You would be seeing a lot of personal brand-building coaches or mentors on social media these days.
A lot of personal branding courses and mentorship programs are being sold rigorously in today’s age of the internet. But, do you think that you need a coach or a course to build a personal brand on LinkedIn?
It is not as fancy as you think. You can yourself build your own personal brand. In fact, you’re the only one who can effectively build your brand – because it’s YOUR PERSONAL BRAND.
Coaches/Mentors can just guide you. YouTube tutorials on personal brand building or blogs like the one you are reading right now will give you what, why, and how to build a personal brand, but even after watching hundreds of tutorials or reading thousands of blogs, you won’t be able to build a personal brand if you don’t ACT!
Building a personal brand on LinkedIn is extremely important. Whether you are a freelancer, a working professional, an entrepreneur, or even a student who is just beginning with his graduation course, brand building on LinkedIn is equally important for every individual in today’s world.
I will give you multiple reasons why it is so important.
7 reasons to build a personal brand on LinkedIn
#1. LinkedIn is your virtual CV
Many people say that LinkedIn is your virtual business card, but I would say that it’s not just a virtual business card, it is your virtual CV. And your virtual CV must describe you well.
Even if you consider it as just a business card, it is extremely important.
Why?
Gone are the days of updating & printing the physical versions of your CVs. With the advent & adoption of digital platforms, there are creative ways of designing portfolios/CVs on the internet.
The quickest, easiest & free way to make a virtual CV is making & optimizing a LinkedIn profile. An added advantage is you can update it anywhere & anytime and it is LIVE.
It’s easily shareable too. All you need is to share the link of your LinkedIn profile & there you go!
#2. Networking
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with 774+ million members in 200+ countries and territories worldwide.
Building a personal brand on LinkedIn helps you stand out amongst the massive number of LinkedIn users.
People like to connect & network with like-minded individuals and a personal brand on LinkedIn helps the other members know you better, understand your thought-process & connect with you.
#3. Finding Jobs
What helps you distinguish yourself from the thousands of applications that a recruiter gets in a day?
It’s your personal brand.
In order to sell something, you need to be present on the platforms where your buyers are present. And when you are seeking a job, the buyer is that HR person or manager who is hiring for his team.
The buyer in this case is present on LinkedIn and actively looking out for candidates out there.
If your profile is properly optimized & you have a strong presence on LinkedIn, there are high chances of you getting a message from a recruiter instead of you finding jobs. That’s the power of personal brand on LinkedIn.
So a strong personal brand on LinkedIn helps you find jobs.
#4. Finding Freelancing Opportunities
Even if you are not looking for a job, you can get a lot of freelancing opportunities by leveraging your network on LinkedIn.
I have seen a lot of people leaving their full-time jobs after seeking a lot of freelancing opportunities on LinkedIn; that too just by making a strong personal brand on this platform.
While many professionals who are having full-time jobs are using their personal brands on LinkedIn to find part-time freelancing opportunities.
#5. Enhances SEO
Ever heard of SEO? Search Engine Optimization is the process of ranking higher on search engines.
Usually, people do SEO for their websites. But when you optimize your LinkedIn profile, it automatically ranks higher in the results.
Try searching “Jainish Shah” on Google. You will find my LinkedIn profile. The fun fact is my LinkedIn profile ranks higher than my website. That’s the power of LinkedIn. You don’t have to do SEO, all you need to do is build a strong personal brand on this powerful professional networking platform.
Your personal brand on LinkedIn helps people find you on Google too 🙂
#6. Build Community
Building a virtual community is not difficult these days. You would have come across the communities of developers or the photography groups.
What are these?
They are communities. And you can build your own community with the help of personal branding. There are several such people who have leveraged the power of LinkedIn to help people & in the process of helping, build powerful communities.
One such example is of product management expert Shravan Tickoo. He started sharing the knowledge of product management on LinkedIn & his posts attracted a lot of product management enthusiasts. He currently has 40K+ LinkedIn followers & a strong community of product managers.
Taking it further, he also started a YouTube Channel & a course.
That’s the power of community building on LinkedIn.
#7. Builds trust & confidence
You would have seen a lot of people having empty or incomplete LinkedIn profiles. Many don’t have a profile picture while many have not updated their LinkedIn profile.
Your LinkedIn profile should be an All-Star Profile.
Know more about how to make an All-Star LinkedIn profile here – 8 steps to make your LinkedIn Profile All-Star
When your profile is up to date & you are consistently engaging with others on this platform, it gradually built trust in your followers. When your followers trust you, they not only consume your content but also share it with others. This helps you grow.
Even if you keep all the benefits that I listed above aside, one of the main reasons for building your personal brand on LinkedIn is to enhance your own Confidence.
Yes, you read it right. When you have a polished profile and when you start posting good content on a consistent basis, it not only helps you become a better content creator or brand but also makes you more confident.
Imagine your content being liked by the CEO/MD of some MNC or receiving a comment on your post from a thought-leader in that particular industry! Won’t this boost your confidence?
Conclusion
You might not be able to achieve all the fame on this professional networking platform from day 1. But once you have a good presence, you share good content & start working on your personal brand on this platform, you will start seeing the benefits of it.
Rome was not built in one day & your personal brand will also be not built in one day. You need to begin by taking small steps & if you’re not yet on LinkedIn, you need to get there right now 🙂
By the way, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn here – Jainish Shah’s LinkedIn