Personal Branding Mistake #22: YOU'RE LEADING A DOUBLE LIFE

How can your audience get an accurate view of you if your brand appears differently on your social media platforms? Be consistent and make your LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook professional pages communicate a synchronized message.

Research shows that personal brands with well-managed and harmonious social media platforms are 40% more effective than brands with inconsistent platforms. Your audience offers huge new business opportunities if you manage social media platforms correctly. There are more 350 million LinkedIn users, 645 million Twitter users and 1.39 billion Facebook users. Make sure all of your platforms are consistent and reinforce your brand promise. 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

Personal Branding Mistake #23: YOU'RE ANOTHER BLUR ON THE SCREEN

Don’t underestimate the importance of a good headshot. A profile picture that's clear and professional can give you character and credibility  – not to mention 11x more engagement.

Happy faces come off as more trustworthy and likeable. Chemistry is everything in business so why not start with a friendly portrait on your social platforms. Keep in mind that people remember only 20 percent of what they read and 10 percent of what they hear, but retain 80 percent of what they see. Visuals matter when it comes to social media so keep your content interesting to keep it working hard for you.

 LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters. 

Personal Branding Mistake #24: WATCH YOUR BACK!

Although a great profile picture is key to your personal brand, don’t forget about the imagery directly behind it. Incorporating some background art is an easy way to harmonize the look and feel of your brand and support your promise. 

Visuals are the most engaging type of content on social media. For instance, adding a photo URL to a tweet can boost your engagement by more than 25%. Video works even better as an engagement device. Approximately 40% of online users have a better and more favorable response to outreach when visuals are used over text. Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster by the brain than text. LinkedIn, for instance, offers great opportunities to customize your personal brand with background, portrait and downloadable visuals throughout your profile. It’s said that people are not reading these days. Make it easy on your visitor and boost your profile with visuals. 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters

Personal Branding Mistake #25: WHY SO SERIOUS?

Your profile picture and background should look professional, but try to have a little fun while you’re at it!

75 of the Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn as an important part of their corporate hiring solutions. Companies are looking for solid citizens but pay more attention when your portrait breaks through the boredom barrier. Don’t do a deer in the headlights portrait or OMG no portrait at all. Turns out 65% of your audience are visual learners so engage them with stimulating imagery! Social platforms achieve 94% more total views with compelling images. Keep it professional but keep it engaging.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters

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! 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

Personal Branding Mistake #28: NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR PERSONAL BRANDING ASSESSMENT

Great personal branding starts with an assessment of how you stack up to competition. Do you stand out from the crowd? Check out our complimentary personal branding assessment.

Personal branding is all about your promise, what makes you different and better than competition. It’s tough to have a unique brand promise without a competitive audit. Stand out from the 97% of business executives who use LinkedIn. 43% of employers hired a candidate because they were creative on social media. Harness your creativity and show your audience why you are different and better than your peers; Be a purple cow in a field of brown cows.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters

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.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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. 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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. 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters

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.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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!

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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. 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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!

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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.  

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters

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. 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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. 

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.

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.

LEARN MORE about why Personal Branding matters.