In the age of social media, it is absolutely vital that as a sales professional you have your presence on relevant platforms but let’s be honest, creating a personal brand doesn't happen overnight and it could feel overwhelming to build your presence from the ground up.
What’s the one place online today that allows you to connect with like-minded individuals, potential customers and competitors? That’s right, you guessed it, it's LinkedIn. Unlike other platforms out there such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn is a unique platform as it connects people with a business mindset who goes on the platform to research potential service providers, solutions, companies, finds inspiration and market insight. It is also the place where they could connect with you, hear your story and see your insights on the market, customers and product.
On other platforms like Facebook, and Instagram you’ll find people who are trying to have a good time or catching up with people they are connected with. You want to make your presence known on a platform where people have a “business mindset”. Just to give you an idea, 72% of Instagram users are teenagers, so if your product or service is not teenage-related, then it doesn’t make sense to spend much time on it. On LinkedIn, the typical user is much older.
By building your brand you want to become the “go-to” person. When people on LinkedIn think of your product, service or industry, you want to be at the top of mind. You can slowly do this by building out your connections, getting introductions and joining relevant groups focused on the industry, niche, sector and even goal that is pertinent to you.
LinkedIn is a place to share information, build relationships with clients, referral partners and prospects while boosting your reputation as a trusted advisor. Remember the know like and trust factor we talked about in the previous lesson? You can slowly and credibly start building these basics with the online community by becoming a credible source on LinkedIn. However, remember that if you disappear from the platform for days, weeks or even months at a time, you will have to continually start over with building your credibility. Credibility does not happen overnight, it’s the day-by-day actions that solidify your image with people, so consistency is really key. Remember, social media moves very quickly, and people will quickly forget who you are and what you can do for them if you are not vocal.
In the next lesson, The Professional P.I.E, I want to share with you 3 key elements that determine success in your career, and I’m pretty sure you will find some of these findings surprising.
