Building a Personal Brand On LinkedIn – Top Tips for anyone in Loyalty & Incentives

By Hadie Perkas, Founder of The Gift Club

The loyalty & incentives industry is evolving with new tech, innovations and great people and everyone wants to be seen and be found – but there is so much noise, right? Yes, companies can pay for Google ads, SEO, PPC, but what about getting decision-makers and influencers to become raving fans (and sales-ready leads) of the individuals that make up your marketing or sales team, or you as a CEO and owner? Long-term sales leads not only derive from years of prospecting, but the most meaningful ones can come from relationships grown organically from social media followers, as long as you regularly display a sense of purpose and passion for what you do in the content and posts you share.

But how many of you can say that your social personal brand is influential and that you have true followers? Yes, you’ve tried, but couldn’t quite find the patience to write content. You can’t bear the overload of polls on LinkedIn, or feel your content is utterly boring for anyone else’s eyes and ears. It’s a common ailment, this lack of confidence, when there are so many of you who are passionate about your jobs, the service you offer, the industry you work in and, most of the time, it doesn’t really matter what the content is about, people are just glad it came from YOU because YOU make them feel good. So YES, if you believe you have something that can add value to people’s lives and are OK with the written word, you will be safe in the knowledge that people will read it and if you post more stuff like it, they will engage with the next post too! The more people who are ‘seen’ to like your stuff, well, the more of their own followers see it and will want to engage with you too. This is how a personal brand begins. Start building your own personal brand today and make your job, career and life a whole lot easier. And to help, here are my first top 12 tips for starting your personal branding journey on LinkedIn.

Does this story sound familiar? – You have taken ages to write a really insightful, thought-provoking post for LinkedIn and then once uploaded, you wait for all the views, likes and comments – but nothing much happens. Does this sound familiar? Well, don’t give up! This is just the start of your personal branding journey.

Only 1% of people on LinkedIn are active members. Active members are those who post, like and comment, write articles, create polls and engage with their followers. The rest are just profiles on a white background really!

And that 1% are stealing opportunities from everyone else who isn’t active. It really is true.

I have managed to build and grow successful businesses on the basis of social media. I’ve made very little investment in any other marketing channels.

BUT, I’ve only been able to do this because of my consistent activity, building my personal brand and engaging with my followers & connections.

I started with just 3 likes and 100 views on a post about taking the brave step of starting a new venture at the beginning of the pandemic. Eight months after I launched my personal branding journey on LinkedIn, the highest I’ve had for a post was 150,000 views and 1500 likes.

So it is now time to share with you what I feel is the best way to build your personal brand. I’m going to give you 12 of my personal top tips that have worked for me, to help you build your personal brand. They are 12 easy peasy daily activities on LinkedIn you should start right now.

Good luck on your personal branding journey. Get in touch with me if you want more advice (it’s free!)

Tip One

Create a great profile that oozes who you are, not always about how you want to dominate the market you are in. YOU are the face of your business so make your profile an attractive one that makes people feel good.

Tip Two

Upload a good, clear picture. Keep it professional, but stay true to who you are.

Tip Three

Your headline is your elevator pitch in 15 or so words. Use a Bold Text Generator to make it stand out.

Tip Four

The opening to your posts need to engage people – ask a unique question, state a prevalent fact or describe how you feel. The audience love ‘feelings’!

Tip Five

Like your own posts and comments. This makes it pops up in other people’s newsfeeds, which helps with traction.

Tip Six

Post every day between 7.30am and 8.30am. Alternate between personal and business, but my top tip is to try to find a link between the two.

Tip Seven

Respond to comments on your content – always!

Tip Eight

Use a mix of video, image, polls and plain text. Algorithms change constantly on LinkedIn and using different means to express yourself is highly recommended.

Tip Nine

Connect with everyone that likes your posts and send them a message thanking them for taking the time to do so.

Tip Ten

Share other people’s content that will help with your own brand. Choose wisely. Choose well-connected individuals who are more prolific on LinkedIn than you are. This will gain more engagement for you.

Tip Eleven

Tag people and other companies. Don’t be afraid to do this. It helps with your own personal brand.

Tip Twelve

Diarise one hour a day, every morning, for LinkedIn activity before 9am. Like and comment on as many posts as you can that are relevant to you and your business. And don’t forget to respond to any replies!

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