Developing your personal and business brand

Get Started and Build Business

LinkedIn Personal and Corporate Brand Development

Presented by:

Jomar Reyes: Founder, Trainer & CEO, SMCFaizan M. Syed: Business Development & Marketing Manager, SMCMia Negru: Events & Community Manager, SMC

Introduction of your trainers

• Jomar Reyes – Business Entrepreneur– Creative Media Producer – Trainer

• Faizan Syed– Digital Marketer– Business Developer– Trainer

• Mia Negru– Business Developer– Events organizer– Trainer

Image Source: Christopher Davis

Presentation content

• The elements of LinkedIn for the entrepreneur– The profile– Personal branding– LinkedIn mistakes– Networking – Groups & Pages– Developing your regime

• Hands-on work

• Q & A session

Image Source: Alexandra Chang

LinkedIn – what is it?

• A Business and Career Tool designed to connect with:

– Professional to Professional – Business to Business

• Using LinkedIn to maximize your opportunities in your business or career

Image Source: Jeena McGregor

Discussion

Answer the following in groups:

• Who am I?

• What do I do best?

– Tells us about your last successful project?

– Which strengths/competencies/values are presented through the story?

– What digital assets do I have right now?

– What digital assets do you NEED and WANT to have?

– Can they be added to your profile as skills

Image Source: Sumita Jain

LINKEDIN

If you are serious about your startup business you need to be on

LinkedIn Facts

• LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with 277+ million members in over 200 countries and territories

• LinkedIn.com is visited by more than 50 million visits each week

• The average user spends 7 minutes and 22 seconds on the website.

• Professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second

LinkedIn key users and stats

• Executives from ALL fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members

• Top industry recruiters from IT, Finance, Marketing, Real Estate, Healthcare, Telecommunications and Education

• Estimated over 50% of them access their profiles daily or few times a week

• 82% are more confident with the information received on LinkedIn than any other social network

• LinkedIn growth in Denmark 54% in 2013 compared 2012 and the 7th most visited site in Denmark

Source: Forbes, Jacco Valkenburg, Mattias Berg

Why YOU need to be on LinkedIn

• Branding (personal branding)

– You control other people’s perceptions of you

• Networking

– Worldwide reach– Easier for people to connect– Easier for YOU to connect

• To stay relevant and current

Create Awareness and reputation

Selecting and generating contact

interestTraffic building Listening and gaining

insights

In your opinion what are some of the mistakes LinkedIn users make?

6 of the biggest mistakes on LinkedIn

Mistake 1

• FOCUSING ON THE WRONG THINGSSuccessful entrepreneurs focus exclusively on efforts that matter and are able to tune out the rest

Mistake 2

• You aren’t connected to the right peopleand anyone barely connected to anyone else

Mistake 3

• You don’t have a profile photoor it’s a blurry shot of from ten years ago

Mistake 4

• You have a boring and generic headline (brandline)or your job title

Mistake 5

• Your profile lacks the right keywordsso you never show in search results

Mistake 6

• Your profile isn’t publicor you’re not on LinkedIn at all

Source: Trendhunter.com

Things to avoid on LinkedIn

Things to avoid on LinkedIn

• Your profile should not be a copy of your resume

• Wording matters

– Think keywords for your business

• Do not become stale

• Connections (quality over quantity)

Getting the most out of your profile

• Define your business goals

• Elevator pitch for your business – listing the values you offer

• Business intelligence – Look at company suppliers, partners, clients, recruiters or employers profiles– Research and analysis

• Showcase yourselves – brag a bit– Previous work samples and much more– 20% of hiring managers made hiring decisions based on volunteer experience on LinkedIn

• ABT – Always Be Testing – track, measure and adjust your results

Connect in a Meaningful Way

Benefits of Personal Branding

• Growing your network (next slide)

• Attract opportunities

• Establish TICAV™

• Securing work

Connections are key

3rd degreeThose connected to

your 2nd degree connections

2nd degreeThe people your 1st degree connections

know

1st degreeCo-workers, friends and others you can

connect with directly through

invitation on Linkedin

Recruiters can find you through group connections

or even at the 3rd degree level

Join LinkedIn Groups

Your LinkedIn connections can connect you to

“friends” of”friends” (including recruiters,

managers, etc.

Get introduced

Your LinkedIn connections can connect you to

“friends” of”friends” (including recruiters,

managers, etc.

Build your professional network

The larger your network on LinkedIn (not just people

you know directly or those they know but third degree

connections too), the greater the chances of

connecting to people who can help your career

USE THE 3 DEGREES OF SEPERATION ON LINKEDIN

Source: Trendhunter.com

How do I brand myself?

Like any other brand ask yourself 3 critical questions:

• What makes me great?• What will make my business great?

• What makes me unique? • What will make my business unique?

• What makes me compelling?• What will make my business compelling?

Source: William Arruda

The unofficial rules of LinkedIn

• Be yourselfHave a story, even if it's still unfolding

• Share yourself

• Value your capital/expertise

• Value the capital of others

• Cultivate your brand

• Empower others to do the same – think of the Golden Triangle – ASK, GIVE, THANK

Source: Roxanne Hori, Jan Vermeiren & Bert Verdonck

Networking tips

• OFFLINE to ONLINE: Add the people you meet at events, dinners, courses etc.

• ONLINE to OFFLINE: invite people of interest, from your LinkedIn connections to have a coffee and/or a chat

• Join GROUPS and invite to connect with people who are relevant for you and your interest

Build a Professional Online Presence1. Add your summary (Task: start working on a draft by using storytelling, using OMC etc.)

1. Answer these questions: Who you are, what added value do you offer and what you what to achieve! 2. Think keywords - Consider it for endorsements (Task: Add your relevant skills to your profile)

2. Upload a current professional photo (Your profile is 9 times more likely to be viewed if you have a Photo)1. Let them see your face

3. List your most relevant jobs & complete educational facts1. Convey your successes and responsibilities concisely

4. Receive geunine recommendations and endorsements1. Ask your friends, colleagues etc. – Careful though!

5. Put your flavour on it, It’s ok to be social here ”I” 1. Highlights their involvement in non-paid projects related to their field (open-source, community,

volunteer, conference), list of interests, hobbies, information related to your life outside work

6. Be active relevant content get you noticed1. Add value with links, articles, blogs etc. and have fun

Profile optimized!

Then what?

LinkedIn Groups

• Why Join a Group

– Connecting with like minded people• Building a following• Collaborative learning and discovery

– Researching for work or business venture

• Choosing a group

– Look for well moderated groups– Look for groups that your current network are – Choose wisely as Groups are listed on your profile

LinkedIn Groups

• Why Start a group

– Influence like minded people– Be seen as a thought leader in your field– Build your database for business venture

• Promoting your group– Make sure you moderate your group(s)– Look for groups that your current network are a part of– Make contact with potential partners, clients etc.

LinkedIn Companies

• Why Follow a Company?

– Stay ‘connected’ to companies you are interested in– Be notified of opportunities

• Starting a Company Listing

– Company pages– For the business venture/entrepreneur– A part of your company content strategy

The 7 Value Points of LinkedIn

• Establish your professional profile and control one of the top search results for your name

• Build and maintain a broader network of professionals you can trust

• Find and reconnect with colleagues and classmates

• Learn about other companies

• Leverage LinkedIn to find and reach the people you need

• Tap into the knowledge of your network

• Discover new opportunitiesSource: LinkedIn

10 minutes can make a big difference

• Spend 3 minutes reading or listening to articles, conversations

• Spend 4 minutes posting, liking, commenting etc.

• 3 minutes community building and potentially referring

Image source: Michael Phelps

What should you do after today?

• Decide what you want, why and how!

• Rewrite your profile so it educates your target audiences about what you bring to the table

– Improve your headline (“brandline”)– Add presentations/videos or other material to cultivate your brand– Update e-mail address & photo

• Develop a connection strategy that suits you and leverage groups

• Evaluate the benefits of upgrading to a paid service

LYNN KUMON

Examples of Strong Profiles

Donna Serdula

Jolene Merica James Bellew

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Thank you for your time and attention