LinkedIn is becoming an essential working part of business culture and is now the go-to place for job hunting, searching for company insights, and connecting with like-minded people. For many brands and business professionals, LinkedIn is the platform to build credibility surrounding their products and services to eventually be recognized as an expert in the industry – otherwise known as a thought leader.
If you want your company or personal brand to be the first search on LinkedIn when users are looking for those with expertise in a certain industry, you must first build your LinkedIn profile to become a distinguished thought leader on the platform. Your profile is a representation of your brand and can be a leading factor in reputation-building and likeness.
Here are four tips to utilize in building your LinkedIn profile to become a thought leader:
- Eye-catching profile and cover photos
One of the first things that draw users to your profile is a visually pleasing profile and cover images. Proper visual aids give you the ability to represent your brand and make it memorable. Choose images that align with your company’s branding in terms of fonts, colors, and messaging. Using a company logo, specifically for the profile picture, will make your page distinguishable before users even access your full page. Make sure to also stay consistent with imaging across social platforms for consistent brand representation.
- Relevant “About Us” section
When users want to know more about what your brand does and represents, they go to your profile’s “About Us” section. This statement should be brief but informative enough that readers understand your purpose. Information that should be included in the “About Us” section should be what you do, how you do it, your goal, and any other interesting commentary such as company statistics, founding dates, and even adding a personal sentence or two can be enough to hook potential brand followers.
- Network, network, network
You have to put in some work in order for your LinkedIn page to be seen throughout the platform. To gain social traction, start connecting with users and following company pages that are relevant to your brand. This can be current customers, potential customers, partners, retailers, or whoever is beneficial to your company. LinkedIn allows users to send around 100 connections per week, so set a goal to connect with a few other users and companies each day to increase exposure.
- Stay active to stay relevant
One of the most important, yet overlooked, things to do on LinkedIn to build your profile and presence is to frequently stay engaged. It’s as simple as liking, commenting, and/or reposting other users’ content; however, ensure the content you are engaging with is relevant to your brand, as your activity on LinkedIn is a reflection of your company. Don’t forget to make your own content as well – this is how users will form opinions of your company and choose whether or not to follow you.
Following these four steps will help your brand or company build a reputable LinkedIn profile recognized as a thought leader on the platform, which then provides the foundation for launching a successful thought leadership campaign.
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