A report by advisory firm Brunswick Group found that a majority of respondents would research a CEO’s social media activity when they consider joining that company. And often, people turn to LinkedIn, first, to get a look at who the CEO is. The chief executive is held to a higher standard than any other worker in the system. As CEOs, they are expected to oversee operations, offer counsel, and more importantly, lead by example. They are expected to be superstars in their own right and serve as the public image of their organization. As such, a CEO’s brand image and reputation positively or negatively impacts the organization. One way to control the narrative is by building one’s personal brand through professional networks and events. And in a digital landscape, LinkedIn provides the best of both worlds. Leveraging LinkedIn is the quickest way to build up one’s professional image to keep your brand front and center.
So, how exactly can a CEO set about leveraging LinkedIn? What are the benefits of spending time on a social media platform? In this piece, we delve into how LinkedIn is a useful networking and marketing tool that can reconfigure an organization’s image, starting with the CEO.
As CEOs have a large impact on their organizations, using LinkedIn can have benefits ranging from keeping an eye on the competition to attracting fresh talent to your company. CSNA Mag reports that almost 46% of social traffic to a company’s website comes from LinkedIn.
How to Build Your Personal Brand as CEO
LinkedIn offers the best professional networking opportunity as you can find people based on your industry, profession, interests, and other factors mentioned in your profile. Being active on LinkedIn also helps humanize you and your organization.
Let’s take a look at the three steps you can take today to build your personal brand.
Have an Intriguing Profile
With over 810 million members and counting, LinkedIn is the world’s largest, on-going business conference.
The most intriguing profile owners know that leveraging LinkedIn to their advantage starts with piquing the interest of their audience. From offering tidbits on how to succeed to waxing eloquent about their company’s vision, CEO profiles that contain a wealth of information attract eyeballs. For example, writing “half-coffee, half-human” in the About section, along with your professional accomplishments and mission statement, makes you appear more approachable and accomplished.
Adding Featured Posts to your profile is an unfailing tactic to leverage LinkedIn’s algorithm that has a lot more decision-making power than we think.
Case in point — Nancy Duarte. Along with her numerous accomplishments, Nancy Duarte, CEO of Duarte Inc., lists on her LinkedIn profile that her favorite role is that of grandma to her two grandsons and grand-dogger. Duarte is the high priestess of communication, as her marketing company counts Cisco, Microsoft, Snap, and Apple amongst its clients.
Build Your Network
Anyone who visits your profile also checks out who you are connected to.
Yes, name-dropping in real life is often considered crass. But on LinkedIn, being connected to the right people could be the difference between enriching new business partnerships and a lack of opportunities.
Using LinkedIn regularly to connect with others in your industry builds visibility and by engaging with them through content creation builds credibility.
It is good practice to send personalized notes with connection requests or jotting a quick congratulatory note to celebrate the accomplishments of your peers. Taking the time to share content centered around your industry can also help your network. It is also a good idea to pen down your thoughts on current trends and share them with the community. This leads to greater engagement and insights, as people with different perspectives chime in to give their two cents. Well-written posts also help increase your network, thereby building your personal brand. On the other hand, too many hashtags can also trigger the algorithm into flagging your post as spam.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry is a great example of how to network on LinkedIn. She consistently likes, shares, and comments on posts from her peers and colleagues.
Post Content Regularly
It is no secret that LinkedIn for all its professional brouhaha mirrors the workings of a social media platform. As such, there are algorithms that monitor your posts and decide what to push and what to hold back.
With two new members joining LinkedIn every second from around the world, there is always scope for more content.
A CEO sets the tone for creating a work environment that is optimized for success. Employees often look up to a CEO to create and maintain the work culture of an organization. Due to this, they already have a built-in audience for everything they do. This is best leveraged on LinkedIn, as posting about the company’s progress, the super-achievers, and what to expect next will make employees excited to do better.
For those who are not part of your organization, it offers a glimpse into your thought processes and industry happenings, solidifying your personal brand.
Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, is a great example of someone who posts regularly and shares the work of her peers.
What not to do on LinkedIn
Leveraging LinkedIn also means knowing what not to do. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs once said that what we don’t do is as important as what we do. Once you have decided to build your personal brand on LinkedIn, make sure that you know what to avoid.
Let’s take a quick look at what is best avoided on the world’s largest professional network.
- While promoting your posts on and off LinkedIn is a good practice, branded hashtags create greater traction. However, abusing hashtags is a foolproof way to infuriate the algorithm. The algorithm will screen your posts as spam and limit visibility, throwing your hard work down the drain.
- Keep all political and religious affiliations away from your LinkedIn profile. You are allowed to share your thoughts on professional matters but leaning too far-left or -right on LinkedIn can give rise to controversy and spark unnecessary drama. And this is the kind of engagement you must avoid at all costs.
- Do not leave your profile incomplete. From updating the right banner to listing your work summaries, it is important to let people know that you are active on the platform.
- Also, do not be afraid to engage with your audience when they comment and question you on your posts. LinkedIn thrives on engagement and your response to people’s comments and activity on others’ contributions will endear you to the algorithm, we mean people.
Crafting your personal brand is a continuous process. LinkedIn’s ultimate goal is to prioritize engagement and influencers, who are established as leaders in their industry. By leveraging the space LinkedIn offers to market your brand and services, you will be able to create value for yourself and your followers.
