Branding Your Business Using LinkedIn.com

For those who want to brand their business on LinkedIn, understanding their system and how it can help business with their branding strategy is important. According to an article on CIO.com entitled, “LinkedIn Profiles: Avoid the Six Most Common Mistakes” and written by C.G. Lynch, below are 5 common things that you need to pay attention to when branding on LinkedIn:

• Don’t Get in Picture Trouble: Many people choose not to use a picture on their LinkedIn profiles. While some of you have your reasons, it’s a mistake for the typical user.
• Write a Descriptive Professional Headline: When people search for you, they will see this professional tagline, and it might decide whether or not they feel compelled to click on your name and see your profile.
• Properly Label Websites Displaying Your Work or Blog: LinkedIn offers you the ability to list the websites where your work might be displayed. This is a great option if you keep a personal website with a resume or a blog.
• Consider a Vanity URL: If you have to give your LinkedIn profile address over the phone, or you wish to print it on your business card, it should be as concise and self-explanatory as possible.
• Finish with a Strong, SEO-Friendly Summary: In reality, the ability for people to find you will depend on LinkedIn’s search engine linking your name to certain search keywords. So (staying with our repeated example), a project manager might want the term “project management” to appear a few times throughout the summary.

What does it take to brand your business on LinkedIn and be successful at it. Let’s take at a few more things that you can do to develop your brand strategy for LinkedIn.

• Join Groups so that you can connect with others in your industry or with potential customers.
• Add details to your summary section about you and your business. Help others learn how you can help fulfill their business needs.
• Complete your bio section with specifics such as employment and education history.
• Recommendation are always good to have as part of your profile. Be willing to share a recommendation for others. Also ask others to give you one for your profile, it is always good to have at least 5 of them on your profile.