Right now, there are many displaced or furloughed travel workers seeking to expand their skill sets, develop professional networks and open career opportunities, hence many are realizing the importance of working on their personal brand.

While the industry starts the road to recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, there are many social networks and digital outposts where one might want to put some efforts. But let’s be honest, there really is only one platform that should be prioritized for professional purposes: Linkedin.

10 Things You Should Know About Linkedin

THE POWER OF NETWORKS

There are many reasons why you should consider Linkedin, but first here are a few distinctive stats to bear in mind:

• There are now 690 million active users on Linkedin
• Users are mostly decision-makers, C-level executives, opinion leaders and senior-level influencers
• 57% of global users are male
• 50% of internet users with college degree or higher use Linkedin
• In March of 2020, professionals watched more than four million hours of LinkedIn Learning content — a nearly 50% increase month-over-month
• LinkedIn Live streams have increased by 158% since February 2020
• 70% of Linkedin users are outside the USA
• 30 million companies are on Linkedin
• LinkedIn is the second most popular platform of B2B marketers, followed by Facebook
• However Linkedin is considered the most trusted network!

Source: Business Insider Intelligence’s Ranking 2019

HOW TO USE LINKEDIN FOR YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

Ever since Microsoft purchased Linkedin back in 2016, the social network has seen a steady growth in new features added. If you still look at Linkedin as a place to simply drop your online resume, then it’s truly time for you to revisit the platform!

Here are three aspects of your personal brand that Linkedin can help you with.

Credibility

The very first step you need to take is to make sure your profile is as complete as possible. This includes:

• Having a professional image for your profile picture
• Having a cover image
• Completing your bio
• Completing your summary section
• Adding multimedia content: powerpoint presentation, pdf brochures, videos, etc.
• Completing relevant sections to your profile: accomplishments, recommendations, language skills, volunteer work, etc.

Most of us don’t necessarily have a blog or a personal website. So if and when an employer might seek out information about you, they are most likely to do a Google Search. And what results will show up? Your Linkedin profile, in many cases.

Authority

If you take a closer look at the infographic posted above, there is one particular statistic that stands out: only 3 millions users share content weekly on Linkedin! This represents less than 1% of monthly active users on the platform.

Thus, content creators are few and far in between, which represents an opportunity for you to become a content creator that will appeal to your niche audience. This, in turn, will gradually build your authority and expertise in your given field of choice.

Types of content that you can share on Linkedin (or most social media, for that matter):

As you can see, there are over 44 content formats one can choose from. So if writing is not your thing, you can opt for video. Or podcasts, or quotes, and so on…

Thought Leadership

Despite of the easy access to content creation, whether in short-form or in long-form, as detailed in the point above, some folks simply don’t want to create content. That’s fine, too.

Thought leadership can sometimes come from simply engaging in conversations. Commenting on posts is one of the most under-estimated and under-utilized features on Linkedin, yet it contributes to highlighting your profile to a wider audience through second and third degree connections.

Instead of creating content, others will also opt for content curation. In fact, this is probably just as time consuming, but represents a different twist as you get to share articles or posts you deem relevant to your audience. By adding context or commentary, you also ignite potential conversations which can help ciment your position or expertise in your field of interest.

Hashtags on Linkedin

Extra tip: make sure to use relevant hashtags, as Linkedin now integrates them in its search algorithm, making content more easily discoverable whenever key hashtags are being used.

EXPEDIA GROUP ACADEMY

On that note, I prepared two exclusive webinars for the new Expedia Group Academy, which just recently launched its online learning platform.

The first webinar, titled “How To Use Linkedin To Enhance Your Personal Brand” looks at some of the elements discussed in this article, as well as some practical examples of how users can make the most of the platform in today’s context.

The second webinar, titled “The Essentials of Online Reputation Management” focuses on how and why you should have a social media presence, and tips to make sure you manage your online reputation to increase your chances of employment – finding and keeping your dream job!

Got questions? Send me a request on Linkedin.

Original article

Frederic Gonzalo
Speaker and consultant with over 25 years of experience in travel marketing, sales and communications. Since 2012, I provide strategic planning consulting, website audits as well as digital marketing coaching for all levels of organizations, from SMB to large travel organizations.