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Personal Branding on LinkedIn – Tips For Curating and Creating Compelling Content

When it comes to personal social media, you likely have perfected your preferred combo of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, curating your content and voice so that it’s very you. But what about professional social media?

When it comes to networking online, LinkedIn is where the bulk of it happens. But setting up and maintaining a professional LinkedIn profile can require a different approach than, say, your personal Instagram. So after you set up your LinkedIn profile and implement the best practices for profile optimisation, the next step is to introduce content, which adds substance to your profile. Yes, people can gauge your capabilities from your past work experience, but what’s the best way to show that you are still relevant now? To answer this question, people turn to your LinkedIn activity, checking whether you’ve shared any posts or published any articles recently. Impress your LinkedIn connections. (Source: LinkedIn)

But crafting the perfect LinkedIn post requires a slightly different skill-set than a composing a pithy tweet. After all, you want to impress your LinkedIn connections with your professional acumen – maybe in addition to your wit. To learn how best to do this, read on for the how-tos of curating and creating compelling content for your LinkedIn profile.

Curate and share third-party content

In order to share great content, you first need to be up to speed on industry news. Make it part of your daily routine to read trade publications and scroll through posts from subject matter experts and the prominent hashtags on LinkedIn to keep tabs on trending topics. If you’re unsure where to begin, LinkedIn makes it easy for you to find newsletters to follow based on your profile and interests.

Tip: Click the “My Network” icon at the top of your LinkedIn home page and scroll down to see newsletters recommended based on your function that you can subscribe to. (Source: LinkedIn)

Navigate to the bottom of the left sidebar on your LinkedIn home page, and click “Discover more” under “Followed Hashtags” to see a list of popular hashtags related to your profile that you can follow. (Source: LinkedIn)

To follow more trending hashtags, you can also click the “My Network” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage and scroll to the bottom. (Source: LinkedIn)

Any time you come across interesting articles or opinions, be it on LinkedIn or otherwise, take some time to share it on your LinkedIn profile and add your personal thoughts or an insightful remark. That said, never post just for the sake of posting – always ensure that what you are sharing adds value for your audience. Curating and sharing content with careful intention will display your knowledge of current events and trends, improving your followers’ perceptions of your expertise.

If your employer has a LinkedIn page, a quick way to enhance your LinkedIn activity is to share pertinent posts from your company’s page. On the side, this also demonstrates commitment to your job and shows what the business you work for is all about.

Pro tip: include hashtags in your post to help other LinkedIn users discover your content and increase your reach. Similar to other social media channels, hashtags on LinkedIn work to categorise posts, and best practices suggest around three to four hashtags per LinkedIn post. But don’t get too creative: hashtags should be specific to the topic of your post, rather than about your brand alone because people are more likely to search for hashtags related to their work or interests.

Yup, I should definitely go with #WomenInBusiness instead of #OrianaAtWork.
Make use of LinkedIn’s hashtag recommendations that appear as you type in the post creator. (Source: LinkedIn

Publish owned content

Owned content refers to content you generate as opposed to content from third-party sources. It’s smart to offer a mix of content on your LinkedIn page, and complementing your sharing of third-party content with original posts and articles of your own showcases your voice and thoughts. Simple posts are ideal for brief updates and highlights, while articles are preferable for thought leadership and lengthy reflections. Before writing a full article on LinkedIn, gain a preliminary understanding of your audience using LinkedIn’s People Insights tool, which offers an overview of LinkedIn behaviours across industries.

Perhaps your LinkedIn habits contributed to this snapshot. (Source: LinkedIn)

In addition to the “Top content topics” results from LinkedIn’s nifty tool, which can serve as a launchpad for article ideas, there are also broad themes across functions and industries that could appeal to your audience. Be a thought leader with substance by including subjects such as innovation, diversity and inclusion, socially responsible initiatives, as well as spotlighting deserving talent and wins in the workplace whenever relevant.

In the midst of delighting and growing your follower base through interesting and varied content, remember to maintain a unified tone of voice across all your LinkedIn posts and articles – because as any branding professional will tell you, the key to a strong brand is consistency. Whether you are friendly and effusive, or professional and succinct, let your personality speak through your writing style.

Lastly, use quality visuals that enhance your message. For LinkedIn articles, include an eye-catching cover image at the top, and intersperse text with images, videos and other rich media to segment the article and improve flow. Avoid publishing dark or low-resolution pictures, or shaky videos with poor audio. For LinkedIn posts, experiment with multiple formats. You can easily add photos and videos to your post, or use one of LinkedIn’s customisable templates to welcome a new teammate or show your appreciation for a colleague.

No one achieves success without the help of others. (Source: LinkedIn)

Give text-only posts a try, too. Contrary to popular belief, they can be effective, especially when your aim is to make a simple statement or ask a question.

When your words have weight. (Source: LinkedIn)

The content that you curate and create on LinkedIn is representative of who you are and what you stand for as a working professional. Be intentional about the topics you share about, write in a consistent tone of voice and maximise the use of LinkedIn’s publishing features to define and develop your personal brand on the platform.

Want to pen your thoughts on LinkedIn but can’t find the right words? We can do that for you! Write to us at [email protected].

Personal branding on LinkedIn – tips to optimise your profile

People often think of brands in relation to products or companies, but did you know branding is important for individuals too? Whether you are a fresh graduate or seasoned professional, there is likely someone who has looked you up on the Internet at some point in time… And your LinkedIn profile may just have popped up as one of the top results.

Google your name! Fingers crossed, no drunk photos. (Source: Google)

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with more than 645 million users in over 200 countries. If it’s a platform you don’t use often, you should reconsider your approach: defining and developing your personal brand on the platform will help you level up your game and land opportunities like clinching an interview or job placement with that company you have always dreamed of working for, landing a speaking engagement or gaining a profitable business partnership.

But before you can reap all the aforementioned rewards, the first thing you need to do to build a strong personal brand on LinkedIn is add some style and substance to your profile.

Optimise your LinkedIn profile

First impressions count. Use a professional and approachable profile photo, and pair it with a background photo that helps to increase your credibility. Your choice of background photo largely depends on the work you do, and could range from a candid shot of you speaking at an event to artwork you have designed for clients.

When you have 22 million followers and probably as many photos to choose from, a collage could be the answer. (Source: LinkedIn)

Next, consider your successes and experience, and distill that into a distinctive profile headline that highlights the essence of what you do.

What’s your claim to fame? (Source: LinkedIn)

While the profile headline should be short and snappy, make use of the summary section to tell your story and let your personality shine through. Update the experience section as well, detailing the previous roles you held and including links to articles, presentations or videos that showcase your achievements. Remember to use buzzwords sparingly if you want your profile to stand out from the highly “experienced” and “strategic” LinkedIn crowd.

To give your credibility a further boost, add relevant licenses and certifications that you possess, and request for skill endorsements and recommendations from your bosses, colleagues and clients.

The list goes on… that’s why he’s the boss! PM if you need PR or content marketing counsel. (Source: LinkedIn)

Add a final flourish by customising your profile URL. This isn’t the time to be creative – keep the URL short and simple so people can easily connect with you on LinkedIn when they see the link on other material such as your business card or a presentation slide.

This article is the first in the three-part series about personal branding on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for more! And if you need help crafting a strong LinkedIn person which will help you stand out, you know the drill – say hi at [email protected]

How To Kickstart A Social Media Presence For Business Executives

Nobody expects business leaders to take selfies and post Instagram Stories about their day-to-day work. But, that may be exactly what they picture (and maybe even fear) when their marketing team suggests they leverage social media as a professional communication channel. And that’s where the conversation usually ends.

But…let’s embark on a thought journey that imagines what could happen if business leaders did agree to become an active LinkedIn user.

Perhaps you, the marketer, suggest that LinkedIn is a platform where they can directly communicate their professional thoughts, opinions and business success to thousands of industry connections, government stakeholders and prospective talent at the same time.

You point out that, sure, a keynote presentation at a regional industry conference could have that effect – once. But you emphasise that regular posts on LinkedIn, be it original blogs on a topic of expertise, status updates about business milestones or quick articles shares and comments on industry news – can have the same effect over a sustained period of time.

Most leading companies executives will have thousands of industry connections, but not even a proper profile picture (or in some cases none at all).

Why should any business executive be active on LinkedIn?

If they still aren’t convinced, you’ll likely say something like, “Do you want to inspire your employees to be ambassadors for your company or brand? Yes? Well, this works best when led from the top.” Maybe you even come up with an analogy – something along the lines of, “Hiding in the corner office, avoiding employees and customers, was once the sure-fire way to reinforce a leader’s unapproachability – not being on social media or LinkedIn specifically is the 21st-century equivalent.”

Need some stats in your arsenal?

Employee profiles get a 2X higher click-through rate compared to when a company profile shares the same content
Employees’ networks are collectively about 10X larger than the company’s followers
75% of users on LinkedIn will start following a leader or business based on the quality of their thought leadership
92% of LinkedIn users say good thought leadership will increase respect
60% of LinkedIn users will stop following a business leader if the writing isn’t good enough
Prospective talent are 40% more likely to apply for a job if they are familiar with the company
87% of business decision-makers believe thought leadership increases trust in an organisation, while 89% believe it enhances brand reputation

You could go on to say that being active on LinkedIn and other relevant social media channels is not about likes and clicks (although tracking is important), but rather about inspiring your team, amplifying your perspective on industry topics and highlighting your company’s success.

But the problem is…

To be fair, most executives we at Mutant work with and talk to don’t necessarily have the time to kickstart their presence on LinkedIn, while others simply don’t know where to begin.

Let’s look at the facts:

What does that mean?

Missed opportunities.

Even though it may seem daunting, the truth is that getting started is actually simple. Here are the first steps any company executive who wants to be active on LinkedIn needs to take (and no, it doesn’t include posting selfies):

Update their profile

Most leading companies executives will have thousands of industry connections, but not even a proper profile picture (or in some cases none at all). In all honesty, even those executives who don’t want to be active on LinkedIn should clean up and update their profile periodically. After all, it’s their professional shop front. So here’s what to advise them to do:

Add a recent professional headshot (and perhaps even a relevant cover image)
Add a short and concise headline. This could be a job title and/or what they want to be known for (i.e. serial entrepreneur, bitcoin investor, FMCG veteran)
Craft a summary paragraph that goes beyond a job description to highlight who they are and what they are interested in (professionally)
Update their experience section, including recent job titles and affiliated companies, and a short description for each position
Create a custom LinkedIn URL (i.e. linkedin.com/in/yourname)

Build their network

Don’t accept every invite received. Make sure connections are validated, and advise the executive to only connect with people they actually know, people who are relevant to their industry, their professional work or who are other stakeholders.

If they want to proactively grow their network, they can also include their custom LinkedIn URL in their email signature and on their business card.

Define who they are on LinkedIn

Being active on LinkedIn doesn’t mean someone should like and comment on every post. It’s important a business leader define the topics they want to engage with and talk about. They should select a few topics they care about, feel strongly about – especially those related to their field and that they are perhaps an expert in.

To do this, they should think of themselves as a brand and define their own basic content pillars (i.e. sustainability, IT innovations, IT infrastructure, business efficiency) in order to select topics they want to talk about related to their content pillars.

Plan ahead

Company leaders are busy, their calendars feeling up months in advance – this means it should be easy for them to create a basic calendar including company events, conferences they’ll be attending, significant dates in the industry and more – with these in mind, posts can be drafted ahead of time and saved, ready to deploy when the right date rolls around.

When it comes to commenting on trends, executives should try to spot emerging topics in their industry and talk about them early. For example, if they know that a particular conference is going to generate a lot of buzz around a particular topic, they could publish a LinkedIn blog about what to expect from that conference and their personal take on these topics.

Be consistent & unique

One of the biggest roadblocks preventing business leaders from being active on LinkedIn is the perception that it takes a lot of time and effort to have an impact. However, publishing 2-3 posts every month doesn’t take up too much time once the steps above have been followed.

The truth is that consistency and regular content are key. But, it’s not necessary to write a new blog every week. Instead, choose a frequency that is manageable and then stick to it.

Remember that quality insights in one blog will have a stronger impact than daily posts. In fact, decision-makers say the majority of content they come across isn’t new, enticing or shows unique opinions. Rehashing someone else’s ideas isn’t the way to create an impact.

What sort of content should business executives publish on LinkedIn?

Original blogs highlighting thought leadership and expert opinions
Status updates about company events, conferences, awards and other successes
Reposting news bylines or media mentions (including their point-of-view)
Sharing news from the company’s LinkedIn page (including why this matters to them)
Share interesting articles related to their field (including their opinion on the topic)

(Left to right: original blog post, status update about awards, resharing company highlights)

So where does this leave us?

Should business executives be active on LinkedIn? – Yes

Do they need to post about irrelevant topics to stay in the feed? – Of course not

Can they be impactful and credible at the same time? – Yes

Does it take some effort? – Yes, but not as much as they think

Is LinkedIn an effective communication channel where you can control your content and reach a highly-valuable audience? – Yes

Do you have more questions? Ask away! Mutant has worked with numerous business leaders to establish their LinkedIn presence, amplify their thought leadership and increase their company’s reputation.

Do you want to know more about how we did it? Need help to convince your boss or want to boost your own LinkedIn presence? Send an email to [email protected] and our content team will get in touch!