LinkedIn Is Built for Personal Brands. Is Yours Working for You?

The LinkedIn account of a founder is business gold. With a single post, they have the potential to reach the thousands of connections they’ve been gathering for decades. That includes prospects, former clients, industry peers, potential referral sources, and more.

Despite this enormous opportunity, there are countless (and I mean that literally) leaders at companies small, medium, and large who are doing nothing with the opportunity.

Some of those same people are burning buckets of money on paid ads, SEO, or inside salespeople to start cold relationships. It’s one of the most expensive missed opportunities in B2B business growth.

The 3 Executives Who Struggle with Consistency

When I talk to entrepreneurs about their LinkedIn presence and personal brand, the conversation usually falls into one of three places.

Persona 1: The overextended executive The first person is just too busy. They know that LinkedIn can be a growth lever, they know that they’ve got something to say and there’s an audience for it.

Persona 2: The non-creative executive The second is also interested in LinkedIn but they’re stuck. They just don't know what to say. There’s a lot of insight, but they struggle with the blank page, and the effort soon falls apart.

Often, I find these folks are also a little skeptical of coming off as too self-promotion, informal, or corny. They struggle with finding a voice that feels authentic.

Persona 3: The skeptical executive The third executive genuinely doesn't see the point. LinkedIn feels like a platform for job seekers and sales reps sending cold messages, neither of which describes them.

Why That Inactivity Harms Your Business

I understand all three of these people; I’ve worked with a version of each one before.

The problem, though, is not the bandwidth, the creativity, or even the skepticism, it’s that the need for strong and visible leaders is becoming less of a nice-to-have and more of a must-have. Why do I say that? Because LinkedIn has long been one of the most important B2B channels, and it’s growing in importance.

Gen Z and Millennials now make up 71% of B2B decision makers. And they trust creators more than your ads. 63% feel personally connected to their favorite creators online.

Studies show that LinkedIn is the only B2B digital marketing channel that drives real business growth. LinkedIn ad spending grew 31.7% year-over-year compared to only 6% for Google ads.

Reason 1: “All things being equal, people buy from the people they like.”

Trust and credibility reign supreme in B2B, that’s not news to anyone. What often gets lost in most B2B marketer programs is how large a role likeability plays in that equation.

Having a strong social media presence is one of the best ways to build a positive reputation at scale. In fact, 82% of people are more likely to trust a company when its senior executives are active on social media.

Why is that? Authenticity is the answer. In a sea of sameness and predictable corporate sales messaging, there is so much more room for authentic connection than most companies realize, even if it means talking candidly about things that businesses shied away from even just a few years ago.

According to the Brand Builders Group, 67% of Americans would be willing to spend more money on products and services from companies whose founders’ personal brands align with their own values.

The younger the cohort, the stronger that desire for that authenticity.

Research from Aaron Chatterji and Michael Toffel at the Harvard Business Review shows that nearly 50% of Millennials expect CEOs to speak about issues going on in the community, and this number is growing year to year.

Reason 2: LinkedIn wants you to build a personal brand.

This may be the most impactful point for some of the readers here.

There really is no way to successfully maximize LinkedIn as a growth channel without a visible executive. It’s simply how the LinkedIn algorithm works.

Company pages are useful on LinkedIn. They help build brand and culture, attract top-flight staff, and communicate company or product updates. They also have SEO value.

What they don’t do as well is drive visibility or engagement.

LinkedIn is built around personal pages. They receive about 3.5 times engagement on average than company pages, and generally have several times more followers, unless you have a large company with a well-managed page.

Your personal page is also crucial if you want to do LinkedIn advertising.

If you plan on allocating advertising budget for LinkedIn, then you’re going to encounter the concept of a “thought leader ad.” They’re one of the newest and best performing ad types on LinkedIn, and they’re tied to a company leader’s personal page—not the company page.

Reason 3: Personal brands cut through the marketing noise.

The way that we build trust and credibility online has changed dramatically in just the last few years.

Generative AI and large language models have made it very easy to publish generic informational content. No point of view, no authorship, no verifiable expertise. People have developed an instinctive skepticism toward content that could have been written by anyone or anything.

As a reaction, they’re increasingly turning to actual people. They want real perspective and experiences to latch on to. Those insights and connection can only come from someone who has spent years solving their problems.

You have decades of hard-won insight. We’re hardwired to respond to people, not brands. Because the noise floor has risen, you’ll need your authority to cut through.

Here’s is What You Can Do About It

Now you know why a robust LinkedIn presence is such an asset, the next question is what you can do about it.

Ask a few questions. Start by thinking big and strategically.

·        What kind of reputation do you need to move your career in the right direction?

·        How do you have to be perceived to close you next ideal client?

These should get you started. Next, start reading! There are so many good people who have written books on personal branding and can help guide you through the process. That includes William Aruda, Gary Vaynerchuk, Mike Kim, and others.

If you don’t have the time to do all that, working with a LinkedIn agency may be a good option for you.

However, the best agencies will provide a done-with-you service that needs your input to work. If the goal is being authentic, then you’ll need to commit between 1 and 2 hours a month to helping them do their job correctly.

Like any valuable marketing channel, LinkedIn requires strategy and care. Only firms who will take the time to craft a personalized strategy, guide you with the right questions and ideas, dig deep into the latest industry news, and track your performance are doing it right.

For the still skeptical This person may have decided not to make LinkedIn part of their growth strategy. That’s fine of course, there are plenty of other channels that B2B sales & marketing professionals can use to increase visibility and drive growth.  

But before you write it off, check on your competitors.

Do they have active profiles? Are people engaging with their company page? If not, that’s great. If they do, however, understand that you’re ceding a valuable reputation-building opportunities to them.