10 Things a Good LinkedIn Brand Can Bring You

Here are the 3 important points you would learn today:

1: The #1 LinkedIn profile optimization tip

2: 10 things a good LinkedIn brand can bring you

3: The new LinkedIn trend about virality

Make yourself comfortable and let’s get into it.

The #1 LinkedIn Profile Optimization Tip

How successful your content is depends a lot on how optimized your profile is.

If you paid attention to the previous newsletters I have written you know by now that social media platforms are not social. They are interest-based.

This includes LinkedIn. LinkedIn isn’t showing your posts to people who follow you. Rather LinkedIn is showing your post to people who are interested in similar posts to yours.

And if you have any intention of doing business on LinkedIn, your content must appeal to strangers (who are your ICP). LinkedIn is not the place to make friends. You are there to do business. Never forget.

Your profile determines to a large extent how far your content goes. Let’s take an example.

Let’s assume you are someone in B2B sales. And then you make a post about a trend in the tech industry. Naturally, such a post will flop.

The exception to this is if you have a unique perspective that brings your expertise (or non-expertise) into the conversation in an engaging way. Such exceptions are rare, and you should never count on it.

I already shared how I wanted to hack my way into another niche but was severely humbled. This is proof that who you are to LinkedIn matters.

Your profile on LinkedIn must match the algorithm’s profile of you. This is the number one tip of profile optimization. Before you niche your profile, consider your content.

Your profile must rhyme with your content.

I recently did this with my LinkedIn account. My profile is now 100% aligned with my niche which is remote work. It’s still too early to judge the impact, but my impressions momentum is not slowing down. It is gradually climbing.

The #1 LinkedIn profile optimization tip is to let your content tell you about your niche, then build your profile around that specific niche.

The way you write your headline, summary, and experience sections must be aligned to your core niche. You should also work your offer to be consistent with the niche.

LinkedIn optimization that is merely based on your offer, your business, and your career experiences will not be as strong. Don’t focus on what you want, focus on what people want from someone like you.

10 Things a Good LinkedIn Brand Can Bring You

I interacted with someone in my niche on LinkedIn who has more followers and more reach (in general) and learned something interesting.

She got a brand sponsorship on LinkedIn. So, I asked how that works. How does one get a brand sponsorship on LinkedIn?

Maybe we will do a deep-dive on this later. But her answer was that it was organic. She wasn’t trying to get one. She was just being consistent on the platform and she stuck to her niche (which I have observed).

The company reached out to her and sought to do a brand deal with her.

I feel when you are trying too hard to get these things, they slip out of your hands easily. But when you let go and just stick to doing your thing, the wins come with minimal efforts.

Brand partnerships is just one of 10 good things that can come from a good LinkedIn brand. Here is the full list:

1. New clients

2. Professional (peer) recognition

3. Product sales

4. Job offers

5. Brand sponsorships

6. Speaking engagements

7. Book deals

8. Business partnerships

9. Mentors and mentees

10. Awards

Each of these is a revenue driver in its own way. And we will talk about each of them subsequently as we get proofs of each result.

I have had a book deal offered to me from LinkedIn. This was several years ago when I wasn’t even taking the platform seriously. I didn’t take the deal because there were a couple of strings tied to it that didn’t fit me (and the niche wasn’t really my niche).

That is a story for later. But I am sharing this list with you to make you see the possibilities. Don’t merely think uni-directional, think multi-directional.

You can have 5 things on this list happening to you at the same time. And just one of them can change your life.

The New Trend Around Virality

Right now, a lot of people on LinkedIn are complaining that their impression count has dropped. And I am not experiencing any of that.

My impression count has been steadily increasing again after I zoomed in on my niche, which is remote work.

By the way, if you are in doubt as to what your niche should be, go to Favikon. Then, search for your industry and see the sub-industries. Then look at the creators there.

If the creators on the list are people who post the same thing as you, it means you are in the right place. If not, then you should look for your people.

Always remember that LinkedIn has micro-communities. And you want to be in the right micro-community for your niche and personality.

Back to the impression count complaint. Here is what I think is happening…

A lot of people have been complaining lately about LinkedIn being a lot like Facebook. Bots and AI are making harder to know who is human and who is not (from a content perspective).

I think this is one thing LinkedIn is trying to crack down with the idea of slow virality. Instead of giving posts a sudden surge of virality within 24 hours, LinkedIn is now taking it slower.

I’m guessing this is to confirm whether the post is worth a LinkedIn-level attention or not. So, people in the #weirdLinkedIn camp have been noticing drops in their impressions because the algorithm has found a better way to figure out content that deserves attention.

I currently have a post that barely made 300 impressions in its first 7 hours. It was a listicle I expected more from, so I changed the hook to something much simpler. Over the next 18 hours, it went over 1.8k impressions (and this is on a weekend).

My most viral articles in the last few weeks have also been slow viral. The first 24 hours would be less than 2k impressions and then over the next few days it would reach 20k impressions.

LinkedIn is choosing slow viral over sudden viral. This is the new trend I am noticing.

This means that, as much as possible, make your posts evergreen and very relevant to your niche. And always remember that you have a niche, not an audience.

And that’s all for now.

P.S. If you are ready to take LinkedIn seriously but don’t know where to start, book a consultation with me here