How to BRAND YOURSELF on LinkedIn

Do you often ponder: Am I a Brand or Am I a Brand? Well, Folks, as of today, EACH one of You regardless of the Industry you are into, YOU are a BRAND. You might not be aware of it, or might not want to acknowledge it, or yet haven’t realized the importance of your Personal Brand in the age of Social Business. But, Believe You, Me; fast approaches a time, when every professional in every industry will be evaluated on the basis of his Personal Brand Worth.

Often the next question is  “To Brand ME or Not To Brand ME?” And if your answer is YES; the next endless list of questions follow suit:

a)      How to brand myself?

b)      What am I suppose to brand?

c)      Where am I suppose to brand?

d)      How to express my brand? And

e)      The most common question: WHY am I suppose to brand myself?

For now, we are going to focus on HOW TO brand yourself, starting with the most visible and credible network on the social media-LinkedIn.

I personally believe that LinkedIn has been a much worthy of an innovation vis-a-vis Facebook. Not that I love Facebook any less than LinkedIn; but for the ruling corporate citizens of today, LinkedIn has been the biggest boon since maybe the Wheel! (Alright! I might have exaggerated a bit-for the dramatic effect-but you do get the significance of it, right?)

So let’s enumerate the answers to these questions:

1. HOW to Brand Yourself: Discover your YOUnique Brand Promise, that differentiates you from the herd, and Voice it. The ideal protocol is to Discover your Personal Brand, under the aegis of a Personal Brand Strategist; who will empower you to unearth Your Personal Brand and communicate it effectively to your target audience. But nonetheless, if you are confident of your distinguishing personal brand promise and can express it without professional guidance, express your personal brand, yourself. Answer these 4 questions as YOUniquely as you possibly can to discover your Brand Promise:

1. WHO are you: This is your identity: professional, with a touch of personal

2. WHAT do you do: This is the work that you do, and how you do it differently

3. WHOM do you do it for: This is your target audience that you serve or that benefits from what you offer

4. WHY you are the best guy/gal for the job: This is what distinguishes you from all other mortals who wish to be you!

Open your LinkedIn Summary with a powerful statement answering these 4 questions and you’ve already nailed he first impression!

2. WHAT To Brand About Yourself: Your Values, Passions, Vision, Purpose, Strengths, Aspirations and Goals! These are the traits that make you YOU. These are the qualities which when come together make your Personal Brand truly YOUnique! Weave these brand differentiators into your brand story to highlight how your beliefs and ethics and dreams impact your brilliant work performance-remember this is a combination of softer-skills that nobody else offers! The inimitable combination of these aforementioned brand attributes make you different, make you YOUnique and Irreplaceable! My Word: DON’T be afraid to be different, “What makes you different, makes you successful!”

3. WHERE to Focus: In your LinkedIn profile, every possible window of opportunity: Your headline, your summary and your work experience for your professional brand experience; I encourage you to use additional sections like Multimedia gallery, Awards and Honors, Skill Endorsements and Powerful Recommendations to help your profile stand out and present a more holistic professional brand. Weave an impressive and a credible story line that expresses how you have enriched your employers/clients etc and most importantly yourself, and come to become what you are today.

4. HOW to Communicate Your Brand: DO NOT reiterate your brand message; meaning, do not repeat it blatantly. Use the power of the aforementioned 3 windows of opportunity-Headline, Summary and Experience-to share a different dimension of your brand’s journey with your audience. A few Personal Branding MUST Dos on LinkedIn include:

a) Brand Your URL: By default, LinkedIn gives your profile a non-descript URL with a bunch of numbers and letters. But, You can BRAND Your URL by choosing a custom URL for your public profile. HOW: To change your URL, go to your “Edit Contact Info” section right below your connection meter. Then click “Edit” next to the URL which shows a LinkedIn.Com address followed by a series of numbers to edit and brand your LinkedIn URL with your name. For eg: You can use your name(if available) to get a Self Branded URL like this: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tanvibhatt

b) Use the headline creatively to declare your BRAND STAND- your unique positioning, a niche which you can claim to be the expert of!

c) Express your BRAND VALUE- your unique value of professional promise or your brand proposition with a hint of personal touch in your brand summary

d) Engage your audience with an impressive account of your BRAND STORY in the Summary section- your brand’s achievements through your chronological work experience exhibit

e) Request for Recommendations from the Key Influencers of your Industry; as this is the best way of showing the world, what people really think about your Brand

f) Enrich your community with regular updates from your Blog (GET one if you don’t have one yet!) or simply start publishing on LinkedIn, as even LinkedIn now offers you an avenue to blog your thoughts, add value and share your expertise with your network. My Word: Get your own blog nonetheless!

And coming to the last question; WHY do I need to Brand myself-well, that’s a whole new post coming up for you, soon. In the meanwhile, BRAND YOURSELF on LinkedIn Today, before someone else Brands You: Insignificant!

For now, Start Branding; Start Celebrating the Brand YOU!