Melanie Borden is the CEO & Founder of The Borden Group. She works with companies and executives on their synchronized brand strategy to drive growth and opportunity.

3 Simple Steps to Scale Your LinkedIn Following & Authority

One day it will look like it happened overnight. But until then, organic growth and authority building takes time. I didn’t wake up one morning to a loyal LinkedIn following of over 180k. I made a decision on the cusp of 2020 to start utilizing the resources available to me. At the time I was a VP of Marketing. As the pandemic began to spread, so did layoffs throughout the company, impacting close to 90% of my department. As a mother to two young girls, I started to feel the fragility of my position. What if I was next?

Moments like these lead to deep introspection. I had recognized for a while the talent I brought to the table and the results I was able to generate within the company. I began to wonder why I wasn’t investing that same effort into my own brand. I knew this was a pivotal crossroads in my career — I could either be consumed by fear or take control of my future. I chose the latter.

That’s when I turned to LinkedIn. I had rarely used the platform before and had less than 3k followers. However, I knew it was the largest social platform for professionals (now at 1 billion!) and that it would be my best bet for finding new career opportunities. So each day I showed up, consistently. I shared my personal story, my struggles, my triumphs, and my expertise. I was there to serve and support my peers during unprecedented times.

I continued to do this, day in and day out. After 3 years, I attracted incredible business and brand partnerships, went from solopreneur to agency, and landed major media mentions. I’m constantly being asked how to create a forward facing brand the way I did. I’m not one to gatekeep, so in this article I’m sharing it all! You’ll learn the foundational components for building a personal brand on LinkedIn and how to position yourself as a rising thought leader in your industry.

Step 1: Optimize Your Profile for Visibility

What I love about LinkedIn is that it serves as a dual social networking platform and search engine. Your profile is your resume come to life! This unique setup allows employers to easily find what they’re looking for by typing keywords into the app’s search bar or into popular search engines like Google. But they can’t discover you if you’re not visible with your experience and expertise!

Here’s how to optimize your profile for opportunities:

• Upload a clear, professional, and inviting profile picture.
• Create a headline that expresses who you are, who you serve, what problem you solve and the results you get.
• Infuse storytelling into your summary section to reveal more about your experiences, passions, career goals, and personality.
• Showcase your unique skillsets and amplify authority by listing relevant work experiences (bonus: ask former colleagues and employers to write a recommendation on your page!).

Step 2: Show Up Consistently with Value-Rich Content

Did you know less than 1% of LinkedIn users post consistently? That means there’s lots of room for you to be seen on a global scale just by doing what most don’t — consistently showing up.

Here’s my secret sauce for creating valuable content:

• 25% Promotional: People want to work with you, they just need to know how. Don’t be shy about promoting your offers and the value you can add.
• 25% Educational: To be a thought leader in your industry, it’s crucial not to just echo what everyone else is saying. Do your research, stay on top of trends, and share your own thoughtful takeaways. This will build trust with your audience and keep you top of mind.
• 25% Personal: I call this the H2H Method (Human to Human). Afterall, at the end of the day, we’re all just people behind these screens. We crave real connection and relatability. Showing more of your personality will create those lines of connection. So the short answer to your burning question is yes, it’s perfectly okay to post pictures of your dog, your hair, or a favorite hobby on LinkedIn!
• 25% UGC: People do business with those they know, like, and trust. This is especially true living in a review and rate world. You know this if you've ever turned to Google, Yelp, or Amazon before making a purchasing decision. Social proof holds immense weight! Be sure to ask for and promote positive feedback about your work to enhance credibility and conversions.

Step 3: Don’t Post and Ghost

We’re all busy, trust me I get it! Which makes authentic engagement that much more meaningful. Investing time into your network will pay off tenfold. Afterall, as a leader, you’re committed to serving your audience and providing value, not just selling and telling.

Here’s how to build authentic connections and engagements:

• Respond to comments: Within the first 30 minutes of posting, be active in your comment threads. Thoughtfully respond and ask questions.
• Reciprocate engagement: Sharing, liking, and commenting on your community’s content will show reciprocated support.
• Send personalized messages: Who doesn't love a genuine DM and thought-provoking conversation? Reach out and express your gratitude for the connection, how much you enjoyed their latest post, or ask for advice on a certain topic. Building these lines of communication will open new doors and lead to potential collaborations.
• Conduct surveys and polls: Utilize LinkedIn for direct market research. Assess your audience with features like polls and surveys. This will help you to determine gaps between industry demands and needs, and fill those gaps with your unique offers, expertise, and services.

Need an extra boost of support? AI is here to help maximize your efforts! I love using AI as an assistant and a think tank, plus it saves me over 10 hours a week.

Here are the tools my team and I use and recommend:

• Agorapulse: To schedule and publish posts, monitor, and track analytics.
• ChatGPT: To enhance messaging and content creation.
• Otter AI: To record all meetings and extract relevant themes for content inspiration.

Closing Thoughts

Start putting these steps into practice and I promise you’ll see the needle move within your personal brand! Remember, thought leadership is more than a buzzword, it’s a powerful responsibility for those who dare to envision a new reality of what’s possible.

In a “copy and paste” culture, it’s more important than ever before to challenge the status quo, prioritize your audience’s successes as much as your own, and spark innovative ideas. While 2020 may have shifted many aspects of the workforce, things are rapidly progressing and your voice is immensely valuable in shaping today’s market and tomorrow’s future.