4 Top-of-Mind Personal Branding Things To Do on LinkedIn

Even if the Coronavirus has put restraints on your job search, you still need to network with, and be visible to, executive recruiters and other hiring decision makers. LinkedIn offers many top-of-mind personal branding opportunities, to remind them of your unique ROI.

Staying in touch with these people can help you penetrate the “hidden” job market.

4 Top-of-Mind Personal Branding Things To Do on LinkedIn

LinkedIn offers 4 often overlooked ways to make people aware of you, and the value you offer, without the discomfort of initiating one-on-one conversations with people you may not know very well, if at all.

1.  Posting an update

Posting relevant updates to your feed is a relatively quick and easy way to stay top-of-mind with your network – which should include employees at your target companies and recruiters, along with your various professional and personal contacts.

Get into a routine of posting updates once a week, or at least a few times a month.

To post an update, go the your profile “Home” page. At the top of the center column, you’ll see “Start a post”. Click on it and begin typing in your update.

More details, tips and strategies in my post, LinkedIn Updates: A Time-Saving Personal Branding and Networking Tool

2. Uploading videos to your updates and adding videos to your profile

Very few executives use video at all for job search and career management. It’s a shame. They’re missing out on the opportunity to showcase their subject matter expertise and personality.

Videos are much, much better at building online visibility than plain content. Better visibility means more eyes on your personal brand.

People typically shy away from video because they don’t want to be on camera, or don’t know how to create quality video, or don’t know what they should put in their videos.

Video resumes are just one option for job search, and they work well for some. But, since they’re usually self-created, they often don’t do a good job of presenting candidates in the best light. Most people don’t come across well speaking camera. A poor or mediocre video can actually hurt their chances. And, since these videos by their nature focus on the resume, they clearly “out” people as job hunting. The majority of job seekers are searching under cover, so that can be dangerous.

Another, probably better option, is kinetic animation videos. When they contain the right text or content, they’re not “job-searchy” like video resumes. You’re not on camera but, with movement and visual appeal, these videos connect people to your brand story in a compelling and engaging way. They’re much better suited to build social proof for your brand, whether you’re job hunting or just interested in healthy career management.

There are 2 methods to post videos on LinkedIn:

1. Native publishing in which you upload videos directly to LinkedIn and they reside on LinkedIn. LinkedIn accepts native videos in your updates feed and in LinkedIn Groups conversations.

2. Embedded videos – posting links on LinkedIn to videos that reside on your YouTube channel or other video hub. YouTube essentially becomes your home base. Embedded videos are used in your LinkedIn profile Featured, Experience and Education sections, and in articles you publish on LinkedIn’s publishing platform (sometimes called Pulse).

3.  Updating your profile content

Are you one of the many executive job seekers who put up a minimal LinkedIn profile years ago, and put it out of your mind? You figured, “I’m on LinkedIn. Good enough.“

If so, you’re forgetting the value of LinkedIn for differentiating and positioning yourself as a good-fit candidate for your current target employers.

When you’re gearing up for job search, the content in your LinkedIn profile needs to be squarely focused on those employers. It’s time to work on targeting and researching employers, and building fresh LinkedIn content around the value you offer them.

More in my post, When Was the Last Time You Updated Your LinkedIn Profile?

4.  Staying active with LinkedIn Groups

I frequently review the LinkedIn profiles of executive job seekers. Many have only a handful of Group memberships, if any. When I speak to them, they often say they don’t participate at all in the Groups they belong to.

They’re missing out on one of LinkedIn’s most powerful features.

Groups help you:

• Generate interest and build credibility for the value you offer your target employers.
• Keep your personal brand top-of-mind.
• Position yourself as a thought leader and subject matter expert in your field.
• Learn from other experts in your field.
• Bring new people into your network, to open yourself to more opportunities.
• Find the right people to connect with to advance your job search and career.
• Connect directly with people who are not first degree connections.

More in my post, Deadly LinkedIn Mistake: Forgetting LinkedIn Groups

An added benefit of using these 4 top-of-mind personal branding strategies

You’ll be demonstrating your social media savvy and grasp of the new world of work. Candidates who know how to use LinkedIn for networking and business are more desirable than those who don’t.