Personal Branding Mistake #35: DON'T MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Keeping your eyes open is important on any social platform. Check out profiles of professionals you admire, see what works and what doesn’t, then update your profile.

Looking to peer professional profiles is a great way to pinpoint best business practices that will benefit your brand. The average time spent on LinkedIn is 17 minutes so make sure the time spent on your profile counts. Eliminate practices that have proven ineffective for others and implement the ones that have helped build strong personal brands. 74% of all Internet traffic in 2017 will use video as a medium so consider creating, posting and sharing video content on your pages. Keep your eyes open for great personal brand profiles to learn how to improve yours!

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Personal Branding Mistake #36: YOU'RE UNREACHABLE

If you don’t leave an email or a phone number in your contact information how can connections reach you? LinkedIn users are more inclined to reach out to an accessible email address rather than use LinkedIn messaging. It's more personable and direct – so make sure yours is listed!

LinkedIn reaches a total of 200 countries and 350 million plus users so make sure you are reachable! Listing your email, contact information and websites in the contact section near the top of your LinkedIn profile is critical. 93% of recruiters use LinkedIn and usually need to get in touch fast. Make it easy for them.

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Personal Branding Mistake #37: YOU'RE HIDING YOUR BEST QUALITIES

Although you never want to be too personal on LinkedIn, listing organizations and causes you’re affiliated with can definitely give you an edge over the competition. Employers want to hire real people with interests and passions, not just a picture and a resume.

58% of employers hire people because they got a good feel for the candidate’s personality on social media. 42% of LinkedIn users update their profile regularly to keep it fresh and showcase their brand’s value. Visuals, organizations and causes are great places to get your visitor interested in your brand personality. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #39: SO YOU HAVE STAGE FRIGHT?

You should always be looking for opportunities to discuss, speak and publish what you know best. Answer questions about what you do, step up when you’re invited to speak publicly and don’t fear the spotlight.

It’s time to get active. The best time to post and do outreach on LinkedIn is Tuesdays through Thursdays around noon or between 5pm and 6pm. Your LinkedIn profile is also 5X more likely to be viewed if you join and are active in discussion groups. Hiring managers are looking at your profile during those high traffic times to get a feel for who you are and why you are different and better than your peers. They also look at your social media profile to find out if you fit in the company culture. Showcasing your skills and brand personality provides your audience with a sense of who you are. Don’t be afraid to promote your brand, your next opportunity is just around the corner. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #40: THE CLOCK IS TICKING

Start reassessing your image now, not when transition inspires you or calamity strikes. Don’t wait until the final hour to revamp your personal brand; you might just miss a great opportunity.

Waiting to take action on your social media profile may cost you a valuable opportunity. For instance, adding an industry to your LinkedIn profile can get you 15X more views. Establish your personal brand and constantly update it. Active social media users follow brands that interest and engage them. 51% of user profiles on LinkedIn are 100% complete so make sure yours is one of them!

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Personal Branding Mistake #41: YOU'RE MAKING EXCUSES

It doesn’t take much to get the wheels turning. Take some time today to think about you and your personal brand. Write about it, talk about it - just see where it takes you! Your personal brand will thank you later.

The most successful LinkedIn users engage with connections and discussion groups daily, so join your relevant groups to optimize your brand and your network. Over 5 million professionals now have endorsements for social media skills on LinkedIn. That should give you an idea of how important regular updates are. The challenge in personal branding is to identify your goals then act to reach your goals. Yes it takes time and yes it’s worth it. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #42: IT'S NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES

Don’t be a slave to social media; make it work for you instead. Have it serve as a platform to leverage your brand and increase awareness. You want to build an audience, not a platform of gifs and memes to distract your connections from the service you provide.

LinkedIn powers 50% of the world’s hires, so make sure your audience knows your brand promise and its value. Represent that promise with relevant text, documents, visuals and links. LinkedIn’s power is in professional connections, so keep your professional profile focused and clear of personal information. Puppies work great on Facebook, not so great on LinkedIn.  

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Personal Branding Mistake #43: YOU NEED A DIGITAL MAKEOVER

You spend money on a new suit and a haircut for an interview, so why not for your digital appearance too? Prospective clients and employees will check you out online before they ever meet you in person. Is your online presence up to par? 

Your social media profiles generally rank in the top five Google search results for your first and last name, so make sure your profiles are complete and represent your brand. Did you know that 80% of companies use social media for recruitment? Hiring managers frequently refer to a candidate’s LinkedIn network for blind references, so include people in your network that will say good things to say about you. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #46: YOU HAVEN'T REACHED YOUR FULL POTENTIAL

LinkedIn gives you the option to list three sites under your contact information – make sure you’re maximizing your outreach capabilities by listing company sites, personal sites, and social pages. 

Instead of using the default “Personal Website” on your LinkedIn page – type anchor text links in your LinkedIn profile. You can change the anchor text to make those links more appealing to people who view your profile. Promote your company’s LinkedIn presence by adding the Company Follow button to your website. Include content such as your contact information, websites, articles and slideshares to cultivate your network connections. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #47: USE IT OR LOSE IT

Maybe you have a free LinkedIn profile, maybe you pay for premium, but simply having a profile won’t bring home the bacon. Optimize your profile and use these helpful tips to take full advantage of LinkedIn.

Having a social media profile will not work if you’re not active. 42% of LinkedIn users update their profiles regularly so post fresh and valuable content often. There are 200 conversations per minute occurring in LinkedIn discussion groups. Actively participate in your groups to enhance your brand presence and to maintain strong relationships with your network. Users who engage with their connections are much more likely to receive profile views than passive users. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #48: YOU'RE WALKING ON A TIGHTROPE

So you want to transition into a new field or career? Make sure the content on your profile builds a connection between where you are and where you want to be. Make your transition happen with a strong brand promise.

Live in the present, create content for the job you want, not for the job(s) you had but make a strong connection between the two. 50% of LinkedIn users have a Bachelor’s or Graduate degree, so make sure you link your education to a strong brand promise to build value for potential employers. Consider making that link come to life in a video. It’s 50X easier to get a video to rank on the first page of a Google search than any other content.

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Personal Branding Mistake #49: NOT TACKLING TWITTER

LinkedIn has been good to you, but Twitter can be generate great business too – 42% of account holders use Twitter to learn about products and services. Give your personal brand a boost and tackle Twitter!

Twitter can enhance your professional life. There are 500 million tweets sent per day. There are 305 million monthly active visitors on Twitter which is significantly more than the monthly visitors on LinkedIn. If Twitter were a country, it would be the 12th largest worldwide. Twitter supports over 33 languages. With Twitter size does really matter. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #50: YOU FORGOT YOUR TWITTER "BUSINESS CARD"

Don’t have a Twitter avatar and completed bio? A profile without a personal brand is like going to a meeting without a business card. Forgetting your business card may make for a sad ending – no business! 

80% of world leaders use Twitter so make sure you are a leader in your field by having a complete and solid profile to actively engage your audience. Tweets with image links receive 2X the rate of engagement of those without. The average number of tweets sent per day is 3, as user engagement slightly decreases after the third post. After LinkedIn, Twitter is the platform of choice for CEO’s. Add it to your business card.  

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Personal Branding Mistake #51: YOU DON'T KNOW THE TWITTER TRUTH

95% of marketers say they have generated business leads though Twitter. Don’t believe it? Revamp your personal brand with a sleek new Twitter profile and try it yourself!

Twitter is one of the primary platforms for engaging your audience and showcasing your personal brand’s value. Link clicks account for 92% of user interaction on Twitter, so tweet content that includes links to drive engagement. Consider including words in your posts that prompt action such as “Download” to increase clicks up to 13%. Don’t be afraid to actively drive attention by asking your audience to retweet. Tweets asking followers to “retweet” receive 12X higher retweet rates than those that do not. Include Twitter as part of your professional outreach plan. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #52: YOUR'E NOT FACING IT

Is your Twitter avatar not a picture of you? Do you even have a Twitter avatar? It’s time to face it – faces matter and yours is missing. Just like LinkedIn, a photo of you is critical for a credible and concrete personal brand. 

Having a Twitter profile without a photo is pointless. Twitter pages with profile pictures have 10X more followers than those without. People retain 80% of what they see and only 20% of what they read so put a face on your brand. Don’t just stop there, Tweets with images receive 18% more click-throughs, 89% more favorites and 150% more retweets. Twitter is a great way to build your online brand imagery.

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Personal Branding Mistake #55: YOU FORGOT TO SHOW AND TELL

Are you telling but not showing? Consider using LinkedIn Showcase pages. A Showcase page can be an effective tool for presenting your product as well as your personal brand.

Every minute 684,478 pieces of content are shared on social media, so post interesting and relevant content in unique ways to build brand awareness. Consider LinkedIn showcase pages as an extension of your company page to shine a spotlight on your brand. Use this feature to drive traffic and attention to content that you’re proud of. 61% of LinkedIn users use the platform as their primary professional networking site. Make it more effective with showcase pages.

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Personal Branding Mistake #56: YOU’RE HEARING CRICKETS

If you’ve been actively posting without success, it’s time to try something new. Switch up your branding strategy by changing content, posting time, or group involvement.

The same old song only gets attention for so long. The most common reason to unlike a social media page is uninteresting posts, so change it up and make it interesting with new stories, visuals, videos, etc. When you post is important as well. The best time to post on Twitter is Mondays-Thursdays between 9am-3pm. TrackMaven analyzed over 1.7 million tweets and found that the best time of day for a retweet is after hours, between 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm EST. Friday is the worst day to post on LinkedIn. Create, share and post relevant content during prime time to get the attention your brand deserves.

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Personal Branding Mistake #57: DON'T BE SO COLD

If a connection comments on your post be sure to respond! The point of posting is outreach. If you’re not responding you’re not communicating your personal brand story.

Engaging with your audience is the key to creating and maintaining meaningful connections. By responding to a comment, answering an InMail or simply liking a post, you are positioning your brand as responsive. Questions have proven to drive more engagement than statements. Posing a question or responding to one will benefit your brand. Emails with social sharing buttons increase click-through rates by 158%, so think about including social sharing buttons on your social platforms to drive engagement. Take the time to get ahead of competition and interact with your audience!

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Personal Branding Mistake #58: DON'T BE A BULLY

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. Poor behavior on social media means a poor perception of your personal brand. Don’t be rude, play nice.

Your online reputation is critical to building your brand. Using inappropriate language, making rude comments or posting opinions on highly sensitive topics can hurt your brand. 35% of recruiters have rejected a candidate because of online slander. 26% of employers react negatively to overly religious posts and 18% react negatively to political posts. Keep your online presence professional and appropriate. Your brand will thank you for it.

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Personal Branding Mistake #59: YOU'RE HOGGING THE FEED

Sharing content is always encouraged. Drowning the feed in posts is not. Try to find the happy medium. If you get the sense you’re over posting chances are your intuition is right. 

While regular posting is helpful to building your brand, drowning your audience in content is not. 59% feel that over sharing on social media sites is a huge no-no. 53% of social media visitors say they dislike those who share information that they consider private. LinkedIn recommends 5 posts per week. Consider creating a posting schedule to help monitor your activity. HootSuite is a great way to distribute and monitor your posts.

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