Strengthening your professional brand through LinkedIn
I recently joined the LinkedIn team as Director of Advertising
Sales, a job I gained through using LinkedIn. I’ve used LinkedIn for years as
an invaluable tool to build up and manage my professional network, find and
recruit talented people, and grow my customer base. I’ve also used it to stay
on top of the current voice of the marketing community by taking a daily look at
the types of questions and answers being posted in the Answers section. And now
I can say that I’ve used it to land an exciting new career opportunity even
though I wasn’t actively seeking one out, something that would have been almost
impossible years ago but is now a common occurrence thanks to LinkedIn’s ability
to help you manage your professional brand.
Branding is something that we as professionals need to take
very seriously on an individual level. Ten years ago, Tom Peters penned an
article for Fast Company called “The Brand Called
You”, which stressed that it’s absolutely imperative for all professionals
to develop a unique and personal “professional brand” that communicates the
value they have to offer to prospective employers, employees, clients and
business partners.
That idea was true then and it’s even more true today. The major
search engines and social networks have made all of us far more accessible and
visible than ever before, making it so much more critical that we actively
manage our own professional brands. And that’s where LinkedIn really shines,
allowing you to take control of the major elements of your professional brand: the people you associate with, the questions you ask and the answers you
provide, the recommendations you give and receive, and the way in which you
express your experiences and skills.
If you haven’t done so, I suggest reading over Tom's article, then looking over your LinkedIn profile and make sure you’re doing all you can to help your professional brand stand out. To the LinkedIn users reading this, thanks for using our service. To the marketers reading this, I’m looking forward to helping you connect your brand with the 14 million professional brands on LinkedIn.
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Tip #1: If you haven't done so already, claim your own LinkedIn vanity URL, to solidify your own professional brand. Create your LinkedIn vanity URL here. Check out how simple it is:
Create your own LinkedIn vanity URL
Tip #2: Another great way to virally propagate your professional brand is to create your own email signature, which you can create by going here. Here's a sample:
Creating your own LinkedIn email signatures
Vaibhav Sep 29, 2007
Well said Steve,
Certainly, LinkedIn has come a long way in building and communicating the personal brand value. I wish you and LinkedIn team all the very best.
Warm Regards
Vaibhav
Christian A. Bryant Oct 5, 2007
After a little over ten years learning the business and working my way up the ladder, I have learned to recognize beneficial career tools when I see them. While it may be a little extreme to say it, my LinkedIn profile feels like a replacement to my resume and an improvement upon the concept. Since joining LinkedIn and connecting with co-workers from all my old companies, I have received more calls and emails from recruiters than in my whole career. Do not underestimate the value of social and professional networking. It is an important technology and will definitely be the framework for the future of the Internet. -- http://www.cabryant.com
Raymond Chip Lambert Oct 14, 2007
Tom,
Great to have you on board at Linkedin. I'm currently evangelizing Linkedin for the reasons you suggest here as well as a myriad of others. I'll be reading the blog with interest as you continue to write.
Thanks!
Pam Pugmire Apr 26, 2008
It's great to hear about the possibilities available by using Linkedin. I am new to social networking via the web, but am already seeing results. I look forward to reading more!