Personal Branding Mistake #26: GRAINY BE GONE!

Grainy profile pictures look bad and show a lack of effort. Lose the grainy picture and pick one that's flattering, professional and clear. 

Over 25 million LinkedIn profiles are viewed daily, so you want to be sure that your picture will stand out. The first step is to include a professional and attractive profile picture. Investing in good photography will pay long-term dividends. According to a recent survey, 89% of recruiters look at your profile picture first. Get a good one! 

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Personal Branding Mistake #27: YOU'RE TIME-TRAVELING

Make sure your picture is relatively up to date. You looked great in your high school yearbook photo, but employers want to hire you, not your seventeen year-old self.

Think about it this way, would you put a baby picture in your LinkedIn profile? Keep it current and keep it real. Don’t surprise people when you finally meet them in person by not having them recognize you. Misrepresenting your portrait is bad for your brand and bad for business. 43% of all professionals found new business connections via LinkedIn. Keep their trust and don’t time travel.

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Personal Branding Mistake #29: MAKE NEW CONNECTIONS BUT KEEP THE OLD

Maintaining strong business relationships is just as important as making new ones. Increase the scope of your network but don’t forget your old connections.

Almost half of LinkedIn users now have 500+ connections in their professional network. There are, on average, eight new LinkedIn discussion groups created each week and 200 group conversations per minute. Use relevant LinkedIn groups as an opportunity to make new connections as well as maintain your relationships with your old ones. Connections work best when you work hard to keep your brand top of mind.

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Personal Branding Mistake #30: SIZE DOES MATTER

Your LinkedIn network is your key to new business. The more connections you have the greater your chances of striking up new business relationships. 

Each second, two new members join LinkedIn – the equivalent of the entire enrollment of the Ivy League joining every day. LinkedIn now at 350 million users projects 2 billion users by 2017. LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator, its networking mining tool, allows users to leverage their network connections to build new relationships and new opportunities on the web. The larger your network the larger your opportunity so build your connections to 500+. Your brand and your wallet will thank you.

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Personal Branding Mistake #31: A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED

You need your connections and they need you too. Don’t hesitate to give appropriate endorsements or recommendations. They may just want to return the favor. 

Did you know that 35% of LinkedIn users access the site daily? Stay in touch, recommend and nurture your connections. There are over 1 billion LinkedIn endorsements making their profiles 4X more likely to be viewed. The more endorsements you make, the more you will receive and the more attention you will get. So get on the endorsement band wagon!

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Personal Branding Mistake #32: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING

Pay attention to your feed and see what your connections and groups are talking about. Finding out what interests your network allows you to better engage them in your own posts. 

Your social pages work best when you are engaged. Operate like a Fortune 500 brand and pay attention to your social feed. 92% of Fortune 500 brands tweet at least once a day. Check your feed on a regular basis to stay on top of what is relevant to your network. Even if it’s not your top priority, make it part of your day to engage your audience, prospects will notice. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #33: YOU'RE NOT SUPPORTED

What you write on your profile needs support. Attach relevant documents, links and images throughout your page. Keep it fresh and interesting.

94% of people regularly share content online that add value to the professional lives of people in their network. Before sharing, consider sharing only informative and useful content. The average person reads only 20% of text so it’s wise to include visuals (particularly video) to optimize your brand presence. Your social media posts and shares work best when supporting your brand promise and story. 

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Personal Branding Mistake #34: FIRST THINGS FIRST: YOUR HEADLINE

Your professional headline is a critical piece of your profile. A proper headline determines how you’ll be categorized in a search and how you’ll be perceived by other users.

A strong LinkedIn headline and summary is important. A headline’s optimal number of words is 6 and a summary of 40+ words makes you more likely to turn up in search. Your headline should deliver your brand promise in a compelling way and use strong keywords for search engine recognition. Your picture and brand story work together to support your headline to further engage your profile viewers. Headlines matter on LinkedIn in the same way they matter in a successful advertising campaign.

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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 #38: YOU'RE TOO HUMBLE

Get out of your employee mentality! Although it’s great to promote the company you work for you need to promote yourself too. Don’t be so modest; at the end of the day YOU are the bigger brand. 

Get out there and promote your brand! 44% of hiring managers look at your social media pages to determine your level of creativity and to learn about your qualifications. LinkedIn members that include skills get 13X more profile views than those who don’t. So if you’ve got the goods it’s ok to brag. It will support your brand promise, separate you from the herd and get the phone to ring. 

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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 #44: YOUR HEADLINE FALLS SHORT

Your headline is the single most important written component of your profile. Don’t just list your title and company – heighten the appeal! Bring in new business by adding important keywords.

After your picture, your headline is the most viewed item on your profile page. It’s like the headline on an ad. If people are intrigued, they will go further.  The optimal length of a headline is 6 words. We live in a world where people have short attention spans, so less is more. However, make sure your headline reflects your brand promise. Google displays up to 66 characters of a title tag.  Keep that in mind when crafting your headline.

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Personal Branding Mistake #45: THE MORE THE MERRIER

Be sure to list all relevant companies you’ve worked for, schools and credential programs. Make sure all your experience points to your brand promise. 

LinkedIn users who have education listed on their profile receive an average of 10X more profile views. Adding an industry to your profile can you get 15X more views. Adding keywords to support search will generate further engagement with your platforms. With personal branding for social media, more is more.

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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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