As a business owner, it is tempting to make your LinkedIn profile be about your business and not so much about you. Just keep in mind that you – the person – need to be the focus of your profile.

YOU ARE UNIQUE ! message on the card shown by a man hand, vintage tone

When you own a business, you typically describe the business in the third person your website, in a brochure, or in other marketing materials.

There is a section of LinkedIn where you can use this approach – the company page, which works very much like a business page does on Facebook.

However, the focus of a LinkedIn profile should be you, not on your business. I realize this distinction can feel somewhat artificial, as you and the business are so linked, especially when you are the only person in the business. However, it is important to keep in mind that you in many ways you “brand” under your own name and persona as well as under the name of your business.

With all that in mind, it’s important to use a photo of yourself as the profile photo rather than an image of your company’s logo.

Reasons to Focus on YOU in a your LinkedIn Profile

  • The format of the profile is for a person (not for a business).
  • You are the one with the story about how you came to start your business, and the uniqueness of the story of the start of your business is all about the uniqueness of you, as an individual.
  • By sharing personal stories about yourself in the context of your business, you stand out from all the other companies who provide similar services or offer similar products. People want to work with/buy from a person, not a company.
  • Include those stories in the profile’s summary section, and be sure to write in the first person to make your profile feel more accessible and friendly.
  • It’s likely that you had a number of work and volunteer experiences before starting your business, and the profile is where you can talk about that – especially if some of those experiences led you to starting your business.
  • Most important, people buy from people they know, like, and trust. And it’s impossible for people to get to know, like, and trust you, if they don’t come away from your profile with anything more than facts and figures about your business.

Some Resources to Help You Build the Brand of YOU Online

  • One of my favorite books on this topic is The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman (Cofounder of LinkedIn) and Ben Casnocha. Among other useful things, this book will help you create your competitive advantage in the market by combining your assets and aspirations with the realities of the market. Find out more at http://www.thestartupofyou.com/
  • Another great one is Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself by Eric Deckers and Kyle Lacy. I especially like their explanation of self-promotion as, “…not bragging or boasting. It’s not being something bigger than you are. It’s just letting people know who you are and what you do.” To find out more, go to: http://kylelacy.com/how-to-use-social-media-to-invent-or-reinvent-yourself/ 

 

How About You?

Is it hard for you to write about yourself in ways that sound authentic and not overly promotional? What approaches have you used to create your personal brand as something separate from your company’s brand?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel, Founder of Boomers' Social Media Tutor

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, leaders of nonprofit organizations, job seekers, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.