Maybe you did or didn’t read Building Your Brand: Part 1 in July. Here is a quick recap:

• Branding is about the value you give to clients.
• Branding is about the problems you are skilled at solving.
• You want to focus your brand around something.
• You need to be a life-long learner to keep up with changing technologies.

If you are in the brand-building or revamping your brand, I suggest the book Digital You by William Arruda. The book is a great guide to help your brand building process.

Using LinkedIn in Building Your Brand

LinkedIn is a repeatable way professionals connect across various industries around the world. Your LinkedIn profile provides a first impression, especially when you can’t be there in person to meet. Whether you are on the job hunt or not, you can leverage LinkedIn to build relationships to make business connections.

Keywords

Did you know the words you use in your profiles make a difference? You want to use the right keywords in your profile, so LinkedIn connects you to people who need your services or skills. This helps optimize your appearance in people’s searches. You want to research and identify the right keywords for the jobs you are looking for or clients you are looking to attract. 

Community

I have to say the learning development community on LinkedIn is very welcoming.  Whether you are transitioning or an experienced instructional designer, LinkedIn provides networking to connect, build, and be a part of the L&D community.  One of my favorite weekly events is John Hinchliffe’s Global L&D meetup. It is Fridays at 11am CST. He posts weekly on LinkedIn, inviting anyone interested in making connections and get their questions answered.  If you haven’t checked it out, you should.

 Many instructional designers post on LinkedIn. They provide links to jobs, videos, interviews, and other useful tools to assist you on your journey to life long learning.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Troy Ashman

Cath Ellis

Mike Taylor

Robin Sargent

Melissa Milloway

Anna Sabramowicz

Monica Cornetti

Portfolio Extension (Trailer or Teaser)

Your LinkedIn profile can be an extension of your portfolio, where you can highlight some of your favorite projects. This is kind of like your ID movie trailer or teaser. It should entice someone to want to see more of your work and learn more about you.

Headshot

Did you know if you have a headshot on your profile, you are likely to get more views of your LinkedIn profile? Knowing this, make sure you have a good picture. I would make sure your photo is you alone, looking forward, and a smile never hurts. Consider investing in a professional headshot, and I would stay away from selfies.  

About Me

I consider your about me section as a snapshot about you or an elevator pitch in word format. Consider these questions/items when you are preparing your LinkedIn About Me section:

1. What is your mission or your purpose?  
2. How do you get the job done?
3. What skills do you have that you want to highlight?
4. Show your passion and enthusiasm.
5. Proofread
6. Get feedback from others (peers, mentors, or a member of your target audience).

As part of the IDOL courses Academy, the coaches will review member’s LinkedIn profiles and provide feedback to maximize this networking tool.  

These are just some food for thought items to maximize using LinkedIn in developing your personal brand.

Written by: Tabatha Dragonberry

Connect with Tabatha on LinkedIn.

Tabatha is an EdTech entrepreneur, instructional designer, content writer, and educator dedicated to developing interactive and engaging learning ecosystems. She has a passion for gamification, learning experience design, and the integration of social learning to improve learner engagement and knowledge retention. Also, she is a respiratory therapist who hosts The Vent Room podcast providing a little inspiration to respiratory therapists.