Nothing happens WITHOUT a Personal Brand

Growing a Personal Brand is essential in today’s digital world

Whether you’re an expert or entrepreneur or you are an employee – at any level (junior to CEO), it’s your Personal Brand that people will buy into…

And when they buy into you – they will buy from you

Whether that’s a service or product you’re selling or a message you want to share

Because HUMAN CONNECTION is still a key denominator in someone’s buying decision.

So when you are prospecting for and growing your business, visibility on social media is the place to be to elevate your digital presence.

And of course, LinkedIn is the perfect platform to do this. As a social ‘networking’ platform, it gives you the ability to build relationships and turn your connections into cash in a meaningful way.

Here are some interesting stats:

• Exposure on LinkedIn increases purchase intent by 33%
• 4 out of 5 people on LinkedIn are in decision making positions
• A LinkedIn audience has 2 X the Buying Power than an average web audience

So in a sentence…

Growing your Personal Brand on LinkedIn puts you in front of prospects that make decisions, have the money to buy and if they see you on LinkedIn – their intention to buy from you increases

Where else do you get that organically?

So what’s the strategy for growing your Personal Brand and attracting business opportunities and leads as a result?

Answer: CONTENT

Sharing engaging and relevant content, ?showcasing your expertise, showing up as your true, real self & knowing who you want to attract and what you want to be known for.

Let’s now break this down into some actionable steps you can take:

• What you PUT IN, you’ll GET OUT

There are always moans and groans about getting more engagement on LinkedIn and yes, you want to do whatever it takes to help increase this

And at the same time, sharing a post and waiting for the engagement Gods to show up – won’t work. You need to work it too

?So, this includes a level of contribution

1. ?Every time you post, also ensure you comment other users’ posts. (notice how that says ‘users’ – as in plural)
2. Tag others – when relevant in your posts – especially if the person you’re tagging could a) benefit from the content, b) has an audience who would benefit from it or c) there is a reason for tagging (Don’t just SPAM tag a variety of individuals)
3. Commenting on others’ gets you more visible in front of your ideal clients – and that’s the key word. VISIBILITY. And as Robert Cialdini states in his book, ‘The Psychology of Influence’, it creates RECIPROCITY. So when you contribute to others, they will comment & contribute back

• Use hashtags – the right way!

To increase your visibility – use Hashtags. Not too many though (3-5 only) – although optimum is 3

And use hashtags from your idea client’s viewpoint. Where are they hanging out? What hashtags would they be following?

Too many experts use hashtags that make sense to them and their expertise and their posts end up in a hashtag group full of other competitors. Instead, get inside the head of your prospect and your content will appear in front of your target market

• The TRUST Thermometer

Your Company brand will create 30% trust but your Personal Brand will raise trust by 90%. So that’s why on LinkedIn it is key that most of your posts are created in from your personal profile. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a company page. Infact, you should as this creates credibility!

And you can share content from your company page – once a week to build your followers – especially as LinkedIn have done lots to improve the features on this

• Stand out – your way

Imposter Syndrome aka comparison syndrome can often create a block in you being visible and that is something you MUST choose to address. Wherever you are in business – from start-up to empire builder – one thing applies to all

You could have the best business, the best service, the best product – but what’s the point if no one knows you exist

So time to focus on your big WHY. Why have you chosen to do what you do? What impact do you want to have in life? Who do you want to have an impact on?

Focus on where you are rather than compare your step 3 to someone else’s step 7

• Diarise it – so it happens

Consistency is key when building your Personal Brand and this can sometimes feel overwhelming. I usually hear the…”there’s so much to do and I just don’t have the time” reasons for not being consistent

But like anything, creating content is like exercising. You have to create a habit and exercise that habit for it to work.

And the good news, you can do it with just 30-60mins a day.

So here are a few tips so content feels easy:

1. Start with 2-3 posts a week (ideally you want to be posting every day but it’s more important that you create a consistent plan that won’t overwhelm you)
2. You only have to post once in the day
3. Use the 4 Content Pillars: Knowledge (share value-led advice that would help your audience). Intimate (Yes, you can post personal or fun content that shows your human side. News (Use newsworthy and trending topics that you can relate to your expertise. And share up-to-date news on your industry). Grow – share promotional content that will help you attract leads and grow your business
4. Comment on others’ posts
5. Use all the content features: Lives, audio, carousels, polls, long-form copy, videos etc
6. Put yourself in the content – let people see you
7. Yes – apparently posts between 8-10am in your time zone is said to work better but really, just post engaging content. If it’s engaging, people will read it
8. Create content where the amount of time your audience ‘dwells’ on it is increased

10 things to help you grow your Personal Brand on LinkedIn?

1.???Send a personal message when connecting

2.???Use the SEARCH box to find ideal connections

3.???Comment on others’ posts

4.???Comment on comments (with more than 5 words)

5.???Listen in on Audio events and follow/connect

6.???Leverage and engage with people in the DMs who react to your content

7.???Share your opinions – marketing is a disqualification process so you need to stand for what you believe in and repel those who don’t

8.???Use keywords in your profile.

9.???If you haven’t done already – get your LinkedIn newsletter out

10. Start with your Profile – that’s the backbone of your LinkedIn marketing

So there you have it - it's time for you to speak out, stand out and show the world your genius.

Enjoy your week

Dee xox

For more content like this – and learn how to grow your Personal Brand so you can attract opportunities – whatever ‘opportunities’ mean to you, give me a follow and click the bell on my profile

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HOW TO GROW YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ON LINKEDIN

Starts on Monday 1st August 2022