On LinkedIn, over 875 million people have the power to make decisions. If you want to promote your personal brand or business, you must include creating content specifically for LinkedIn in your content marketing strategy. You’ll be able to reach a large and relevant audience to showcase your unique skills and abilities and persuade them to come to you for advice.
What are personal brands?
Your personal brand is how other professionals see you, your abilities, background, and professional aspirations. It sets you apart from the competition.
What makes a good personal brand?
Your skills, interests, values, and beliefs should all be accurately reflected in your personal brand.
You want to make your brand all about the unique qualities that make you. It needs to be accurate; you can’t make it up and only exaggerate a little.
Will personal branding be important in 2024?
A solid personal brand is more crucial than ever in today’s digital environment.
80% of LinkedIn members want to connect with companies to enhance their decision-making.
By showcasing your expertise and enthusiasm in your line of work, it helps you establish credibility and trust with prospects, clients, and investors.
50% of LinkedIn members report that they are more likely to buy from a company they engage with on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn User Statistics
- 875 million members with over 58 million registered companies.
- 40 million people look to LinkedIn for job opportunities every week.
- Three people are hired each minute on LinkedIn.
- The average person has around 500-999 connections.
- There are more than 55 million companies listed on LinkedIn and there are 14 million open jobs on the platform.
- For companies who are active on LinkedIn, 30% of their engagement comes from their own employees. They’re 14x more likely to share their employers’ content on the platform compared to other types of content.
Cutting through the noise on LinkedIn
Professionals evaluate your LinkedIn profile as one of the first steps before deciding to work with you on a project or partnership.
This is an accepted business procedure in the modern world. Decisions are being made in less than 30 seconds, which affects their choice of whether to interact with you.
To create a successful personal brand you need to change your mindset and expectations.
Building a brand is an incremental process. It takes description and will be more difficult than you expected. It’s an investment in yourself and you get what you put in.
Do: Build Trust & Credibility
Trust is a continuous process. It doesn’t matter if you choose to believe what authoritative figures say or not.
Rather, trust is a sincere bond that develops through time.
It can also be lost over time, for example, as a result of negative experiences and a lack of leadership openness or communication.
Don’t: Pitch Slap
When someone suddenly hits you with a sales pitch while you’re having a discussion with them, it’s known as a pitch slap.
Most people detest being the victim of a pitch slap, but salesmen and marketers still use it surprisingly frequently.
Steps to Building a Strong Personal Brand on LinkedIn
Before we get started, go ahead and check your profile’s Social Selling Index (SSI). This is your lagging indicator, the aim is to get your profile into the top 1% for your Industry SSI rank and Network SSI rank. Take note of this and check back each quarter to assess your progress.
Step 1: Update Your LinkedIn Profile
All the best LinkedIn profiles must answer these 3 questions:
- Who are you?
- What do you do?
- Who do you help?
Start by optimizing the following:
Profile Photo
If you can, have a professional photograph taken. You only get one opportunity to make a good first impression. Make it seem appealing.
Alternatively, you can use AI to generate your professional profile picture. Here are some AIs that can help you: Starrytars, Facetune, and Midjourney.
Your Headline
Describe your role and the people you assist in 70 characters or less. If you get stuck, you can try using ChatGPT for some ideas.
Banner Image
Display your value statement. Don’t overthink it. Be precise. Get a graphic designer to help or use a template from Canva.
The Featured Section
The section is your opportunity to draw potential customers into your funnel. Give them a link to a page where they can get in touch with you or find something useful. Include LinkedIn posts that showcase your expertise.
The About Section
The about section needs to reflect your personality, who you help, and what you do. Position yourself as an expert. Prospective customers are not looking for your work experience. They’re looking for someone with the right skill set to help with their problems.
It’s also recommended to list your services in this section. Use white space to help make it easy for your readers to skim across the different sections. Include a Call to Action section, where you ask them to contact you.
Your about section can contain 2,600 characters, make every single one count. The example below uses a slightly modified PAS: Problem Agitate Solution framework:
Two things every B2B needs for demand generation:
1. Focused Marketing Strategy 🎯
2. Clarity Across Messaging & Content 💎
B2B companies struggle with their marketing because they lack focus and clarity.
😵💫 Most marketers feel they lack the resources and time to do a good job:
» Can’t focus because we’re too busy doing Lead Gen.
» Our messaging lacks clarity because we needed to launch yesterday.
🤯 Marketing is getting harder (and it’s never going to get easier)!
Everyone has at some point has tried:
… Rebrand: New logo, colors, and motivational messaging that left prospects confused
… LikedIn: Contact decision makers directly but ends up getting you locked out.
… SEO: New website with blog posts that cost a small fortune and somehow attracted no leads.
It happens!
Despite everyone’s best intentions, a good idea can fail.
Leaving you wondering where it all went wrong.
🤔 What if…
… Your messaging was so clear people could imagine using your product on their own.
… Your content is so valuable it brings in leads and fuels positive word of mouth.
… All your marketing activities worked together to grow your business.
😎 How awesome would that be?
I work 1:1 with CEOs, Marketers (CMO, VP, Director, Manager), and Entrepreneurs to help create and execute a winning marketing strategy that grows their business.
We focus on what generates the biggest impact on your business—ensuring that everything is crystal clear to your prospects on their buyer’s journey.
My agency specializes in Messaging • Branding • Demand Generation • Lead Generation • Content Marketing • Social Media Marketing • SEO • SEM • Web Design.
🏆 Case Studies
“In Motion Marketing is a significant part of our team. It’s been awesome having them as a resource.” ~Aimee Caton, Director of Marketing at Performio
“They are an agile company that can quickly customize their services based on our needs.” ~Athufa Mariff, Head of Marketing at On Q
“It’s been a very successful and impactful business engagement.” Greg Heilers, Co-Founder, Jolly SEO & PitchResponse
⭐️ Rated 4.9/5 on Clutch • DesignRush • GoodFirms
When you’re ready, let’s get on a call and take a closer look at your marketing strategy.
💬 DM when you’re ready.
Or reach out via using one of the ways below.
✉️ Email: bryan@inmotionmktg.com
📱Call: +61488552522
📅 Schedule a Zoom: https://meetings.hubspot.com/bryan269
Contact Information
You want to make it easy for people to contact you. Make sure to enter your work email and mobile number. Think of this as your virtual business card.
Website Information
Add a link to your Calendar, Blog, Linktree or wherever you want prospects to visit. Be sure to add an Emoji to make this call to action stand out.
Check Your Visibility
Make sure anybody on LinkedIn can follow. Head on over to Settings & Privacy for our profile. Click Visibility on the left. Scroll down to Followers and select Everyone on LinkedIn and Make follow primary.
Enable Creator Mode
The final step is heading back to your profile and turning on Creator Mode. This provides you with additional information and options. One of the most important features is changing the Connect button to Follow when your profile is displayed.
Edit your Custom LinkedIn URL
Personalize the URL for your profile by removing the auto-generated numbers and letters. Ideally, it’s your first and last name with no spaces. But if that’s been taken use dashes creatively.
Add a Spoken Introduction
On your mobile, find the speaking icon on your profile. Record a 10-second message about you and one of your audience’s triggers. Do not add an elevator pitch.
Topics (optional)
Bonus points if you already know your topics. Go ahead and add them to your profile.
LinkedIn Profile Video (Optional)
Once creator mode has been enabled you can add a 30-second profile video. Position yourself as someone who your prospects would like to have in their professional network.
Step 2: Find & Follow Creators
Getting your LinkedIn Newsfeed setup correctly is vital to a successful personal branding campaign. You’ll want a list of keywords handy for this step. These “keywords” are the “topics” that people in your niche will be discussing e.g. Marketing, Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy. They’re also the Hashtags or Topics you can add in Creator Mode.
Once you have your list of 7-10 keywords ready, start a new search on LinkedIn.
- Enter your Keyword into the LinkedIn Search bar
- Click on See All Results
- Narrow down by clicking on Posts
- Use All filters to further narrow down your results
- Follow the best Creators
- Repeat Daily
Picking who to follow
This is 100% subjective and completely dependent on you and your niche. That being said, here are a few qualities to look out for when searching for people to follow.
- Their content is genuinely educational
- Has 5,000+ followers
- Posts get 50+ Likes & Comments
- Comments on their posts aren’t repetitive and spammy
Following Their Followers
Aside from the Creator you’re following, take the time to follow some of their followers too. Preferably the commenters who are leaving comments that are getting a lot of engagement. Open their profiles in a new tab and press Follow. Save the connection request for later.
Don’t Go Crazy
Start with trying to find 10 creators who you think are the most helpful. This does not need to happed in one day. LinkedIn has daily/weekly limits in place to prevent people from overusing the platform.
Designed to deter people from using bots but these measures have landed people who are good at opening a lot of tabs and clicking in LinkedIn Jail.
Try and only follow 20-30 new people each day.
Step 3: Write Discussion-Worthy Comments
Great post. Thanks for sharing. Awesome! These are not discussion-worthy comments. Admittedly, we’ve all left a comment for the sake of leaving one and so do a lot of people. Rather than be like everyone else, you can focus on leaving comments that are memorable, authentic, helpful and even fun.
When commenting correctly, you will see an increase in engagement and followers. Here are 7 examples of the types of comments that work.
- Your Take: Give your very own, genuine opinion (even if others disagree).
- Personal Advice: What do you wish you had known X months or years ago?
- Professional Advice: Share something you would often reserve for paid customers.
- Rewrite: Give the article you’re commenting on a new tone by rewriting it in your own words.
- Summarize: Put the post’s essential points in a bulleted list or write your comment in a summary format.
- Opposing POV: It’s acceptable to disagree with people; just do so politely.
- Positive Thinking: Add a motivational quote or useful advice. People favor positivity.
- Humor: Don’t be shy. Share your sense of humor.
Setup Notifications
Being one of the first to leave a comment ensures you’ll get the creator’s attention. To be one of the first commenters, go to their profile and click on the bell icon.
Leverage LinkedIn Collaborative Articles to Amplify Your Expertise
LinkedIn has introduced a novel way to harness the collective wisdom of its vast professional community through Collaborative Articles. These articles, initiated by LinkedIn and powered by AI, serve as conversation starters across many professional topics, from career advancement tips like “How do I get a promotion?” to niche advice such as “How do I advertise to Generation Z?”
Collaborative Articles are not just knowledge repositories but are dynamic, evolving pieces that grow and diversify with insights and perspectives added by LinkedIn members. Initially, they are shaped with the help of AI and LinkedIn’s editorial team. Still, their true value is unlocked through the contributions from the community, especially from experts in the relevant field.
Why Engage with Collaborative Articles?
Engaging with and contributing to Collaborative Articles positions you as a thought leader in your domain and amplifies your brand by showcasing your expertise to a wider audience.
Your insights, experiences, and perspectives can illuminate the path for others in the professional community, enhancing your visibility and credibility on the platform.
How to Engage Effectively:
- Be Authentic: Share genuine experiences and insights. Authenticity resonates with readers and builds trust.
- Be Relevant: Ensure your contributions are pertinent to the topic and add value to the ongoing discussions.
- Engage Respectfully: While contributing, respect other viewpoints and engage in constructive discussions.
- Utilize Your Expertise: Leverage your knowledge and expertise to provide insightful and actionable advice.
Benefits to Your Personal Brand:
- Showcase Expertise: Your contributions highlight your knowledge and expertise to the LinkedIn community.
- Expand Reach: Engaging in Collaborative Articles can expose your profile to a wider audience, including experts and enthusiasts in your field.
- Build Authority: Regular and valuable contributions can establish you as an authority in your domain.
- Network with Peers: Engaging in discussions within Collaborative Articles allows you to connect with other experts and professionals.
By strategically engaging with LinkedIn Collaborative Articles, you enrich the platform’s knowledge base and carve a niche for your personal brand, demonstrating thought leadership and expertise in your domain.
Step 4: Start Getting More Followers
Nearly 900 million people use LinkedIn, making it quite popular. It’s hardly surprising that so many people have difficulty connecting with the appropriate individuals to expand their network.
The key to finding your niche audience is to focus on two things.
- Who are you trying to find?
- How do we locate them?
Who are you trying to find?
Define the person you are looking for by knowing their Shared Pain and Shared Characteristics.
Shared Pain
- Where are they right now?
- What have they tried without results?
- What do they dislike?
Shared Characteristics
- What do these people call themselves?
- What does their business look like?
- What’s their behavior like?
- What does their offer look like?
Knowing their shared pain points will help you create content. Save these notes for later! Right now you need to focus on their shared characteristics. These characteristics translates to what filters we can use on LinkedIn to narrow down our audience.
Using LinkedIn Filters
Start a new search logging into LinkedIn and typing your prospect’s job title into the search bar. Next click on People, then on the right you’ll see a button called All Filters — click it.
Here are the filters I use to make sure my targeting is laser focused.
- Connections = Always pick 2nd, don’t stray too far from your circle.
- Connections of = You can add a mutual connection who you can namedrop.
- Followers of = Add someone you both follow.
- Locations = Pick a location that makes sense to target.
- Talks about = You can narrow down by what they’re interested in.
- Current company = Use this if you are targeting a set of companies.
- Industry = Narrow down by industry. Note: The Industry List Has Been Updated.
- Profile language = Be sure to include spoken languages.
- Service categories = Professionals who have made a services page on LinkedIn.
Try and get your list below 1,000 results, because you’re not going to be able to reach everyone in one day. Narrowing it down also means it will be easier to write a personal message that speaks to your future audience.
Also, be sure to bookmark your search results, so you can come back later.
Sending a Connection Request
Now that you have found the list of people with a shared characteristic. It’s time to reach out and it’s worth mentioning your shared paint point. While it’s tempting to inform them that you can help (aka Sales Mode) please refrain.
Send a Personalized Invite
Keep your connection requests short and sharp. Be sure to include the first name and some context as to why you want to make the connection.
Hi "First Name", Found your profile researching [TALKS ABOUT]. Noticed your skills and interests are similar to my own. Although we've not met, I hope you don't mind me reaching out to connect.
Other examples of why you’re reaching out:
- Mutual or new colleague
- Former co-worker
- Someone you know casually
- A creator you both follow
- Someone you met at a networking event
- Someone you admire
- Somebody in the same LinkedIn Group
Send a Follow Up Message
Most people on LinkedIn at this point are expecting a pitch slap. Don’t do it! What you can do is take the first step in building rapport with this person.
This first 1:1 interaction sets a precedence for what they’ll think of you. Start pitching too early and you’re just another salesperson. But take the time to uncover how you can add value to them and you’re more likely to become a source of valuable information.
Step 5: Endless Content Ideas
Having a steady stream of content to post on LinkedIn is essential to growing and maintaining your personal brand. Start by identifying your niche and a sub-niche. For example:
- Niche: Marketing
- Sub-Niche: Content Marketing
- Topic Search: Content Marketing Trends, Content Marketing Tips, Content Marketing Books.
Note: Google Trends can help you find Sub-Niches if you get stuck.
To ensure that you always have something to share, it’s important to have three things in place: a source of content ideas, a way to store and organize those ideas, and a platform to save and manage the content that’s ready to be posted.
Don’t overcomplicate things. It’s as easy as:
- Content Source: Ask Google a question and look at the People ask asked section.
- Organize Ideas: Save the questions, answers, images, and links into Notes.
- Content Library: Write your posts in Notes and organize them into folders.
Finding Sources of Content
The biggest challenge people face when creating content is coming up with new ideas. The problem is believing that every post has to be a new idea. It doesn’t have to be new. It doesn’t even have to be your idea.
You don’t have carte blanche to copy and paste people’s posts. But you can offer your unique point of view on any topic. Let’s take the example Content Marketing sub-niche as an example.
There are plenty of places you can run your topic search to find new ideas.
- Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT, Bard, Copy AI, Jasper AI.
- Search Engines: Google, Bing, Brave, DuckDuckGO.
- Social Media Platforms: LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook.
- Content Networks: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify.
Tips to Never Run Out of Content Ideas
ChatGPT is a surprisingly good source of ideas. It’s not going to deliver you the answers on a silver platter but with a bit of intuition and practice, it’ll soon become a reliable source of content ideas. Here is a rough idea of what a conversation looks like when we are getting AI to help:
- Give me 10 ideas for a LinkedIn post about [TOPIC]
- That’s too broad. Here are 10 LinkedIn post ideas as a baseline. Write 10 more using this dataset. [10-EXAMPLES]
- Write a post called “[IDEA-PROVIDED],” and use a hook for the first line. Give me 10 ideas based on the hooks provided: [10-HOOK-EXAMPLES]
- My hook will be “[HOOK].” Outline a post for me following this hook using the Problem Agitate Solution framework.
You can instruct ChatGPT to be more specific or include/exclude certain keywords. It won’t instantly know what you want, not yet.
Google Search’s People also asked section is a great source to see how questions.
X helps you find viral content once you use the Advanced search and add a minimum number of likes.
Each one of those steps can become a single post on LinkedIn! That’s right. 22 Content Marketing Trends for 2024 and beyond = 22 LinkedIn posts. But before you get too excited, don’t forget to add this to your list of ideas.
Organizing Your Ideas with the Pillar Framework
Transitioning from idea generation to content creation can be daunting, and without a structured approach, it can lead to burnout. Organizing your ideas is a preliminary step and a crucial aspect of content creation that ensures consistency, relevance, and impact in your messaging.
The Pillar Framework offers a structured and strategic approach to organizing your content ideas, ensuring that they are well-categorized and aligned with your overall brand messaging and objectives.
The Pillar Framework: A Structured Approach to Content Organization
The Pillar Framework involves categorizing your content into distinct pillars, each representing a core aspect of your brand or message. Each pillar is then broken down into topics and sub-topics, ensuring a detailed and thorough exploration of each aspect.
Here’s a simplified structure:
- Pillar: A core theme or principle.
- Topic: Specific aspects or areas within the pillar.
- Sub-Topic: Detailed exploration of each aspect.
- Topic: Specific aspects or areas within the pillar.
Example:
- Pillar 1. Brand & Messaging
- Topic 1: Brand Identity
- Sub-Topics: Logo Evolution, Color Psychology, Typography, etc.
- Topic 1: Brand Identity
This structured approach ensures comprehensive coverage of each pillar and facilitates systematic content creation and dissemination.
Identifying Learning Outcomes for Each Sub-Topic
For each sub-topic, it’s crucial to identify what the audience will learn or gain from consuming the content. This not only helps create valuable and relevant content to the audience but also assists in crafting compelling hooks that draw the audience in.
Example:
- Sub-Topic: Logo Evolution
- What They Will Learn: The strategic evolution and significance of the brand’s logo in shaping brand identity.
Implementing the Pillar Framework in Content Organization:
Step 1: Identify Your Pillars
Determine the core themes or principles crucial to your brand and messaging. These broad categories should encompass various aspects of your brand or industry.
Step 2: Break Down into Topics
Identify specific areas within each pillar that warrant exploration and discussion. Ensure that these topics provide a comprehensive overview of each pillar.
Step 3: Define Sub-Topics
Dive deeper into each topic by defining sub-topics that explore various facets and details, providing a thorough understanding of each area.
Step 4: Determine Learning Outcomes
For each sub-topic, define what the audience will learn or gain from the content. This ensures that your content is value-driven and audience-centric.
Step 5: Craft Your Hooks
Utilize the defined learning outcomes to craft compelling hooks that grab attention and entice the audience to engage with your content.
Step 6: Organize and Store Systematically
Use organizational tools like Notion, Airtable, or Evernote to store and manage your content ideas systematically, ensuring easy retrieval and consistency in content creation.
Why the Pillar Framework Rocks!
The Pillar Framework not only aids in organizing your ideas systematically but also ensures that your content is strategically aligned with your brand messaging and objectives. By identifying learning outcomes for each sub-topic, you ensure that your content is value-driven, and by crafting compelling hooks based on these outcomes, you enhance audience engagement and retention.
Creating a Content Library
Organizing your posts outside of LinkedIn is easy and will help you scale posting across other social media accounts. It’s also a way to manage your digital assets. Yes, assets.
Your posts will consist of more than text! LinkedIn allows users to post Images, GIFs, Videos, Articles, and PDFs that appear as image carousels. Organize your content the same way as your ideas and keep in mind that you will use these assets for multiple social accounts.
Step 6: Write Scroll Stopping Hooks
The success of your personal brand depends on how well you can write hooks. 95% of the attention your post gets is based on whether your hook stops people scrolling and invites them to click “see more” or flip through your carousel or watch your video.
There are a variety of hooks you can use to get your target audience to engage with your content. These hooks are from Jessie van Breugel.
How-to Hooks
This is the easiest type of hook to create. It tells people how to easily and quickly do something. It’s a great place to start when showcasing your ability to solve a problem your target audience experiences.
How to
- Template: “How to [DO X]”
- Example: How to make your LinkedIn Profile look professional in 15 minutes.
- Theory: This works because it’s simple, clear, and actionable.
The number 1 mistake
- Template: “The number 1 mistake people make with [X] is [Y].”
- Example: The number 1 mistake people make in Small Businesses is chasing new leads.
- Theory: This challenges a common belief that people have. It makes readers curious about your point of view.
Doing X wrong
- Template: “You’ve been doing X wrong. Here’s why”
- Example: You’ve been doing personal branding wrong. Here’s why.
- Theory: Your viewers will be curious about what is wrong and whether or not they need to improve.
If You Do X, Then
- Template: “If you [DO X], you’re doing it wrong.”
- Example: If you spend hours writing a hook, you’re doing it wrong.
- Theory: Call out a frustration or shared pain your audience experiences, this will get their attention. The hook also hints that you have a solution that will intrigue them.
How to improve
- Template: “Improve [X] with One Simple Technique:”
- Example: Improve your presence online with one simple trick:
- Theory: Simple and actionable. It addresses your audience’s desire and provides a small action they can take to achieve their goal.
Statement Hooks
Statement hooks are catchy, debatable, and simple to write.
Unpopular opinion
- Template: “Unpopular opinion:”
- Example: Unpopular opinion: your unique value proposition is not a competitive advantage. Because most marketers don’t understand what customers want.
- Theory: You criticize a well held belief and express an opposing viewpoint.
Hot Take
- Template: “Hot take:”
- Example: Hot take: Creating the right personal brand helps you become known in your field and consistently gets you engagement.
- Theory: You make people think differently and motivate them to act.
Hard truth
- Template: “Hard truth:”
- Example: Hard truth for B2B SaaS: If your product is sales driven without a PLG strategy. You’re missing out on a huge growth opportunity.
- Theory: You start the conversation by saying something that not everyone wants to hear.
Tough pill
- Template: “Tough pill to swallow:”
- Example: Tough pill to swallow: 50% of my marketing money is wasted because companies have a “PLAN” when what they really need is a “STRATEGY.”
- Theory: You start the discussion by taking the opposite position (very similar to the “Hard truth).
Literal hooks
Perfect for demonstrating to your audience that you have a deep understanding of their situation and shared pain.
A question
- Template: Quote a question your audience/clients ask.
- Example: I was speaking to a client and she asked me a great question: “What are the 5 A’s of personal branding?”
- Theory: Your audience immediately tunes in because they feel understood. This helps a lot with Lead Generation for Social Sellers.
A common belief
- Template: State a common belief (often false)
- Example: “Most people underestimate what it takes to build an effective personal brand on LinkedIn.” They think it’s something that can be automated by an app or outsourced to someone else.
- Theory: You demonstrate to your audience that not only are they not alone in thinking so, but that it is frequently incorrect thinking as well.
An objection (Statements)
- Template: State an important objection your audience has.
- Example: Last year, you said exactly the same thing: “I’ll start spending time on my personal brand next year.” It’s March 2023 and your last post was 5 months ago.
- Theory: Your audience will understand that you understand them if you speak to them in their own words against them. In addition, you stop them from utilizing language, say, during a sales call.
An Objection (Questions)
- Template: State an important objection your audience has as a question.
- Example: “Why bother with building your personal brand?” Great question.
- Theory: You show your audience not just that their beliefs are not unique, but also that they are commonly mistaken.
Bad behavior
- Template: Respond to a hypothetical behavior
- Example: “No, Bob. You don’t have to take every online course before you post on LinkedIn.”
- Theory: People frequently tune in and pay attention to what you have to say when you call out this conduct. This is also useful to qualify leads.
Frustrations
- Template: Quote the frustrations you have experienced on topic X.
- Example: “It’s too late to build a personal brand” “Does LinkedIn really need another thought leader?”
- Theory: Almost anything may be said using this approach. Additionally, it’s a fantastic method to express individuality and your viewpoint on a particular subject.
Storytelling Hooks
Sharing your story can be difficult but they are a great way to showcase your empathy and thought leadership. These templates and frameworks will help.
That’s it.
- Template: That’s it. The most [superlative] to [outcome].”
- Example: That’s it. Best advice for creating influential personal brands you can use. (based on what I know today).
- Theory: When you combine a potentially contradictory statement with an offer to read the story, you have gold in your hands.
This, then that.
- Template: Describe what happened
- Example: Midday Wednesday, someone calls my phone. It’s probably a cold call but I pick up anyways.
- Theory: It’s simple to write because you’re merely summarizing an event that occurred. Also, your audience will find it simple to grasp and interact with.
This, then that (Short)
- Template: Describe what happened with less words
- Example: Posted on Reddit, now I’m flying to Singapore. (this is my life now)
- Theory: Describe an event using a minimal about of words to build intrigue.
Client result
- Template: Describe the before-and-after of a client.
- Example: Customer knew something had to change: A.) Continue publishing blog posts on LinkedIn and get barely any impressions. B.) Invest in a Content Marketing Strategy that turns heads.
- Theory: You delve into your ideal client’s unpleasant AND desired circumstance by demonstrating how you’ve helped other clients succeed.
50 Examples of LinkedIn Hooks
LinkedIn hooks have the power to make or ruin your post performance. They should be brief, quick, and easy to read. Here are 50 scroll-stopping LinkedIn post hooks by Joe Gannon:
I read [X] so you don’t have to. Here’s what I learned:
Here’s how I [X] and you can too:
Why [X] isn’t working anymore:
Unpopular opinion: [X]
Here’s why you’re wrong about [X]:
Why I don’t do [X], and you shouldn’t either!
Steal my process to [X]:
# ways to [X]:
How to stop [X]:
Here’s one thing that made me [X] last year:
Save this post. I’m going to teach you how to implement the [X] most people use to [Y].
Why I use this [X], and you should too!:
Why I don’t use this [X], and you shouldn’t either:
Here are my top # [X] hacks:
The X reason/s why you’re not [X]:
The # reason/s why you should [X]:
Easy ways to [X]:
Things I wish I knew before I [X]:
You won’t believe how [X]:
Exposing my secret to [X]:
The only thing you need to know about [X]:
The biggest mistake people make when [X]:
# [X] tools/hacks everyone should know about:
If you want to [X] then you should be doing this:
The only thing you need to know about [X]:
Stop making this huge mistake when [X]:
Everything you knew about X is 100% WRONG! (+ a good example):
Here are # tips to get rid of [X]:
Stop scrolling if you want to do [X]:
Here’s a simple hack to help you do [X]:
Here’s how I achieved [X] in only # months/years!
This hack will save you hours on [X]:
I discovered the secret to [X]:
# mistakes you are probably making when you [X]:
Try this one hack to get [X]:
Here are # signs that you should [X]:
This one simple mistake could be costing you [X]:
Here’s my go-to [X] for [Y]:
The BEST [X] I’ve ever used!
5 things you can do right now to improve [X]:
This is why your [X] isn’t working!
This [X] hack changed my life:
Do you have problems with [X]? Here’s the perfect solution!
Here’s how you can say goodbye to [X]:
# things that are stopping you from [X]:
See how easily you can [X]:
Here is a method that is helping [X] to [Y]:
Get rid of [X] once and for all by doing this:
# no-brainer ways to [X]:
What everybody ought to know about [X]:
Step 7: Creating Content Like a Pro
You can publish different kinds of posts on LinkedIn. The key is finding which type of post resonates best with your audience. As well as figuring out what types of content you can create yourself vs asking the marketing department for help. Creators with the best personal brands on LinkedIn will use a variety of content types.
- LinkedIn Articles: This format is used far too little. They resemble blog pieces that are published on LinkedIn and are best used for thought leadership.
- Video Posts: Videos that are incorporated in the newsfeed are referred to as native video posts. They’re a fantastic technique to increase awareness and clarify difficult concepts.
- Text Posts: There is a 1,300-character limit on plain text posts, which are text-only. They’re a fantastic way to distribute witty information.
- Image Post: The camera icon may be used to share images, which is quite useful. Additionally, you can share posts with multiple images.
- Document Posts: If you want to share a PDF, spreadsheet, Word document, or other types of file, a document post is a great choice.
- Polls: Add a multiple-choice poll to your post. Ask your audience a question and add the options and set a duration.
What The LinkedIn Algorithm favors
The LinkedIn algorithm changes constantly. Your personal branding strategy should never lean too heavily on one type of content or social media platform. Remember that LinkedIn as a company wants people (Creators) to use its new features. So any time there is a new feature, check it out. LinkedIn also wants its users to stay on the platform.
Create content that keeps people on LinkedIn and the algorithm will reward you by showing it to more people. But be sure to keep a copy of your content and assets. In this digital age, a new platform could emerge overnight and you’ll want all your posts, images, videos, and slides ready.
Based on the collective wisdom of several LinkedIn users, here’s what the algorithm currently favors.
Likes:
- Slide Decks (PDF)
- Videos
- Polls
- Multi Picture Posts
- Newsletters (New LinkedIn Feature)
Dislikes:
- Posts with External Links
- Celebrate Occasions
- Articles (Without Newsletter Enabled)
How to structure your LinkedIn Posts
Your LinkedIn posts should have the following five parts:
- Headline: This is where you put your hook. It’s the first few lines visible to viewers.
- Content: Add the body of your post in the middle. Use whitespace and even emojis to make your post easy to read. No more than one comma per sentence and no more than three short sentences per paragraph.
- Call to Action: Ask your reader to do something for you: Found this post helpful? Follow me and click the bell icon to never miss a post.
- Footer: Add a little more about yourself: I post tips about [X] to help you [Y] every weekday.
- Hashtags: Add 3-5 relevant hashtags per post.
How to Create a Carousel or Slide Deck Post for LinkedIn
Carousel posts get 1.8-2.3x the amount of reach compared to a plain text post. Some carousels are a work of art and other are plain text. You do not need to be a graphic designer to produce an asset that will engage your audience.
Make sure your carousel includes the following:
- Cover with a catchy hook
- Easy to text
- Selfie on one of the pages
- Call to action
Start off simple by creating your first template in Keynote or PowerPoint. Then work your way up to Canva or Figma. The two best document sizes are:
- Square 1080 x 1080
- Portrait 1080 x 1350
Be sure to export it as a PDF. If you upload images, they will not be displayed as a carousel. Building a personal brand takes time and so will creating these assets. This is why you’ll want to be able to reuse them for other platforms or come back and update your content.
How to Record Talking Head Videos for LinkedIn
When you have expert advice worth sharing, consider creating a talking head video. It helps your viewers get to know you a little better and builds familiarity, without you having to meet people 1:1 in real life.
Imagine a colleague has replied to an email and asked you to explain your topic in a little more detail. It’s a lot to unpack with turning the email into an essay. It’s easier to get them on a FaceTime or Zoom.
That’s exactly the frame of mind you need when creating your videos. What would you do to prepare for the video call?
- Attire: Make sure you’re dressed appropriately.
- Location: Have a real background that showcases your personality.
- Lighting: Check that you are well lit and people can see you.
- Sound: Make sure the audio is crystal clear.
- Focus: You’re the center of attention, say in the shot.
Any smartphone purchased within the last 5 years will do the trick. Invest in a tripod and microphone if you can’t get a clear shot or crisp audio.
Your audience isn’t planning on staying on LinkedIn all day; be concise. Keep your videos between 1-3 minutes long. LinkedIn’s maximum video durations are 15 minutes when uploaded from a desktop and 10 minutes from mobile. Script your videos and use templates to save time.
Use The Basic Plot Structure
The ideal talking-head video structure is the Basic Plot Structure. Use these five components when planning your video:
- Introduction: Describe yourself, your business, your product, or your subject. On any of these, provide some background information.
- Hook: Use a question, a tale, a statistic, or anything else that will entice the viewer to continue watching the movie to draw them in.
- Rising Action: The primary ideas you want to get through to your audience will be presented here.
- Climax: You should now bring up your main arguments and provide a satisfying ending to bring the video to a close. You can restate key ideas and offer extra advice and takeaways.
- Resolution: You should now bring up your main arguments and provide a satisfying ending to bring the video to a close. You can restate key ideas and offer extra advice and takeaways.
Portrait videos are the dominant video format on social media, thanks to Snapchat and TikTok. When recording your video, leave room at the top for headings and bottom for subtitles. Approximately 50% of videos on social media are played without audio on.
Adding headings and subtitles is easy with apps like Descript or Wavve. They are also great for editing out filler words or extended silences.
Selfies: This is LinkedIn Not Facebook
You can post a selfie on LinkedIn. Don’t worry about the LinkedIn Police or the naysayers. There is no value in pretending we do not have lives outside the office. Showing people in your network what you’re doing is a normal part of creating a personal brand.
Think of the people on LinkedIn as your colleagues. If you wouldn’t share this image with people at work, then don’t post it on LinkedIn.
Step 8: Know Your Hashtags
One of those amusing social media aspects that can be challenging to comprehend and utilize is hashtags. However, once you master them, the results start to flow in.
By effectively grouping conversations or content related to a specific topic, hashtags make it simple for users to identify content that interests them. It also signals to the newsfeed algorithm who should see this post.
Using the right hashtags will dramatically increase who sees your post.
The hashtags you use on LinkedIn can also be used on other social media sites. Be sure to save what hashtags in your content library. You can create a set of hashtags to match each one of your topics. Be sure to save how many people follow the hashtag and on which platform.
Hashtag basics
- They always begin with #, but if you include any punctuation, symbols, or spaces, they will not function.
- Don’t cram too many hashtags into your post. It looks spammy and unprofessional. Stick to a maximum of 5 per post.
- Use hashtags that are relevant to your post. Don’t use obscure hashtags because if nobody follows them, it will have zero impact.
Researching Hashtags To Follow On LinkedIn
Follow hashtags for topics that interest your audience to learn what they desire. What hashtags do they use? Which hashtags are being used by peers and competitors? Simply type general topics into the search bar
Following hashtags is a quick and cost-free way to learn firsthand about your target market and keep your market research current. Make sure you follow topics with at least 5,000 followers. Don’t be the only person who uses the hashtag.
Be sure to go back and update the Topics section of your profile once you’ve completed your research.
Researching Hashtag Followers On LinkedIn
Picking which hashtags to use requires a mix of commonsense and researching it’s popularity. Copy with URL below and add the hashtag you’re researching into another browser window.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=ADD-HASHTAG-HERE
You’ll see the hashtag in a box at the top of the newsfeed with the number of followers and a follow or unfollow button. You can sort the posts by popularity (Top) or by date (Recent) to see who’s using this hashtag and whether or not it’s relevant to your content strategy.
Step 9: LinkedIn Posting Tips & Tricks
These tips and tricks will help your post reach more people on LinkedIn and help you become a successful brand.
Post frequently and consistently (ideally same time every day).
Don’t post within 18 hours of your last post.
Reply (and Like) the comments on your post, especially during the first 12 hours.
The ideal post length is 1,200 – 1,600 characters.
Engage (Like + Comment) with 4-5 posts from your newsfeed after you’ve posted.
Alternate what type of content you post (Images, PDFs, Video).
Make sure you’re using a relevant set of hashtags.
Promote your post by sending it to colleges (DMs, Slack, Email, SMS) and ask for Likes + Comments. Especially in the first 90 minutes.
Don’t be the first to Like or Comment on your post.
Add external links in the comments.
Like your own post (from yesterday).
Step 10: Scheduling Posts
You can now write posts and schedule them to go live later as part of your LinkedIn account. You may also get a list of all of the posts you’ve scheduled. To schedule a new post, Create a post, add your copy/media, and then press the clock icon in the lower-right corner to schedule your post window.
There you can select a date and time for your post as well as view all scheduled posts. Remember to set your posts to go out at the same time each day.
Managing your scheduled posts from within LinkedIn can be troublesome if you are able to produce over a months worth of posts.
Try using a third-party web app to schedule your posts. Using a third-party app does not penalize your posts’ reach and these apps usually have extra features to boost your productivity.
Best LinkedIn post scheduling tools
Step 11: Social Media Schedule
Developing your personal brand takes time and consistency. The key is to turn personal branding activities into a daily ritual. This way it feels less like a chore and becomes second nature. It might even become enjoyable.
There are two main types of activities you need consistently work on:
- Creating new content
- Engaging with others
Schedule time to create new content
Block out 1 hour each week and devote that time to finding new ideas and creating content. Creating content in bulk and scheduling them in advance increases your productivity by 10X. Remember to schedule your posts to go out at the same time each day. Here are the best times to post.
Best times to Post on LinkedIn
Test out different times and days to post your content. Over time you will develop an understanding of when your audience is most active. Here’s a starting point according to marketing content creators.
HubSpot: Wednesdays between 10 am–12 pm
Sprout Social: Wednesdays from 8 am–10 am and at 12 pm; Thursdays at 9 am and between 1 pm–2 pm; Fridays at 9 am
Buffer: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between 7 am–8:30 am and 5 pm–6 pm
Oberlo: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between 10 am–11 am
Quintly: 7 am–8 am, 12 pm, and 5 pm–6 pm
The Balance SMB: 7 am–8 am and 5 pm–6 pm
Schedule Time to Engage Online
Set a 30-minute daily recurring event to spend time engaging with content on LinkedIn. Your time must coincide with when your scheduled post is set to go live. Focus on leaving conversation-worthy comments. Check if your post is getting comments and reply to everyone.
Don’t forget to promote your post amongst colleagues and friends. Be sure to follow people who leave thoughtful comments on your posts as well as on posts you’re viewing. Send out connection requests and follow new creators. It’s a social network, get social.
Last but not least, don’t forget to have some fun.
Step 12: Social Selling
People selling on social media (especially SDRs + BDRs) get a bad reputation because they ask for too much too soon. You have to bring value to your prospects first. If you get an inbound lead, great! They would have seen your content and now want to see if you can help them solve their pain point.
Cold Message Templates for Outbound LinkedIn Campaigns
Outbound on the other hand, you have to send them something valuable. A 15 minute chat with you at this point is not valuable. They do not know who you are and what you do. Here are some cold direct message templates you can use when prospecting on LinkedIn.
Template 1: Problem Solver
Hi "First Name",
Found your profile researching [TALKS ABOUT].
Noticed your skills and interests are similar to my own.
Although we've not met, I hope you don't mind me reaching out to connect.
Template 2: Be Inquisitive
Hi NAME
Thank you for connecting! I [SOLUTION] for a living.
I would love to learn a bit more about [SHARED PAIN] means for you.
Template 3: Valuable Asset
Hi "First Name",
Found your profile researching [TALKS ABOUT].
Noticed your skills and interests are similar to my own.
Although we've not met, I hope you don't mind me reaching out to connect.
Template 4: Latest Post
Hi Name,
Noticed your post about [SUBJECT].
I liked how you [COMPLEMENT].
What are your thoughts on [RELATED TOPIC]?
Template 5: Engagement Thank You
Hi NAME,
Thank you for liking/commenting on my post.
What are your thoughts about [RELEVANT TOPIC]?
Conclusion
Personal branding is a crucial aspect of your professional life in the digital age. By having a strong personal brand, you can showcase your skills, build a professional image, and stand out from the crowd.
Remember, personal branding is an ongoing process and requires effort and dedication. Keep learning, experimenting, and building your brand over time. Good luck on your personal branding journey!
Examples of Successful Personal Brands
Top picks for creators with the best personal brand examples on LinkedIn in 2024 you should follow.
Deeper Dive
If you are in the process of refining your overall marketing strategy, we highly recommend you read these blog posts as well. They will provide additional insight into how you can find new growth opportunities online.
