With over 950 million members worldwide, across 200 countries, LinkedIn is THE social media platform for the business world, and your personal brand is what connects your audience’s buyer mindset with your businesses products and services.
So many founders and startups don’t get the recognition they deserve, but it’s not because they aren’t good enough. It’s because the world doesn’t know about them. Yet.
So, how do you change that? Start building a personal brand that sets you apart from your competition. That positions YOU as THE expert in your field and that makes you SEEN and HEARD.
As a founder, you have 10x the reach of your company brand online, so don’t miss out on this opportunity which is right in front of you.
What is personal branding?
To put it simply. Personal branding is your reputation. So if you are taking the time to intentionally work on how others perceive you, you are essentially working on your personal brand.
Personal branding helps you establish yourself as an industry leader in your field, it will help you attract leads organically, connect with potential business partners, and prospect.
79% of marketers see LinkedIn as a very good source of leads, with 43% of marketers saying they have sourced AT LEAST one customer from LinkedIn.
Not only is your personal brand an extension of your business, but it can also be your business brand altogether (many founders tend to launch their business on their personal profile rather than setting up a company page).
There’s solid psychological reasoning behind building a personal brand. People do business with brands and people that they trust and by being present on Linkedin, sharing your knowledge and being open about your business journey, you’re letting people know they can trust your skills and judgment.
What Is Personal Branding Not?
Personal branding is not about faking or forging a false representation for yourself. That's not authentic and people on LinkedIn will know that.
It's not about self-promotion either nor is about becoming an 'influencer' it’s about becoming more influential in your space and sharing your rich knowledge on your products and services.
Where do you start?
Increasing your online visibility is not difficult or time-consuming when you use a proper LinkedIn content strategy for personal branding. But first of all…
Optimise Your Profile: Create a detailed and professional LinkedIn profile. Make sure everything is up to date, a well-optimised profile is the first step to building your personal brand, we have a whole blog dedicated to helping you with this.
Engage Actively: Regularly engage with your network by commenting on posts, sharing relevant content, and starting meaningful conversations. Engagement not only increases your visibility but also showcases your personality. It’s important to start building those relationships with other creators from the start.
Share Valuable Content: It’s important to be you, share the highs and lows of your journey and showcase your personality in the best way possible. Remember, this is your chance to demonstrate your knowledge and offer value to your network.
Who should you take inspiration from?
Top 3 UK creators for personal branding inspiration
Sophie Miller
There’s no better success story than Sophie Miller’s, Director of Pretty Little Marketer (PLM). Sophie regularly shares her story on how building her personal brand has quite literally changed her life. Not only has she built a successful personal brand, Sophie has created a tight knit community with other fellow creators.
Sophie creates content to support others in marketing, whilst also consulting for global brands. Her content is transparent, authentic and relatable for her audience of budding marketers.
Amelia Sordell
Amelia has a community online of over 149,000 people and has built a £1 million personal branding agency, Klowt, which she built all off the back of her personal brand.
Amelia once said. Type how you talk. For me, it’s transformed my approach to writing my posts, I now Talk TO my audience rather than talking AT them.
Steven Bartlett
Steven Bartlett has 1162% more followers than SocialChain. Why? Because people prefer to interact with other people. People relate to other people more than brands. And people convey values and beliefs more sincerely than brands.
Steven has shared his thoughts on why personal branding is hugely unappreciated for driving growth in all facets of your business, career and life, I definitely recommend giving this podcast episode a watch if you’re still contemplating building your personal brand.
If you’ve read this far down, thank you!
Personal branding is not easy. But once you start and see the reward, you won’t stop building on it! One thing to remember is that everyone starts somewhere. First posts are always terrible, your second probably won’t be much better, but your 50th post will be better than your first and second. And that’s the point. You get better the more you do.
If you’d like to discuss building your personal brand in more detail, I would be happy to share my knowledge and experience with you, just book in a call.
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