Personal Branding Mistake #78: 3 - IT'S A MAGIC NUMBER

Listing three areas of expertise on LinkedIn has been shown to be an effective way to expand your business opportunities. Too many areas can overwhelm your audience, and too few can diminish your brand credibility. 

Members who list skills on their LinkedIn profiles receive an average of 13 times more profile views than those who don’t. While you can have up to 50 skills displayed, 3 is the optimum number to list. Too many skills give the impression that you’re a generalist not a specialist. Not what you want to support your brand promise.

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Personal Branding Mistake #79: TOO VAGUE!

When describing your personal brand industry be sure to avoid broad terms like marketing or technology. Develop a more precise niche that effectively conveys what you do. 

Generic industry descriptions will not support your brand promise and will not help differentiate you from the crowd. Remember the 80/20 rule: 8 of 10 readers read your headline copy but only 2 of 10 read your entire profile. Stay industry specific from the top down to support your brand.

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Personal Branding Mistake #80: DON'T BE A BROWN COW!

Don’t be just another face in the crowd. Be a purple cow! Find your personal brand and what differentiates you from the herd.

Capture attention by doing things differently from your peers. Start with a strong brand promise backed unique aspects of your personal story. Use articles, links and visuals to support your promise. Videos work particularly well to make you special. Don’t be afraid, different is better when it comes to your branding.

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Personal Branding Mistake #81: SHOWCASE YOUR SKILLS

Your social media channel should feature YOUR most skilled form of communication. If you like to write, post and make a blog to vocalize your brand. If you feel comfortable speaking, make a YouTube video or podcast. 

Use your most engaging form of communication to capture your audience’s attention. In an eye-mapping study of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), video results commanded more attention than other forms of content. Videos and visuals are the most engaging types of content. Unfortunately or not they work better than lots of text so use them to elevate your brand.

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Personal Branding Mistake #82: CAMERA SHY?

Don’t be! Creating video content is a great way for your audience to get to know you better. Videos are personal and professional and can highlight the value of your personal brand. 

If adding video content to your social media strategy has not been a priority, it should become one now. 74% of all Internet traffic in 2017 is projected to be video so get ahead of the trend and put your brand in the spotlight. Using the word “video” in email subject lines boosts open rates by 19%, click-through rates by 65% and reduces opt-outs by 26%. 33% of tablet owners watch an hour of video per day so get video into your strategy moving forward!

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Personal Branding Mistake #83: NO PROFESSIONAL SITE

Unlike social pages you can completely control the content and design of your personal or business site. Your site allows the freedom you can’t have on social pages to create an optimized platform for engagement.

When you own your messaging platform you have complete control over the branding, content, layout, SEO, etc. If you don’t already have a professional site, create one now. Start with a brand promise and build support content to create a cohesive brand presence. 40% of all visitors will abandon a webpage if it takes too long to load.  Design your site so that it is completely optimized and loads quickly. Include links to your professional site on all of your social media platforms to build traffic.

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Personal Branding Mistake #84: IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU

Don’t forget the importance of the about page on your personal or business site. This is where you can tell your brand story in detail. Be descriptive and make sure it points to your brand promise.

Whether it’s your personal or business site, remember the “About” page is the most visited page. Make sure that you use this page to clearly tell your brand story. Present visitors with relevant details about your brand in a visually engaging way. Today’s web design technology and fast internet access allows for easy integration of video and multimedia elements to create a compelling visual story. Tell visitors in your ABOUT page why you are different and better than competition. And optimize your page for mobile as 80% of Internet users own a smartphone.

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Personal Branding Mistake #85: YOU THINK FACEBOOK IS JUST FOR FUN

Facebook is a platform built for business and pleasure. You can find your friends and you can find business. Create a professional Facebook page for business. Keep it separate from your personal page and add content for professional outreach. Don’t forget the reach of Facebook – everyone has it. Use this to your advantage. 

Although Facebook is primarily known as a social networking platform, it is also a vital asset for building your professional brand. Facebook reaches 1.44 billion active monthly users, which is the equivalent of 15% of the world’s population. 70% of Facebook user’s engage daily which represents a great opportunity for your brand. Regularly checking, posting and engaging with your audience on this platform are critical to establishing your brand. Take full advantage Facebook, be proactive and post post post!

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Personal Branding Mistake #86: NOT THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

As you’re developing content for your social pages, make sure you’re using targeted internal and external content. Use outside sites, forum pages and industry publications to get a sense of what information your audience really wants.

Prior to posting content make sure you know exactly what type of information will engage your audience. Do some Internet research; look at the questions your viewers are asking, the problems they are struggling with and the solutions they are searching for. Check out the companies and topics that your audience follows, likes or retweets in order to get a clear sense of what interests them. 2 million blog posts are written a day, so make sure your audience will take the time to read yours by posting relevant content. Don’t forget to include visuals and videos in your content as they get 64.9% more shares than text only.

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Personal Branding Mistake #87: IT'S NOT AS COMPLICATED AS YOU THINK

A lot of people don’t put any effort into their personal brand because they think it’s too much work. It’s simple; you just have to start small and keep your brand promise in mind to increase traffic and conversion rates. 

Putting effort into your personal brand is the only way to build it. Use keywords that relate to your brand promise and are known to drive traffic and conversion rates. The following are high conversion keywords for LinkedIn: Created, Improved, Increased, Developed, Reduced, Researched. For Facebook: Where, When, Tell Us, Inspire, Submit, Amuses, Warns. The following are high conversion keywords for Twitter: Re Tweet, Follow, Social Media, New Blog Post, Check Out, Help, Top. Use these keywords wisely and your brand will soar!

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Personal Branding Mistake #88: YOU'RE NOT BEING FRUGAL

There’s a lot you can do with a basic LinkedIn profile and a free website template. Assess your business needs before you go crazy buying different packages and plug-ins. Know what you need to promote then use the right tools. 

Building your personal brand doesn’t mean you have to spend big bucks on premium services. One of the primary reasons users buy premium LinkedIn is for InMail and expanded Profile Views. However, if reaching out to connections is not one of your brand’s objectives then InMail may not be essential. In 2014, 81% of LinkedIn users used the free version of the platform. Your LinkedIn profile grows naturally each time you add a new skill, accomplishment, share content or engage in other types of LinkedIn activities.

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Personal Branding Mistake #89: YOUR BRAND ISN'T JUST A LIST

Don’t simply list tasks you are capable of doing as you might on a resume. This is not a personal brand profile. Brand yourself based on a promise, not the tiny logistical nitty gritty. 

A list of expertise is nothing new to your audience. Many people believe that LinkedIn’s purpose is to showcase your resume and search for job opportunities, but it is much more than that. Your LinkedIn profile is meant to build your professional brand. Make sure your brand isn’t strictly made up of lists of skills, experience and capabilities. The status updates you post become a major part of your profile and should not be limited to accomplishments. Include articles you find of interest, references to events you plan to attend and relevant content that points to your branding.

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Personal Branding Mistake #90: YOU'RE A ZOMBIE!

Slogging through your personal branding? Don’t!  Ask a professional to give your brand the full attention it deserves to make it stand out in the crowd.

Maintaining your personal brand is an ongoing process. It is not easy to manage your brand and to keep social selling. Get help from a professional to keep you on track. By enlisting an expert you’ll receive valuable, unbiased advice. A professional will help you develop a brand promise,design your online pages and guide you to content development for social outreach. If you find yourself struggling with your brand, call in the troops and get the consultation you need to power your biggest asset.

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Personal Branding Mistake #91: IT'S NOT ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW, BUT WHO THEY KNOW

Second and third degree connections are critical to advancing your career and spreading your personal brand message. Connect, communicate and collaborate.

First degree connections on LinkedIn are not the only ones that matter, in fact, second and third degree connections can be huge additions to your audience. 21.1% of LinkedIn users have between 500-999 first degree connections, so imagine how many second and third degree connections you can add to your network! Your second and third degree connections know people you don’t and are a great way to form new relationships. Find them and reach out.

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Personal Branding Mistake #92: NOT PATTERN SAVVY!

Look at some successful branded individuals you admire. Notice any patterns? What are their most endorsed skills or most frequently used keywords? Do they match how you’re branding yourself for the same industry?

One of the best ways to build a powerful brand is to learn from others. Visit the social media sites of professionals you admire. Learn from their best practices. There are many patterns and practices that lead to effective personal branding on social media. For example, try to stay clear of these overused words when creating content. The 10 most overused words on LinkedIn are:1. Motivated, 2. Passionate, 3. Creative, 4. Driven, 5. Extensive experience, 6. Responsible, 7.Strategic, 8. Track record, 9. Organizational, and 10. Expert. Avoid these words and come up with alternatives to engage your audience. The top 50 status updates on social media in March 2015 averaged 120 characters. Be on top of trends like these and adopt best practices to improve your online branding.

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Personal Branding Mistake #93: OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE?

Who cares! Don’t hold back on connecting with higher ups. You can always find some point of commonality to connect on LinkedIn. These connections are instrumental for success and provide excellent branding exposure.

1 in 3 professionals worldwide use LinkedIn. Professionals in high positions are on social media platforms for a reason. Introduce yourself, reach out and build a great network of valuable connections. LinkedIn is the top social media platform for senior professionals with a vast array of knowledge, advice, connections and experience to share. CEO’s have an average number of 930 connections on LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to try and connect. What’s the worst that can happen?

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Personal Branding Mistake #94: IT'S IN THE DETAILS

Literally. Look at the Additional Information section on the profile of someone you’d like to connect with. Maybe there’s a common interest that starts the conversation! 

Finding a way to initiate conversation with a new connection can be tricky. Often, many professionals include little details about themselves in the Additional Information section on LinkedIn. Use this information to find common interests and start up a conversation. 48.7% of LinkedIn users believe that the direct messaging feature is the most important method to start that conversation. Try to find common ground and use it to send a personalized direct message. Capitalize on the information connections provide and successfully reach out!

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Personal Branding Mistake #95: NOT SPEEDY ENOUGH!

Studies show that the average LinkedIn user visits your site for less than 20 minutes a month – that’s less than a few minutes per visit! This means you need to make a quick impression and you need to be search friendly. Is your profile and personal brand ready?

Your social media platforms should be optimized for quick viewing. To make sure your viewers spend enough time on your profile create and share extremely concise posts. Shorter updates attract much more engagement on all social networks vs. longer ones. Facebook posts with less than 40 characters receive 80% more engagement and Tweets shorter than 100 characters attract 17% more engagement. And don’t forget the power of visuals. Visual information is processed 6,000 times faster than text so include visuals early and often to make a lasting impression.

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Personal Branding Mistake #96: NOT MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS A PRIORITY

Endorsements are great, but any friend or peer can quickly click a button to endorse you. Recommendations however, require thought and time, and create credibility. Do you have good recommendations for your personal brand? 

Endorsements are important because they help LinkedIn members build their professional profiles and make them 4X more likely to be viewed. However, recommendations are an even more powerful why to build brand value. LinkedIn makes the recommendation process simple: Ask your connection to search for your name on LinkedIn. When your profile appears, tell them to click the “message” tab near the top of your profile. In the drop down menu, they should choose “recommend” and from there they can write a recommendation. Don’t be shy. Ask for recommendations to strengthen your profile.

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Personal Branding Mistake #97: PERSONAL BRANDERS BEWARE!

Don’t forget who you're talking to in your outreach. What you find funny may be obnoxious or offensive to someone else. Keep your personal brand PG and friendly.

While you may maintain a network of like-minded individuals, not everyone thinks the same way as you do so keep it clean. 93% of recruiters using LinkedIn say candidate interactions and posts must be appropriate and applicable. Stay away from controversial topics such as politics and religion. If you question whether a certain visual or article could be interpreted as offensive, don’t post it. Eliminate all risk damaging your brand’s value and play it safe.

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