How Important is Your Online Identity?

To be successful today, you must have a clear and compelling online identity. People are searching your name and making decisions about you from what Google and LinkedIn reveal.

Whether you are an employee looking to advance in your company, a professional seeking your next marketing role, or a consultant looking to land your next big deal, you should plan on being looked up online.

And you should prepare for it.

Being googled on LinkedIn is the new version of the reference check. It provides your colleagues, employees, managers, clients, hiring managers and executive recruiters with critical information about you.

Consider the following:

• A Harris Interactive poll revealed that 85% of respondents search people online to learn about them.

• According to Business Week, 87% of headhunters use Google and LinkedIn to make decisions about candidates and

• 75% of recruiters have eliminated candidates based on what Google revealed

Clearly, people are making decisions about you based on what they find online. Your Google results may be the determining factor in whether an executive recruiter calls you in for an interview, your manager decides to promote you or a prospective client chooses to work with you.

It’s no longer a luxury, it’s a requirement for you to build and continuously manage your on-line identity.

Why LinkedIn & Personal Branding?

First introduced as an online resume, LinkedIn has quickly transformed into the world’s premier personal branding platform. The very first search result for your name on Google, will be your LinkedIn Profile (provided it is complete and you are an active LinkedIn member). 

Says Personal Branding Expert William Arruda:

"LinkedIn helps you manage your brand throughout the longevity of your career and brings a diverse “staff” to your keypad. Think of it as your agent, recruiter, mentor, reference check, teacher, publicist:

1. It’s Your Agent: Like a seasoned team of promoters (without the fee), LinkedIn makes you visible to decision-makers who are looking for exactly the services you provide. Replete with the right keywords, your LinkedIn profile connects you with people who need what you have to offer.
2. It’s Your 24/7 Billboard: Often delivering the first impression to a future client, your LinkedIn profile is you when you aren’t there. Even if people are researching you in Google, it’s likely that they’ll end up at your LinkedIn page.
3. It’s Your Professional Association: It allows you to be part of the right community and the right conversations. More and more, you need to be connected to others who share your expertise and interests. The world of work is moving so fast, you need to be proactive to stay on top of developments in your area of thought leadership.

How Strong is Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn?

Have you ever wondered just how strong your personal brand is on LinkedIn? Now you are able to put yourself to the test and measure how much traction your brand is getting on the world's biggest professional network.

Unbeknown to many LinkedIn members, LinkedIn includes a tool enabling members to measure how well they are building their personal brand on the site. The data-driven score called the ‘Social Selling Index’ (SSI) rates just how effectively users are engaging other members (even if you are not a sales person). Actually, the SSI looks at establishing your brand on LinkedIn, building your network and becoming a thought leader.

To get your personal Social Selling Score, go to https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi (and see mine below for example)

Become a LinkedInfluencer

To learn how to grow your Influence and your Brand on LinkedIn, join my Dealmaker Twin Yathin Soni and 1,464 LinkedIn Members at the upcoming LIVE LinkedIn MasterClass

• on Thursday 7 July 2022
• at 15h00 SAST (GMT+2)
• register on LinkedIn (see details below)