Insider's Guide to LinkedIn

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2:06What is your expertise and that nugget that you always want to build around? I think that's something that you can consistently know that you can turn back to. There's a term, right? Trust is consistency over time. So when people know what Jason is, they know what I'm going to get from Jason, they make sure that they get the latest thing. They're following your newsletter. They're opening your newsletter. It's that idea of when they know what they're going to get from you, there's that trust and there's the consistency of them turning to you for that expertise over time.

2:35Jason:Running a business means solving problems. I tell you how the smartest entrepreneurs do it. Hi, I'm Jason Pfeiffer, editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, and this is Problem Solvers.

2:50Jason:If you want to build a business or build your career, here is a problem. You are finite. You only have so many hours in the day. There are only so many people you can talk with. There are only so many places you can be, but you know what is not finite? Content. Your content. Your content can be everywhere all the time, reaching people when you sleep. Content is scalable in a way that you are not. And that is the reason to build a personal brand. But the question is, how do you do it? I have been posting every day on LinkedIn for years and building a personal brand on LinkedIn has been transformative for my work, my career.

3:30Jason:And now people ask me all the time, how are you doing it? How are you building that personal brand on LinkedIn? I have thoughts, but also I have a secret weapon, which is that I get to talk to people at LinkedIn and they tell me what's working and how LinkedIn is prioritizing different kinds of content. And that has helped me so much. And I am excited to share that with you today because I am not just doing this alone. I am in conversation with Laura Lorenzetti, the executive editor at LinkedIn. We are talking today about how to build your personal brand on LinkedIn and why it matters. Laura, thank you so much for doing this with me.

4:05It is a delight to be here. It's a topic that is close to my heart.

4:09Jason:Awesome. Me too. All right. So here's what we're going to talk about on this video. We're going to talk about how to define that personal brand of yours, how to find things to say, which I think always worries people, and then also how to reach the right people, which really means understanding LinkedIn and the algorithm and the structure that we're operating in. And then, fun, at the end, we're going to talk about some of the major myths and questions that people have about personal brand building on LinkedIn. So, Laura, you ready? Let's do it. All right. So, number one is how to define... Well, wait.

4:44Jason:Actually, let me back up. We should talk about, Laura, before we even get into that, why this matters. I said it a little bit that content is scalable in a way that you're not, but you know, business is ever changing, ever shifting. Why does this matter? Yeah, I think for a long time, if you built a business, you cared about the business brand, right? You were like, oh, I need marketing. I need PR. And everybody who started a business did that, right? But we're in a new era where people want to hear from people and that the faces behind the business are the business. And that's what people are looking towards.

5:17That's what they care about. They want to hear from, right? There is this new trend towards authenticity where people want to know the truth. They want to know what's behind it. And what we see is that at every level, whether you're Sundar Pichai of the CEO of Google all the way down to an entrepreneur starting their business, is that when they log on, when they start their profile, the amount of engagement they get per post still outweighs what people engage with from companies because of that authenticity because of the person that is behind that business. And I think this is super important for anybody right now is that if you, whether you're building a business or just building your career, you are your brand and you need to be able to bring that to the forefront so that other people trust you and that they're following you for your expertise.

6:06Jason:I love that you said that word trust. Here's what I have found to be the most important formula for building a personal brand. It is this content builds trust, trust builds relationships, and then relationships convert. That's the reason to do this, right? 100%. I love that you start with trust because this is where it all is. People want to get your authenticity. They want to get who you are. They want to hear the truth from you. But that comes from your own voice. It comes from who you are. And the more people see you, the more they engage with you, the more they understand what you care about and can connect with you.

6:40And that gets your message across. And just like you said, that stays out there, that circulates for a long time. We often hear from creators that a post that they did three months ago all of a sudden just got new engagement because the reality is when people trust you and they trust your expertise, they'll seek that out again and start to share that and use that and reference it. And knowledge, when you share it, stays consistently there on the platform and it's a great resource.

7:07Jason:Also, when you are sharing that kind of stuff and you're sharing it repetitively, it creates signal out of noise. I think people are afraid to be repetitive on LinkedIn, to be sharing the same kinds of ideas, to be returning to the same messages. But I say, don't be afraid of being repetitive because the thing is people aren't focused on your content the way that you're focused on your content. People are seeing lots of stuff in a feed every day. A bunch of it is going to be noise to them. And if you have a meaningful idea and you're able to consistently share versions of it, what you're really doing is you're training people to recognize that you are a valuable voice.

7:49Jason:You're creating signal in the noise. I love the idea of consistency here. And I think most managers know if you've taken a management training, they'll say, you need to repeat the idea back to your employee three times before they pay attention, right? The idea being that the first time you hear an idea, you kind of check it off, but you forget it again, the second time you start to pay attention, the third time you start to click in and remember it. I think this idea of having consistency in what you talk about is a good thing. And people shouldn't be afraid of that because a lot of times it's still, it takes a couple times to stick with people.

8:20And the more that you are associated with an idea and expertise, the better. You can go deeper into that. And I wouldn't be afraid of repeating because people don't see every single post. You might be on vacation. You might come back the next week, but people still get value out of that and they get value out of another way of phrasing it or a new context or a new example that adds on to that expertise. Yeah.

8:43Jason:You know, that's actually something I do all the time. In fact, as we're taping today, I did it today, which is that I will regularly go back through my top performing posts and find something that did really well nine months ago and then just rework it slightly. I'll read it and I'll say, oh, that actually sparks a slightly different idea, but I'm posting 90 % the same material, but it was nine months ago. It gets great engagement. Never does somebody say, hey, wait a second, you posted that nine months ago. Instead, people love it. 100%. There's knowledge and examples and learnings that are evergreen.

9:16But when they're rephrased, when they're refreshed, when they're new in your feed, people can engage with that again. They can have a new conversation and make new connections and bring that to the forefront of the now because there's learnings that are just really become more resonant over time even.

9:32Jason:Okay. So Laura, let's start getting tactical now. I had promised we're going to talk about where to start on defining your personal brand and then how to find the right things to say and then how to actually reach the right people. So let's start at the beginning of that, which is figuring out where to start for someone who is totally new to this, who understands. They've heard us. They've heard other people say this is really important. they say, okay, I get it, but where do I actually start to do this? Where do they start? Yes. So one is, I would start with your profile. Make sure it's up to date.

10:12Make sure there's a little bit of summary, but also really pay attention to the headline you put for yourself. Because if you pay attention on LinkedIn, that headline is what follows your content. And a lot of people, if people don't know you right now, they'll look at your name, then they'll look at your headline and they'll match that to what you're saying. They're kind of within that context, trying to understand your credibility and your expertise. So the more you are thoughtful about how that headline reflects that credibility and expertise of what you want to speak to, the better. It's going to give that context in real time.

10:41Secondly.

10:42Jason:Yeah. Oh, okay. Before you go, let me just, let's just kind of give an example of what you're talking about. So I'll see a lot of people instead of just sharing CEO of blank company or whatever, they'll say, I help people do whatever. They're almost benefit statements to explain their value. Yeah, exactly. And there's a few ways you can do it, right? If you're CEO of Google, done. Just put that as your headline. You're good to go. If you're somebody who you're an AI consultant or a management consultant, being more descriptive about that value and your expertise is helpful because people may not immediately know you, but when they describe that benefit statement of what you're doing, the value you add and where that expertise is coming from, the more they can say, okay, great.

11:26I have the context. Now I'm going to, now I want to connect into the content because I believe this person, I trust this person. So take that seriously, craft it, be very thoughtful about that headline that's going to follow you around. Create three pillars. And one pillar is what you do. You're probably an expert. And I think Jason, you're a journalist, you're in media, you're an expert in that. But second is what the subject matter that you're an expertise in, right? Entrepreneurship, media, trends in media, trends in entrepreneurship. But there's also a third piece that everybody has, which is the softer side of things.

11:58Whether it's you're a manager or you're a parent and how do you do the work-life balance. I think this idea of from what you do, what you're an expert in to how you do the work, all three of these things matter. And all of your content should be a mix of these pieces because they are both your expertise, your hard knowledge, but also who you are. And it helps people feel connected to you over time. I think balancing that is really important as you grow your content calendar, if you will.

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13:09Jason:They think about personal. But it's not about being personal. It's actually about being a brand. If you think about what a brand is, a brand is three things. A brand is simple, a brand is repeatable, and a brand is scalable. And if you were to try to be a human version of that, then what you're really thinking about is, who am I to my professional audience? That's being simple. And then repeatable is like, what do I have to say that I can say over and over again? And then scalable is how do I reach the most correct people with my content? And if you start to think of it like that, then it shoves out all of this stuff that people often associate with personal brands.

13:49Jason:Nobody cares what you had for breakfast. Nobody cares about your vacation. What they care about is what you have to say that's super relevant to them. And so that focusing exercise of making yourself simple, repeatable, and scalable turns you into a brand that's just as resonant as Coca-Cola. People understand what Coca-Cola is. They need to understand what you are just as fast. Definitely. And I think this idea of making sure you bring your authenticity into that, right? Nobody wants to hear a marketing advertisement, but the more you bring your authentic voice into that, of like, okay, here's where my brand is, but here's what it means coming from me.

14:31And how that sounds different, how you share it is different than what you would from a company page, right? You're bringing yourself into that brand. And I think that's where you really hit that sweet spot. Value is not in virality. And I think people sometimes just want the likes because it does feel good. There's a little bit of an, you know, an ego. But the reality is, and what I talk about a lot on LinkedIn is that pay attention to the who, like who do you really care about? Because you might not care about the third 300 likes. You probably only care about those 100 or 10 or 20, because if you reach the right people, that's transformative for your business.

15:08And that's why a lot of creators are here, right? Because they want to make sure that they're getting the right business prospects. They're getting the right career opportunities.

15:17Jason:Well, I think that transitions us nicely into the next subject, which is how to find the right things to say. So let's say that what you just said there, Laura, which is to look at who is consuming your content, who's looking at your profile, are they in the right industries, are they holding the right titles? That is controllable in a way, right? You can control who you're reaching. And the way that you're going to do that is by writing relevant content that's going to reach the people who you want to reach. So unpack for me what strategies people should be thinking about as they craft content that's actually going to hit their target.

15:57That's a great question. I think there's a few ways to, a few buckets to think about. I think is one is a lot of what we talked about earlier, which is kind of these repeatable things. So like having the insights that you know are relevant to your company, your work, your career, that you can kind of reshape, share new examples around, expand on. So what is that? What is your expertise and those kind of that nugget that you always want to build around? I think that's something that you can kind of consistently know that you can turn back to. I think secondly, there is always an area where of news and the ability to put news in context for people, the ability to add your layer within the news of what, Hey, here's what it means.

16:40Here's how to stop and think about this. I think And tariffs has been one of the biggest ones that we've seen creators and business people say, like, here's how I'm thinking about it. Here's how I'm weighing in. Because when you're helping other leaders put that news in context, you are helping them, right? You're helping other leaders to say, like, oh, that's really I didn't think about that. Maybe I should consider that aspect of the tariff or maybe I should consider doing this with my business as I try to adapt. That really puts that real-time nature in there for people to turn to you. And then the third is the ability to also share behind the scenes.

17:14Let people in to what it's like to do your work or build your business. And I think having that personal bit within the mix helps people to say, remind who you are, keep it in the professional space. But this idea of giving like a glimpse behind the scenes is really helpful for people.

17:33Jason:I think that distinction is really important. Who you are, but within the professional space. That reminds me of a concept that has been really transformative to me, which is this. If you're worried about how to present yourself on social media, then don't put yourself on social media. Instead, create a 5 % character of yourself and put that on social media instead. That is how I think everybody should frame themselves. When you put all of you out on social media, it is big and messy. You're a whole complex person and there's a lot to share and say, but there's 5 % of you that's super relevant to your audience.

18:15Jason:5 % of you that is just extremely confident about the insights into what professionals who you want to reach need to know. And once you think, okay, what 5 % of me and my knowledge is most relevant to that audience, then you can start to also think, well, okay, if I'm going to play a character that is hyper-focused and relevant to my audience, then what does that character sound like? What does that character have to say? How does that character present? Is that character always enthusiastic? Is that character a real talker? Is that character long-winded? Is that character short and punchy and funny.

18:55Jason:I have spent a long time thinking about how I present as a version of myself that isn't all of me, but is the relevant part of me that an audience of professionals can connect to and rely upon. And once I figured that out for myself, I realized how scalable it was because that 5 % character is now the person who also shows up on videos like this one, or the 5 % character is also the one who shows up on stage when I give keynotes. And once you define your 5 % character, it also helps you make decisions. So for example, my 5 % character I've decided is always optimistic and useful. And that means that sometimes I see things that I might want to complain about on LinkedIn or something that someone did wrong that I would like to call out, but I say, wait a second, that's not what the 5 % character would do.

19:46Jason:The 5 % character would instead find something that someone did that went right and explain why it was so smart. And that creates this consistency that also then builds the relationships because people know that you're going to be steady and reliable. They always know what to expect from you. And I think that that ultimately helps create the bonds that turn into business. I love that. I think there's a term, trust is consistency over time. So when people know what Jason is, they know what I'm going to get from Jason. I'm going to get a straight talking, enthusiastic, great advice. They trust you and they continue to look for you in their feed.

20:26They make sure that they get the latest thing. They're following your newsletter. They're opening your newsletter. It's that idea of when they know what they're going to get from you, there's that trust and there's the consistency of them turning to you for that expertise over time.

20:41Jason:Yeah. Another thing that I do a lot, which I want to share with you and see what you think, is I think about when people are building their personal brands, they often ask, where do ideas come from? How do I find the things that I'm going to say? And I have found, for me, the most valuable source of ideas is real life in the moment. It is conversations that I'm having with people where maybe somebody asks me for advice, or maybe I'm just talking with another entrepreneur and we're spitballing ideas and I will say something or they will say something and both of us go, oh, that's a great idea. And I think too many people just let those ideas pass and they forget them.

21:25Jason:And I have trained myself to always write them down. So the second that something pops out of my mouth that's useful to someone else, or the second that someone says something to me that makes me think, I grab my phone, I open up my notes app, and I just jot it down really fast. And then tomorrow, when I sit down at the table in the morning and think, what am I going to post on LinkedIn today? I look back at those notes often, and I say, ah, that is great content. So capturing ideas in real life requires a habit of writing it down in the moment. But what you will end up with is a catalog of great ideas that can produce content for months and years.