Why I post on LinkedIn: The business power of personal brand

For the past three months, I’ve been writing and posting a short post and one article per week on my personal LinkedIn page. These articles are business-focused, and have predominantly covered topics regarding leadership in general and my industry in particular. I’ve greatly enjoyed writing them, as well as seeing and taking part in the discussions they generate. I’ve also received criticism and questions about these articles: Why was I writing them? Why so often? What was the point?

In the Netherlands – and Nordic cultures can relate to this – we have a saying: “Steek je hoofd niet boven maaiveld.” It literally translates to: “Don’t put your head above ground level.” Essentially, however, it boils down to: “Don’t show off.” Just go about your work, while remaining humble and modest. Don’t try to draw attention to yourself, or brag about how great you are.

At first glance, this might seem at odds with what I’m doing. After all, I’m posting each week, offering unprompted ideas, opinions, and advice to the general LinkedIn community. That’s quite the opposite of keeping one’s head at ground level.

But these posts aren’t about showing off or bragging . They’re instead about taking a personal approach from my position as CEO to drive brand awareness for Hamlet Protein.

The racecar-driving CEO

A 2018 Forbes article?compares businesses and business leaders to NASCAR (or Formula One) teams, with employees as the crew of talented engineers or mechanics, and CEOs as the drivers who serve as the face of a team’s brand, able to make human connections with race fans around the world. And in business, human connections are critical. They build trust. They create value. They help keep you and your organization relevant.

“When a CEO acts as a thought leader, it provides value to an audience,” the article states. “When done correctly, CEOs can talk about their businesses … while sounding organic and contextual instead of contrived.”?

This is exactly the reasoning behind my recent LinkedIn activity: I believe creating a personal connection with those within (and potentially outside) my network can and will help Hamlet Protein.

Measuring success –?do ‘likes’ matter?

Now, how do I measure success? I could count “likes” or shares, but this is not an accurate indicator of how many people are interacting with –?much less enjoying – what I write. Since I began posting more regularly, I have received a great number of messages from people who have encouraged me to continue, even if they would not necessarily be those who would “like” a post.

These messages helped reassure me that at least some people appreciated what I was doing. They also led to very interesting online and offline interactions across my network and industry. This especially inspired me to keep going.

Of course, not everyone is going to consider a weekly LinkedIn article to be necessary. And maybe that’s true. But the fact is, I enjoy the act of writing and posting and discussing. I find it healthy, fun, and effective. Overall, the results and responses I’ve seen have been positive. It has helped me. It has helped my company.

And it’s made me even more aware of the business power of personal brand.