How to (Comfortably) Shine Brighter on LinkedIn
Karen Hollenbach
Educator & Mentor | Helping quieter & thoughtful folk | Australian LinkedIn? Expert Consultant & Trainer | LinkedIn Profile Writer | Content Marketing Strategy & Thought Leadership Advisor for Australian leaders
In this month's update I share my tips for how to (comfortably) shine brighter on LinkedIn.
If you are a regular reader of my updates, thank you for your ongoing support and attention. Before we get started, I'm going to ask you for a favour.
Here goes with 'the ask': Can you please think about those quieter and more thoughtful folk in your professional community who are feeling tentative about 'putting themselves out there' on LinkedIn and (please) share this update with them. Yes - that was a double please, as I feel a little uncomfortable asking you for a favour.
Quieter and More Thoughtful Folk in Your Professional Community
If you're not sure who I am referring to, quiet and more thoughtful folk are the quiet achievers in your team, or life, who hate drawing attention to themselves. When asked for their opinion in a safe environment, these people are the ones who probably have some of the best ideas. Given enough or some air time, it's the sharing of these ideas and their well thought out perspective that can result in making a real difference to current projects and initiatives. These individuals are generally very good at what they do, but they're not necessarily very good at self promotion. In fact, they probably hate getting the spotlight put on them.
And so here's the thing: I believe these individuals sometimes need a gentle nudge to step out of the shade. I know this because the moment I started talking more about my focus on helping elevate the voices of quieter and more thoughtful folk, I was invited into so many wonderful conversations with these clever kookaburras.
I also know, and am sharing with you today, a way for these individuals to comfortably shine brighter on LinkedIn. If they can embrace these tips it means there is the potential for a wider audience knowing about their perspectives and great ideas.
But we are going to take it slowly. One step at a time.
And because these individuals tend to be thoughtful and deep thinkers, they may just be the the ones we need to help us all make this world an even better place. That is, if the rest of us can just quieten down and listen, and learn from their perspectives, to encourage collaborations and connections and help key projects, people and organisations gain momentum.
To clarify: When I say 'share this update', I do not mean draw attention to them here on LinkedIn, by mentioning their name in the comments below (as this makes your comment public to their connections). While that would be good for me (as it means more people will see this post), I'm relying on you, my loyal reader, to please forward this update to the people you know who identify as 'quieter and more thoughtful folk' via:
Let's Start by Better Understanding LinkedIn
The good news is that LinkedIn is different to social media and there's less pressure to show up by posting all the time, which is such a relief for so many professionals when I share this concept with them.
LinkedIn plays an important role for me to share my perspective in updates like this, and is a place where you can find me if you need help with LinkedIn. As a Digital Minimalist, I value technology that enables me the space and time to do deep work and helps me achieve the goals I set for myself and my business. I do not like spending too much time online. I read books, I garden, I travel and I like to spend time with and talk to my family and friends. LinkedIn gets a big tick for helping me achieve my goals because it does not ask too much of me.
I'd like it to play a similar role for you, and if you agree with the statement that 'the world has changed', then you may also be open to the idea that tools like LinkedIn can help you stay connected with your professional community, if you know how to use them to your advantage.
So let's consider what LinkedIn is and what LinkedIn is not to help you get comfortable with using it more as platform to meaningfully engage, on your terms, with other professionals and (perhaps) even share your perspectives with others (when you're ready).
What LinkedIn Is
I believe LinkedIn is a great place to:
And if you’re a B2B, business to business, focused organisation LinkedIn is most likely your first choice of digital platform, other than your website, and it can help educate your professional community about what you do and the stakeholders clients or professional communities you help / serve.
If you are in a client facing role, your LinkedIn presence can also help reduce risk in your potential client’s decision making process as they assess whether you, your team and your organisation are the right fit ‘ for them’.
What LinkedIn Is Not
In terms of what LinkedIn is not, I believe:
LinkedIn is also not a place to extract the email details of your connections and add them to your email list and it’s not an alternative to investing in a website (for a business) or an excuse to avoid in real life networking. I know this last one may be unsettling, but you do have to meet people at industry events sometimes!
Understanding The Importance of LinkedIn
Now that you understand what LinkedIn is and isn't (in the world according to Karen), it may be helpful for you to understand the role your LinkedIn profile can play in your career. I covered some of these in the 'What LinkedIn Is' section above, but I'm going a little deeper here to help emphasise the importance of some of these elements.
LinkedIn Allows You to Take Control of Your Online Reputation
As your 24/7 online ambassador, LinkedIn is a great way to stay in control of the information available about you online. When you lock down your privacy settings on more 'social' media platforms and control some of your privacy settings on LinkedIn, you are in greater control of your online reputation. Even with a free LinkedIn account you can limit access to your email and mobile number, tinker with your public profile settings and block some members from viewing your profile.
If you're an inherently private person, like me, or starting to research your next career move on LinkedIn, these profile (and the anonymous search) settings enable you to focus on sharing key elements of your professional life, while controlling specifics and who sees you looking at their profile.
Tip: To learn more about LinkedIn Private Mode please read this article.
LinkedIn Can Help You Showcase Your Unique Career Story
There is no one else like you on LinkedIn. But we'll only know this when you take the time to embrace the key elements of your LinkedIn profile that allow you to tell your unique career story on LinkedIn. Unfortunately, LinkedIn can be a bit pushy and encourages you to fill in your LinkedIn profile in a certain way.
When you understand how to use the relevant LinkedIn profile features for your professional goals, you will be more confident about how to write about yourself and which features to use, and which ones to ignore.
领英推荐
As a general guide, here's a list of some of my favourite features that help showcase your unique career story:
And the best part? They are all available with a free LinkedIn membership.
Tip: If you'd like to know more about these features and how to use them, please head to Think Bespoke's knowledge base on our website.
LinkedIn Can Help You Get Your Next Job
There is a specific feature in your LinkedIn Profile that can help you get found in searches, beyond the features I listed above. If you are yet to check out the Open To: Finding a Job feature on your LinkedIn profile, I highly recommend you do.
Tip: You can read more about this feature here.
LinkedIn Can Help You Get Your Next Client or Project
There is a specific feature in your LinkedIn Profile that can help you get found when people on LinkedIn use the search for service providers feature on LinkedIn. If you are yet to check out the Open To: Providing Services feature on your LinkedIn profile, I highly recommend you do.
Tip: You can read more about this feature here.
LinkedIn Can Keep You Informed of News & Trends
When you curate your LinkedIn newsfeed you are being more intentional and strategic about the information you see when you spend time on LinkedIn. Taking the time to do this is a game changer for your LinkedIn experience and the starting point for engaging with more meaningful content and getting more comfortable with the idea of perhaps sharing your own perspectives and thoughts from time to time.
See what I did there? I am planting a seed of the idea that you may one day (soon, I hope!) be more comfortable stepping out of the shade and sharing your perspective on LinkedIn.
By following the updates of pages and people, with perspectives you value or want to learn more about (note - no one says you have to agree with them), you will start to develop a sense of the wide variety of thought provoking conversations you can join, either in the LinkedIn newsfeed or, more privately, via LinkedIn messaging.
Get started by:
And when you're ready and the post is relevant to your professional focus:
LinkedIn Can Help You Get Found By Like-minded Individuals
A client recently launched a book, completely unrelated to her role at work. It was based on her experience with parenting strategies in a niche area. She posted one update about the book on LinkedIn via her profile and has been contacted by a prestigious university to come and speak to their community, demonstrating the potential power of LinkedIn.
Reminder to Please Share This Update
Please forward this update to the people you know who identify as 'quieter and more thoughtful folk' via:
You could even re-post this with the commentary:
Calling all quiet and thoughtful folk. You need to read this.
That last suggestion was more a dare than anything..
Who is Karen Hollenbach?
As an educator, writer and strategic marketing communications professional, I've always loved the power of words.
As a LinkedIn specialist trainer and strategist I offer a unique perspective on how to get more from your time on LinkedIn.
When you focus on a well-crafted strategy, build relationships and add value to your professional communities, more doors will open for you.
In this digital age you may have discovered that content marketing and personal branding are how potential clients, potential employers and hiring managers will decide if you are for them. Your online presence matters and it forms part of your professional reputation. The good news is that LinkedIn's not that hard (once you know what you're doing).
Here are some resources to help you get started: