growing a company brand as it is for growing a personal one.?

#1 Your profile is a sales agent, not a CV

• It’s not about how good you look “at first glance”
• It’s about how well you can “convert” visitors into customers and/or followers
• The two most underrated parts of 99.9% of LinkedIn profiles are the “Featured” and “About” sections – this is where your audience “converts”.

Search engines and social media have made the modern customer far more empowered and, in turn, the modern customer journey far less linear.?

Gone are the days when customers would passively move through a funnel towards a final purchase decision. Now, with so much digital information at people’s fingertips, prospects will heavily research the available options before making any decision.?

Your “About” and “Featured” sections are your opportunity to sell yourself i.e. highlight the value you can provide.?

I use the “Featured” section to display my most popular and incisive newsletters – topics that I know will capture the attention of the audience personas I’m looking to help.?

I use the “About” section to provide my backstory and explain how it has shaped my unique approach to marketing. It’s a backstory that I know for a fact will resonate with people because it’s a direct product of listening to people’s marketing experiences (for nearly two decades!).?

Make sure you use your profile as a way to highlight common industry pain points and, more importantly, their corresponding solutions.

#2 Don’t share “too little”

• “Tips and tricks” are outdated – anyone can do this
• Share your exact step-by-step strategies that have created transformative results

Take marketing as an example. Many agencies will attempt to attract clients by bamboozling them into thinking that what they do is impenetrable. Not only is this patronising, but this does not foster trust or a solid foundation for a successful partnership.

So, when writing content around marketing or any other industry, the goal should never be to make it sound extremely complicated and then go “Hey, you NEED us! Book a call NOW!”

They may very well need you, but that is not the point.?

Your focus should always be on communicating the value your offerings can provide and how exactly you can help.

Just look at the title of my newsletter. It's “Debunking Marketing Myths”, not “Making Sure the Marketing World Is Shrouded in Mystery”.?

In other words, I’m not holding anything back when I’m talking about The Importance of Inbound Marketing or The Sales Lifecycle. Rather, I am combining my lived experience and digital expertise to create content that has utility – content that my audience can directly apply to their digital strategy and/or business operations.??

When you become a voice of authority, leads are a natural by-product – there will be no need to beg for them.

#3 Posting daily is a myth

• Quality over quantity
• Would you rather play 25 exhibition matches in a year – and risk losing several of them?

OR

• Play 1 championship match in a year and win?

Unlike many pushy salespeople stuck in the 2000s will have you believe, all press is DEFINITELY NOT good press.?

#4 Engaging daily is a must

Commenting is LinkedIn’s biggest growth hack

• The strategy is simple:

1. Find 15-20 LinkedIn creators with 10-50k followers
2. Find 10-15 LinkedIn creators with 50-100k followers
3. Tap their ??to see exactly when they post
4. Comment within the first 5-10 minutes
5. Comment with intent; no “great post”
6. Comment as if you’re writing post / to start conversations
7. Get people to visit your profile
8. Convert them into followers

This is not a LinkedIn algorithm hack. It’s a people hack.

LinkedIn is a platform that is centred around relationship building – take advantage of that! The strategy that Jasmin mentioned above got him 7 booking calls within 24 hours and that is certainly no coincidence.?

Of course, the LinkedIn creators you select MUST be relevant within your industry – the audience you build MUST be meaningful, not simply big.?

#5 Post for your audience, not yourself

Some LinkedIn creators use their profile as their daily journal

• If you want to grow your following, the only thing that matters is what your followers like, want, and need.

Content creation should revolve around solving problems that you know your target audience will have. This applies to any medium that allows you to engage with your audience, whether that is website blogs or social media posts.

As I have already touched upon already, your ability to solve pain points is your selling point.?

Content is simply the vehicle by which you do so, so it must be engaging. Case studies, guides to [insert industry-specific pain point], video tutorials – the possibilities are endless.?

#6 Write better = sell better

• Writing better hooks → Grab attention
• Write more clearly → Keep attention
• More concisely → Write with impact
• White space → Improve readability
• One-liners → Write for memorability
• Format → Add visual beauty to words
• Edit → Write in the best way possible

The power of words is undeniable. When reading, however, there is an added visual dimension that does not play a part when simply listening.

This means that your words cannot simply sound good, they must also look good.?

It’s no surprise, then, that UI (user interface) & UX (user experience) design is a multi-billion dollar industry. The way you format your content has a direct impact on customer satisfaction, conversion, retention – name any KPI!

#7 Remember to have some fun

• You’d be surprised how many people forget this…
• LinkedIn is a social platform | Connect with new and more people
• LinkedIn is a learning platform | Every world-class expert – 1 click away
• LinkedIn is a lead-generation platform | Your ideal customers, waiting for “you”
• LinkedIn is a people platform | Support others as much as you can

This is the one thing that I don’t agree with Jasmin on – I don’t do fun ??