12 Tips: How to Build Your Personal Brand (On LinkedIn)

Building your personal brand is one of, if not the most important thing, you can do to propel your career forward. A personal brand is all about the trust and credibility people give you, whether it's the first time they've met you or the tenth. Credibility is not given overnight, it's earned when people trust the things you say, and even more when they respect the actions you take.

You don't get to see most of your peers everyday. How could you? They're busy at their own jobs. But the one place you all go to is LinkedIn, and that's precisely why it's the best place to build your personal brand.

So how exactly do you build your personal brand on LinkedIn? Here are the most useful nuggets I've learned on the way to gaining almost 3,000 followers on LinkedIn, in no particular order:

1. Be human. Just because it's LinkedIn doesn't mean you have to use big words to impress people. Talk like you would at a cocktail party and use words people understand. No one likes a jargon-mongerer.
2. Share your thoughts. Don't just scroll through your LinkedIn feed when you're on the toilet, contribute (non-sh*tty) ideas and share your wisdom. You know more than you think.
3. Pay attention to detail. Your LinkedIn profile is your personal storefront. Having typos in your profile is the equivalent of walking around town with a giant stain on your shirt. Not keeping your information up to date is the same as rocking your 90's hairstyle - have some pride in your appearance.
4. Be controversial. It's OK to say things that are outrageous or colorful - that's more interesting to people. Don't repeat material, come up with your own.
5. Don't be offensive. Politics, religion, your baby pictures - keep that on Facebook. OK, so maybe that last one isn't really offensive (or maybe it is).
6. Share cool pictures. People like photos of things they don't normally see. They like to see your face. If you took a picture with a NBA star at a work event, share it. If someone sent you a bobblehead of yourself, share it. Group outing at work? Share a selfie!
7. It's OK to brag a little. People want to root for you. They want you to do well and celebrate your achievements, so if you just made President's Club, let everyone know. If you got promoted, thank everyone who helped you. If you got a new job, write an article about why you chose your new company. People want to learn from you, so tell'em how you did it.
8. Give shoutouts. Learn something from a cool presentation? Share it with your followers (and attribute the quote). This is a 2 birds, 1 stone situation: Give your network something useful + rub the back of who you're shouting out. Win-win.
9. Don't always promote yourself (or your company). Newsflash: No one cares about the latest storage product your company just released, at least no one outside of all your storage admin friends. So stop talking about it all the time. Instead, talk about stuff your network actually cares about, like why Amazon bought Whole Foods.
10. Respond to people. If someone takes the time to write you a personal message, please respond. Don't put it off, respond as soon as you see it. It's not worth the bridge you potentially might burn, and if you put it off you might forget.
11. Complete your profile. Unless you're fresh out of college, have at least 5 years of work history. Each job section should have a good description of what you did, and some samples of your work (presentations, etc.). Don't need essays here, but it can't be empty. Fill in all the other sections and get some recommendations as well, so people can see you're not a robot.
12. Have an appropriate profile picture. This is how most people picture you in their minds, believe it or not, since it's the image people see most often of you. They don't want to see you at the end of a night out, or at a wedding, or with your kids. Professionals have professional pictures on their LinkedIn.

If you follow these 12 tips, I guarantee you'll be well on your way to better professional recognition and career growth. Remember, a brand doesn't happen overnight, so it's important to keep on at it!