Crafting your LinkedIn Personal Brand
Using the framework that grew Izzy Prior to 63,000 followers and a verified top voice badge on LinkedIn.
Hey there fellow Apprentices,
This week’s piece is co-authored with Izzy Prior, who is the Founder of Spark, where she amplifies the personal brands of impact-led CEOs and founders. An all-round amazing human who lives the advice she gives, she’s built an audience of 63,000 followers on LinkedIn, been invited into the platform’s Creator Programme and earned the Top-voice blue tick along the way.
Having worked together for 18 months to refine the best way to deliver on your purpose in the digital age, the DACA method we’re sharing with you today is the framework that we believe is the best way to think about creating a unique and memorable online presence that creates inbound opportunities.
So, take the 5 minutes to give it a read and let us know what you think.
Define your brand
Your personal brand is not simply what you do, it’s who you are.
And it exists both online AND offline, reflecting back to you the person you decide to show-up as in your relationships with others.
Defining how you do this is crucial to embracing your authentic self.
Self-reflection is important
We’re not asking you to drop a large sum on a weekend retreat and book counselling sessions twice a week for this initial step.
(although if you wish to, by all means, go for it.)
Generally put, self-reflection is the act of examining and contemplating everything that defines who you are… Your thoughts, emotions, experiences and actions.
To be able to reflect on you and your journey, it’ll involve introspection and a conscious effort to gain insight into your identity.
Take time to assess your personal growth over the period of your life, evaluate past decisions and recognise the impact your behaviour has on you and others.
Here are some ways you can do this:
Deep journaling session
Mindfulness of your genuine identity
Visualisation of your life aspirations and goals
Gathering feedback from friends, colleagues, mentors & business partners
Evaluating your online presence (ask yourself: does this version of me align with my authentic self? Am I consistent between my digital persona and my real life interactions?)
Not only does this practice help with building a favourable personal brand, but you’ll also recognise you’ve developed self-awareness for yourself. Along the way it may even lead you down a path of making intentional choices in other aspects of your life.
Articulate your purpose
Yes, you might want to “help people”.
But, what does that actually mean? If you look into your past you’ll find that there’s likely a cause or community that really resonates with you.
Which people do you want to help?
How do you want to help them?
What outcome do you want to create?
For Charlie, his purpose sounds a little like this: “to empower individuals to create organisations of the future that enable rather than limit human flourishing”.
Understand what makes you unique
You have a unique collection of values, skills and passions that combine together to create a perspective on the world that only you can speak to.
To discover them, spend the time with your own mind, find a mentor who can mirror them back to you or even ask your friends for their thoughts using a tool like a Johari window.
Taking these steps Izzy found her identity to be:
Values - authenticity, communications, integrity, collaboration, balance, impact, self-improvement.
Skillset - super-connecting, empathy, positive impact, creativity.
Passions - networking, storytelling, rugby, reading, learning.
By doing the work you’ll find yours.
Discover your opportunities
Ever heard of the classic SWOT analysis?
If so, you'll know that it’s normally applied to businesses in an attempt to prioritise the best actions that should be taken to make the most of the current situation.
But, you can also apply it to yourself too, thereby creating a personal SWOT analysis that looks a little like this:
Strengths - what do you do well?
Weaknesses - where can you improve?
Opportunities - which trends could you benefit from?
Threats - which changes risk holding you back?
Which enables you to identify the areas to double down on, where you can improve and how you can make the most of your current external environment.
Align your identity
Your brand needs to reflect two things: who you are and who you want to speak to. Without alignment with both it won’t realise the results you seek.
Create clear goals for your brand
More likes, more comments and more followers sounds great on paper. They promise more eyeballs on your content, more opportunities for connection and more direct messages.
But in reality, the results are often meaningless.
Aim instead to create tangible goals for your brand that support the long-term growth of your career. If you’re unsure, here are a few examples:
Meet 5 new thought leaders each week.
Book 25 new discovery calls each month.
Be interviewed on 1 podcast a month.
Featured in 2 news articles a month.
Gain 100 new newsletter subscribers each quarter.
For Charlie, setting the clear goal of adding one new community member each week has grown us to an intimate group of 38 already which just keeps on expanding.
Define your audience persona
Your brand is not for everyone. And nor should it be.
So, rather than taking shots in the dark with the content you create, build an audience persona that summarises the individual you’re aiming to impact.
If you feel that you’ll be stuck at this stage for a while because you’re unsure of your audience’s persona, it’s worth taking time to learn who they are.
Reach out to them on social media platforms (such as LinkedIn, X (Twitter), online communities or even local networking groups.
Ask them to complete surveys, invite them to join a focus group, hold interviews or even arrange a networking meet-up or call.
Then, you’ll be able to break them down into the following:
Demographics - name, age, location, examples
Bio - short description that you should write last
Background - past experience, how they see the world
Behaviours - how they act
Marketing channels - where they spend their time
Needs - what they need help with
Goals - how they want to improve
Frustrations - what stops them from hitting their goals
Motivations - what drives their decision making
You’ll then always have a person to hold in mind when you think about who you want to inform, inspire and educate towards your career goals.
Communicate your expertise
You’ve defined your brand and aligned your identity but these are only the stepping stones to delivering on your purpose.
Communicating and broadcasting that to your audience is the next chapter. It’s time to craft what exactly that digital footprint looks like.
A great place to start is a social media platform.
Let’s take LinkedIn as an example here:
We’ve all been guilty of having a poorly optimised profile when we start out on a social media platform – a short bio description, the headshot you had taken 4 years ago and an empty banner.
But, having mere visibility on the world’s top professional networking platform is no longer an excuse. Kickstarting that strong digital presence requires preparation and an element of branding yourself.
Your profile should be treated as a billboard, selling and marketing who you are. Whether your objectives are to generate leads, grow your own community or further your portfolio, it has its relevance.
Izzy has broken this down into actionable tasks you can make today:
Consider your own personal branding assets
The colour scheme and fonts you use should reflect the core values and vibes you share. Colours have the ability to suggest different emotions (red suggests power and strength, whilst purple suggests creativity, imagination and introspection).
Maintain this visual asset through the imagery of your profile (your banner, your headshot, and even the graphic design imagery you use in your content).
Update your profile features to align with your identity
Headshot - a high quality, professional profile headshot. Ensure you come across as approachable and friendly. (Top tip: try to upload in 1080x1080 for premium quality.)
Banner - don’t take the easy route of uploading a block colour with your logo in the corner. It’s a missed opportunity to not use this to speak to your audience’s struggles and pain points, but also share your vision.
What to write and include on this banner? Consider these three things:
Position the problem you solve for your ideal client as the solution. This gives viewers an immediate answer to what you can do for them.
Ensure you write WHO you solve this problem for. (A person who speaks to all, speaks to nobody.)
Write HOW you can achieve this for the ideal client.
Headline - craft a clear and concise headline that highlights your vision and unique value proposition as an individual. Be innovative and keep it brief, so that it's easy to read and understand - however, don't be too generic. You want your brand to stand out from the crowd from the first impression.
Stuck for ideas? Here’s a format to follow: “ [Role/ Unique Attribute] | I help [Target Audience] to [Desired Outcome] | “Call To Action”
Hashtags - most people forgo this section as they consider it pointless, but it still carries value for your brand. Those viewing your profile can determine the conversations you have on LinkedIn, but also it’s a great keyword for SEO on the platform’s search engine.
Featured Section - Again, this is an area many people miss an opportunity with, or do not use at all.
About Section - Have you got sparse information here or are you writing in third person about yourself? There’s no better time for an update.
Here are some top tips:
Inject personality and storytelling into this text. This is YOUR LinkedIn profile, after all. Not just a business page.
Directly call out your target audience from the offset.
Address their struggles (a great analogy here is to “twist the knife” further on those pain points, as you want to paint a vivid picture of their current situation.)
Then, give them a taste of their dream outcome.
Explain clearly how they’d be able to achieve that outcome with your solution.
Give social proof, a text testimonial or a case study to support the solution you’re offering.
Demonstrate the next steps with a Call To Action. This could be booking a meeting, purchasing a digital product, signing up to a cohort, joining a community or sending a direct message.
Testimonials - Was the last testimonial you received from an old manager you worked with in 2018? Go and message 5 people across the last year you’ve worked with in some capacity. This can be a customer, a business partner, someone you held a community event with, a colleague. Reach out and request a testimonial. It’s likely they’ll say yes, and you’ll get a paragraph or two by the end of the day that is relevant, up to date and, of course, furthers your credibility.
Experiences/ Achievements - It’s unlikely people will read a chunky list you copied from your CV and walk away thinking “Wow, they’ve achieved incredible things in their time - I want to join their mission!”
Instead, use this text space to showcase your experiences in a way that underlines your impact on both your portfolio and role today. The core values and tasks you carried out in those roles/ vocations/ projects correspond to what you’re doing now - in one way or another.
Remember we looked at your purpose earlier? As you work through your profile, keep this at the top of your mind with each decision you make to elevate your profile. There’s little point including conversations that are irrelevant to the mission you’re on.
Overcome “The Hesitation Hurdle”
The first hurdle everyone faces when it comes to communicating your expertise is The Hesitation Hurdle.
“Will people judge me?” “What if people disagree with me?” “I’ll get no engagement, this is pointless”
I’m sure you’ve had a thought similar to the above. We all start from zero, even this newsletter - yet today it reaches over 740 people.
When you reframe your thoughts to “I’m going to inspire action” “I’m going to educate people on this matter” “I’m going to make a difference, no matter how small”, the negative voice quietens down.
Strategize your content
Creating content shouldn’t be a stressful task in your week. Having a content strategy with direction is going to be your superpower in upholding some consistency and creativity in your brand here.
We’ll break this down into content pillars and formats:
Content Pillars
Distinguish the key topics that uphold your expertise and that you can rally content ideas around. It’s helpful to have 3-4 pillars to mind-map from whenever your “content idea” brain bank becomes scarce. This serves as a direction for your brand, although it’s okay to bend the rules and colour outside the lines here - you can have other conversations that don’t fulfil the criteria of these pillars.
Post Formats
Text - Communicate your expertise and insights through well-crafted written content. It’s a versatile format that can be easily shared and consumed (examples: text posts, articles and newsletters).
Video - This is a powerful ways to connect with your audience as it has the ability to showcase your personality, expertise and storytelling abilities. The interaction becomes far more genuine and authentic as viewers can gauge your body language, tone, and enthusiasm (examples: vlogs, tutorials, interviews, live sessions).
Images - These are visually engaging and can evoke emotions, making them an essential element of personal branding. Sharing high quality images that align with your brand's aesthetics helps create a consistent visual identity (examples: personal photos, behind-the-scenes glimpses, team workings, photoshoots, networking events).
Graphics/ Carousels - Carousels can be used as a way to share more in-depth content in a visually appealing manner. They allow you to break down complex concepts into bite-sized pieces, making the information easier to digest (examples: step-by-step guides, tutorials, lists, and detailed explanations).
Weave your portfolio into a personal brand
You may be thinking “I have multiple interests, how am I meant to bring my content together when I’m not tied down to one occupational role?”
You’re right. It is easy to show up as one person doing one thing. However, as a multipotentialite (as Charlie puts it), you don’t need to drop your less favoured passions and topics from your content.
The solution is finding a common thread that runs through these multiple interests.
Here’s an example persona – let’s call her Lucy: a HR professional who has a side-hustle cake baking business, also volunteers at run club and competes in powerlifting every season.
The common threads (or content pillars) here are healthy living, prioritising mental + physical health and self-actualisation subjects.
Being multifaceted shouldn’t take away from your personal brand. Instead, by weaving your common thread, it breathes life into your brand.
Amplify your reputation
What does it mean to amplify your reputation?
It’s the action of strategically enhancing how others perceive you, your expertise and your contributions to your communities. You want to build a positive and influential image that aligns with your mission.
Expanding your circle of influence
Focus on engaging in social circles not only related to your field, but also with people of similar interests, core values and goals. Be open to attending industry events, joining relevant communities and build your connection base on LinkedIn.
After all, the world is your oyster here!
Top tip: avoid spammy or impersonal connection requests. Choose genuine relationships over transactional relationships, where you actively listen and provide support. Networking is a two way street.
Creating meaningful engagement
There are a number of ways to cultivate genuine interaction. Some are more suited to you than others.
A free resource lead magnet - put together valuable content that showcases your expertise and provides benefits to your audience.
Newsletter - like this one! Regularly nurture your audience by sharing insightful content and exclusive information to your paid subscribers. (Hey, a great example is Mastery In Your 20s.)
Podcast - for someone who likes to engage in reflective conversations, use a podcast to interview influential figures and position yourself as an authority in your niche.
Keynote speaking opportunities - Look into seeking opportunities to speak at conferences and participate in webinars. This will go a long way in enhancing your visibility.
Community building - create and nurture a community around your brand values, where like-minded individuals can come together to amplify this mission further. Just like the Undefinable Community that Charlie is building.
But, remember, as you work to amplify your voice, it will not only require authenticity and consistency, but also dedication throughout all of these strategies.
Conclusion
As you work through the Define, Align, Communicate, Amplify (DACA) method remember to keep in mind that it’s not a one-time solution. To make the most of it you’ll need to constantly revisit the framework. Not only because there’ll always be room for improvement, but also because the most important part, you, is always changing. Embrace the ever shifting nature of your brand and you’ll stay in step with the person you’re always becoming next. Or at least that’s what we, Charlie & Izzy, have found works for us.
I was learning about Branding just yesterday for my music career. Whatever you choose being consistent across platforms is the important thing.
Just like how filmmakers have different styles.
All Pixar movies look alike.
And most know to expect violence from a Quentin Tarantino film.
Same with your brand.