In my role, I get asked a lot about how to promote yourself online. And it is no surprise when you think about how digital presence is key not only to your business, but also to your personal brand. Harvard Business wrote an article back in 2012 about how your digital footprint is key to personal brand.
And there are many avenues to chose from what it comes to promoting yourself: Twitter, Blogging, Tumblr, etc. But one important key to your digital presence should be to have a stellar Linkedin profile. Linkedin is relevant for anyone looking for a new gig or promoting their expertise internally/externally.

What’s so awesome about Linkedin?

According to Mashable, Linkedin:
  • Is a highly trafficked website. There are 161 million professionals worldwide who have connected with Linkedin since its official launch in May 2003.
  • Has constantly engaged members. Linkedin members actively look for jobs and read work-related content on the platform. In 2011, there were 4.2 billion “professionally-oriented searches” that number is set to surge to 5.3 billion in 2012.
  • Keeps growing. Today, LinkedIn announced its new pages for universities.

Linkedin profile same as your resume?

Many folks are unsure how to use Linkedin beyond a regurgitation of their resume. So, think about Linkedin beyond a reproduction of your employment history and use it to promote your personal brand.Answer one question: What do you want people to takeaway from your profile?
If your not using Linkedin to tell your personal brand story, you’re missing an opportunity to promote you and your expertise in front of would-be colleagues, collaborators, and future employers.

It’s about a cohesive brand story.

Much like storytelling, your personal brand story needs to make sense and persuade folks to read it.
Jot down your ideas in terms of these areas to highlight your personal brand story:
Setting the Story: How will you lure the reader in? You need to set up your story with a crafty headline and interesting personal summary.
  1. Headline. How would you describe yourself? You can certainly use your title, but also think about how potentially someone will search for you. Use keywords you want to be associated with.
  2. Summary. What do you bring the table? Be Strategic. What areas or expertise do you want to highlight? You can use your objective or summary piece from your resume, but be short and sweet. You can in this section add a bullet list of expertise, presentations highlighting your awesomeness, and video.
Character Development: If you are the main character in your personal brand story, how will you support your central theme? So, for example, if I want to be known as a digital marketing expert, how will I convey this?
  1. Experience. Think about this in terms of a story. What do you want people to know? It’s more than listing your accomplishments and responsibilities. Think about how you would describe your coherent roles and how it relates to your overall goal or next career move.
How to convey the pinnacle points in your career? Showcase your successes.
  1. Projects. Highlight projects that you have worked that show strong results?
  2. Publications and Articles. Written anything that would support your experience or summary? Add articles to highlight your knowledge and promote your own thought leadership.
  3. Skills and Expertise. Think of this in terms of projects. What have you worked on that you can add? Use this to add dimension to your profile.
  4. Recommendations. Who are your champions? Did an awesome job at work? Get your boss or fellow teammates to fill out a recommendation. Get them to fill out a recommendation?
Storytelling is about persuading and entertaining your audience. In order to cut through the noise, you need to differentiate. You don’t need anything formal, but the above it is get you thinking about what is most important to convey in your profile.
What would you add?