Your Digital Reputation: Are You Taking Advantage of LinkedIn's Many Opportunities?

I wrote this article based on a keynote presentation I give to sales, marketing, and executive communities. The feedback I continuously receive is so positive that I thought - well, hey! Maybe the rest of the community could benefit from this, even those that are already active on LinkedIn!

If you haven't heard, LinkedIn is the ultimate platform for career and business opportunities. Since only 1% of users are active contributors to the platform, the odds are in your favor to experience endless opportunity. Here's a breakdown of the metrics as of June 1, 2019:

To start out, I'm a fan of fives. High fives, low fives, air fives... Five Guys Burgers & Fries *insert drooling Homer Simpson* - I LOVE CHEESEBURGERS!

Let's get started by tooting my own horn, highlighting the top five thrills of my personal LinkedIn strategy so far so you can get at taste of what's possible...

1. Winning a campaign and meeting the influencers.

The first WIN that launched it all, was joining a campaign fueled by the influencers of the platform. The #LetsGetHonest campaign was developed by a group of millennials to take control of the platform, which turned a dull, buttoned-up resume site to an interactive, personal and professional place of value. By joining and winning this campaign, I learned how to market myself effectively with personal brand coaching straight from the experts.

Pro Tip:

Want to score leads? Join campaigns.

Want to make friends? Join campaigns.

Want to create content? Join campaigns.

Make sense?

Good!

2. Connections & Friendships.

I have made the most amazing partnerships and friendships all over the world. I remember my first friendship, Ramakrishnan from southern India working in Norway. I learned so much from opening my heart up and letting a stranger in that I got the itch to keep making connections, all over the world.

Some of my best friends are now in London, Denver, LA, NYC, Switzerland, France, and India with professional focuses from law, to aerospace engineering, art and everything in between! Making these connections has set me up with endless leads as I remain top of mind to these wonderful connections as a mindset and inclusion advocate for the differently-abled community and Brand Sorceress.

And the benefits work in return as well! I love connecting new friends that request various services to my amazing network of professionals.

3. So. Many. INTERVIEWS!

Since creating consistent content on this platform, I've gained exposure and invitations to join podcasts all over the world, including publications from London to LA. This exposure is all FREE and is consumed regularly! I can't believe how many people listen to a podcast or stumble across a video collaboration with me in it and then reach out to me to speak at events or help build their brands - it's amazing!

4. Launching A Successful Business.

After five months of creating content on LinkedIn, I had so many inquiries regarding marketing services that I decided to take my freelance career and launch a business to control projects and finances easier. I introduced Stardust Creative, LLC. on my Birthday, March 29th of 2018...

One month later, on May 1st I had six clients.

One month after that, on June 1st I had doubled my client databased to twelve and hired an assistant.

One month after that, on July 1st, I had over $1M in revenue generating opportunities and paid off HALF of my medical debt from diagnosis, treatment, and recovery without health insurance - but that's a different story!

Talk about a journey worth sharing!

5. Speaking ALL over!

I never imagined being a speaker. All throughout high school and college, I sat in the back of the class and never raised my hand. I liked being in the background. I guess it was because I didn't have the passion that I have now. Once I found my voice, I couldn't keep quiet. My passion for empowering the differently-abled community to get out there and let their superpowers shine while pushing for equality, accessibility, and inclusion is stronger than ever. Creating video content helped significantly in brainstorming presentations and delivering them in a natural, authentic way.

And people noticed.

I have spoken in other countries, physically and virtually, and have become a regular speaker in the Midwest! Ta-da! Who would have thought?!

I have been so fortunate to join, connect, and create during the BOOM of the platform and I want to make sure that everyone with an authentic voice and heart for growth is set up for success to experience the same results!

Now, we all know that you can't run until you learn how to walk... right? But that also requires trying. Starting and practicing. So here are my suggestions to get you started in the right direction to achieve all of your career goals with a solid LinkedIn strategy...

Getting Started on LinkedIn

Building a personal brand is a tricky feat. Most professionals try to niche down so much that they forget to highlight the most strategic, unique traits. Others bite onto too many niches and fade into the noise. Here are a few things you can do to amplify your strategy.

1. Build Your Brand.

Creating a solid social strategy requires a specific voice. YOUR voice. I like to explain it as... what do you want people to think of when they hear your name? What do you want people to feel or images that come to mind for you?

To start, first, think about your goals.

What's your end goal for using LinkedIn? Is it...

• direct sales?
• generating leads?
• booking speaking engagements?
• career opportunities?

Once you know the answer to this question, you'll be able to make the most out of your time creating content.

Then, you'll want to discover who that target market is:

• Who are the people that will help you reach those goals?
• Where are they located?
• What topics do they care about?
• Whom do they follow?
• Which influencers in the community do you look up to?

Answering these questions will help you determine topics and hashtags to follow.

2. Complete Your Profile.

This seems easy, but so many elements can get overlooked by new users - and even experienced creators, too! Here are some quick hacks to complete your profile:

ONE. Banner Image & Profile Picture

Seems simple, right? Wrong. Professional headshots get 14x more profile views. It's also important to make sure your image is in FULL COLOR (not b/w) so that your image can pop out in the feed and in comments. Use a color that fits your brand. For example, mine is pink and sunshine yellow. Your banner image should reflect your goals. For example, my goal is advocacy, so my banner image is of me on stage, speaking to a large audience! One of my favorite examples of a stellar personal brand is Dave Asprey - check out his profile as a great example. His headshot has his brand orange as he sports some active apparel representing his wellness brand. He also has a great summary section which brings me to...

TWO. Title, Summary & Media.

Your title is a place to stand out and dazzle. It's important to get creative and express your goals here. Your summary should be unique to your story and include media items such as newspaper/magazine clippings, projects, interviews, and whatever else makes you stand out.

THREE. Experience.

Your experience section is important because you can put in so many characters into the details of your job description! This is the best place to use those quantitative and qualitative metrics to highlight your expertise. Don't avoid this section - it can be GOLD for lead generation!

FOUR. Skills & Endorsements.

Your skills section is important. Not only will it help people searching for users with those skills, but when you apply for positions listed on LinkedIn, your profile is evaluated as a fit for the position based on the skills and education listed on your profile. To evaluate which skills you should add, try searching for a next-level career. For example, if you are a Marketing Coordinator, look for a Marketing Manager position in the LinkedIn Jobs feature. It should have an outline of the skills needed and you can mark those down as skills you have - if, of course, they are relevant to your skillset and background.

Next step is going to endorse all of your connections. It's common for most to thank you or endorse you back. If they send their gratitude, feel free to ask for return endorsements. People love to help!

FIVE. Recommendations.

Speaking of help, the recommendation section is a great place to request previous colleagues and connections that know you well to write a professional review. This establishes trust and credibility to those looking to hire you for a role or project.

3. Join a Campaign.

Remember a pro tip from above?! Seriously. I've met so many incredible folks that have turned into business opportunities because of campaign activity.

4. Connect & Engage.

Engagement, above all, is the biggest investment you need to make in your online strategy. Just like any social media channel, your activity on other's content is what drives connection, interest, and engagement back to your native content. So get out there and start engaging!

Pro Tip:

Engage in your favorite influencer's content. Start responding and creating dialogue in the comments section of their posts. You'll create likeminded connections instantly!

5. Collaborate.

Find likeminded professionals to have a recorded video call or in-person video interview! You can repurpose and create bite-sized content that can take you through an entire season of mini-episodes of valuable content. Another suggestion is to co-author articles together. Your next step would be sharing images, videos, and posts talking about the article's content and driving traffic - think "upcycling" and you've done it!

A final suggestion is to find a few friends and other active professionals on the platform and create a support community where you can all bounce ideas off of each other and support each other's missions and online strategies.

Wow. That was a LOT of reading and a lot of tips to get you started in the right direction! If you need help creating a social strategy, I can usually help at $100/hour and it generally takes about five hours - otherwise, good luck! Start taking advantage of the endless opportunities out there!

If you'd like to book me for one of my energetic speaking engagements, I actively speak about the following topics:

• Your Digital Reputation: How to Take Advantage of LinkedIn's Opportunities
• Authentic Connections: Vulnerability that Brings Big Business
• Project Inclusion: Culture That Attracts, Retains & Inspires Diversity
• Mindset Magic: How to Rewire Your Brain for Ultimate Success
• Personal Branding Metamorphosis: Building Your Brand Butterfly

For more information, please visit www.chantelsoumis.com.