LinkedIn Branding: A Guide to Building Your Professional Brand

This report explores the importance of personal branding, particularly through LinkedIn, and examines the profiles of three inspiring social entrepreneurs: Eleanor Allen, Toby Norman, and Yves Moury. It identifies key elements of an effective LinkedIn profile, including profile picture, headline, summary, skills, public profile URL, experience, and recommendations. The report then presents a mock LinkedIn profile for the author's future self, outlining envisioned achievements and skills. It emphasizes the need to develop communication skills, gain voluntary internships, and acquire technical expertise to effectively brand oneself and achieve future career goals. The report concludes that in today's globalized world, a strong social media presence, especially on LinkedIn, is crucial for building relationships and projecting a positive professional brand. Desklib is a great platform for students to find similar reports and study resources.

Running head: BRANDING
BRANDING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Core elements of an impressive LinkedIn profile............................................................................4
My future self-LinkedIn profile.......................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The report is based on the branding of an individual and highlights the fact why personal
branding is considered to be an important aspect of the individual. Through this report, an
understanding of the Brand `You` will be examined and based on this a mock Linkedin profile
will be formed which will help in the understanding my future self after a period of 5-7 years.
The primary aim of the report is to identify three Social entrepreneurs and observe their Linkedin
profile in order to get a view of how these entrepreneurs have gained success with their
exceptional branding and good deeds (Brooks and Anumudu 2016). Moreover, the elements of a
good LinkedIn profile will be examined which will assist in helping an individual to understand
how a person can attract a large popularity through the powerful LinkedIn profile and how can it
be used to gain a good career prospect. This shall be followed by my mock LinkedIn profile
which shall capture my personality and project my emerging professional brand.
The different articles and the secondary research which I conducted, went a long way in
assisting me to understand the true meaning of Brand You and how one can gain skills and
competencies to build oneself which will then help them in their future endeavors (Drucker
2005). The readings based on the topic helped me to gain extensive ideas about the processes and
activities which I can undertake in order to be successful.
Entrepreneur Profiles
In order to get a deeper understanding of the Brand `You` , I made a choice of three
social entrepreneurs who inspire me and analyzed their Linkedin profile in order to gain a deeper
understanding of the brand elements in their profile which makes them popular and efficiency.
The first social entrepreneur I have chosen is Eleanor Allen. Eleanor is the head of Water for

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People in the United States of America who started this endeavor in order to ensure that every
individual around the globe has an access to clean drinking water which would go a long way in
helping them to be healthy and will not extract them of their fundamental rights (Linkedin.com.
2018). This organization as lead by Allen works with the government and scales up the different
water as well as sanitation facilities. The organization aims to ensure that over the next few years
the number of people with clean water access rise from 4 million people to 40 million. The
reason why I have chosen Eleanor Allen as a reference is because she inspires me to become a
better individual and because her fundamentals are rather simple in nature. (Refer to Appendix)
The second entrepreneur I have chosen is Toby Norman. Toby runs an organization
named Simprints in the United Kingdom. Through this initiative Toby aims to ensure that
everyone has an access to an official ID as it opens the door to a large number of facilities and
services. Along with this, an access to these services shall assist in the eradication of poverty
which is a global problem (Linkedin.com. 2018). Hence, through his endeavor, Toby Norman
has aimed to develop an affordable as well as a secure open source system of fingerprint which is
cheaper than the normal system by four times and twice as efficient as the other biometric
system. The mission of toby is to make everyone count. Hence, through his compassion for
people, Toby inspires me to a great extent.
The last social entrepreneur which I have referenced for this assignment is Yves Moury
who is the head of Fundacion Capital in Colombia. Yves`s vision is based on the fact that more
than two billion people in the globe do not have an access to any financial facilities need to be
assisted and hence, he forms a partnership between various governments and financial
institutions to engage in social programs (Linkedin.com. 2018). He inspires me because of his

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vision which is based on eradicating poverty changing the system and engaging economic
prosperity.
Core elements of an impressive LinkedIn profile
In order to be effective and attract various organizations and individual connections
towards he organization, it can be considered crucial for the LinkedIn profile to comprise of the
given essential elements (Jaakkola and Jonkman 2018). These elements would go a long way to
assist an individual to perform well. The elements have been discussed as follows:
 Profile picture: A profile picture forms an essential aspect of the profile. It adds
additional profile views and moreover, improvises upon the image of the candidate
(Khedher 2014). The image acts as a unique value proposition which assists the
individual to form a closer association with the different associates as a proper profile
image provides a sense of trust in the organization. For this reason, a profile picture must
be put up appropriately.
 Headline: The headline is another essential element of a LinkedIn profile which goes a
long way to create a lasting impression. Moreover, it accompanies an individual`s profile
picture as well and hence, the candidate needs to ensure that the headline of the LinkedIn
profile is strong and helps in reflecting a unique identity.
 Summary: The summary also forms a critical element as these keywords as given in the
summary add a good value proposition to the profile and helps the other individuals who
are viewing the profile, to seek a greater understanding of the person`s character and
provides additional suggestions to what more can be expected out of the chosen
individual (Job-Hunt.org. 2018).

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 Skills: The set of skills as possessed by the individual form another key aspect of the
profile and the number of skills which a person possesses is greatly related to the number
of view one gets. However, instead of the number of skills, it is more important to
include the most crucial ones which will then help in receiving endorsements and help the
individual to prosper in the career ladder effective.
 Public Profile URL: The Public Profile URL is often taken to be the source of
customization and LinkedIn often allows the customers to do so using the URL of the
profile picture and that profile which is available to all. The URL link is a key aspect of
any profile which adds a unique identity to the profile as well as customizes it as per the
purpose. Moreover, with respect to branding, the Public Profile URL, provides a greater
opportunity to the different candidates and individuals.
 Experience: Another aspect is that the individual needs to fill down unique experiences
with respect to the previous employment opportunities and each of the employer must be
described in positive terms with respect to the position of the job, accomplishment,
products and services sold. Moreover along with this, an interactive content can be used
to demonstrate the experience gained. This adds a unique proposition which attracts the
employers looking out for appropriate candidates.
 Recommendations: Recommendations tend to remain an essential aspect of the LinkedIn
profile whereby key accomplishments depend on it and it is a good way to drive the
profile (Kapidzic 2018).
Hence, after analyzing the key elements of a profile, the next section would look into the
other factors and skills, knowledge and experiences which are required to be gained by me in
order to brand myself effectively (Peters, 1997).

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 Communication skills
 Voluntary internships
 A good work experience Certain technical skills
My future self-LinkedIn profile
Profile Picture
Name
Post in the Particular Organization
City, Country
Summary: [insert name] is the President and CEO of the Food for All organization which is a
global organization which aims at providing food services to the different individuals around the
globe. [Name] is experienced in leading multicultural and diverse work groups. Her technical
aspect lies in the people management whereby she can make use of her skills to bring together
different people and make them work for the common goal of the organization.
[Name] is also a TEDx speaker and has won various awards for the excellent services for the
mankind. [Name] speaks four languages and aims to build a school one day.
Profile Link
Experiences:
 Ceo, Food for all
 Board Member, Water for People
 Advisor at Fundacion Capital
 Former employee at Samsung

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Education:
 SWIN Education University, Australia
Skills and Endorsements
 Micro finance
 People management
 Communication
 Rural development
Accomplishments:
 Won the first prize at the undergraduate level for excellent contribution
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis which was done on the branding of a personality and
the manner in which the different individuals are required to ensure that they are successfully
able to engage in good relations with people and other organizations, it can be understood that in
the 21st century, where because of the developments due to globalization, the business and other
relationships are largely based on social media accounts. Hence, in order to create profound
relationships, it is extensively important for any individual to ensure that they are successfully
able to portray themselves in an appropriate manner on the social media. This increased the
importance of a LinkedIn account which thereby assists an individual to ensure that they are
socially representable with respect to their brand.
This report highlighted three social entrepreneurs and the reason I am inspired by them.
This was then followed by the essential elements of a LinkedIn profile. The third section was

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based on my Future Self profile which acts as a motivation for me to perform well. However,
there are certain skills which I am required to master in order to ensure that I attain my `Future
Self`. For this I am required to engage in several social organizations as well as private firms so
that it is able to add value to my profile and along with this I will also be required to add certain
technical skills to my knowledge. This will help me to achieve my goals. Hence, this report
activity assisted me in becoming a better individual and provided me with the power to brand
myself adequately.

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References
Brooks, A.K. and Anumudu, C., 2016. Identity development in personal Branding instruction:
Social narratives and online brand management in a global economy. Adult Learning, 27(1),
pp.23-29.
Drucker, P 2005 ‘Managing Oneself’, Harvard Business Review, Jan, Vol.83(1), pp.100-109
Jaakkola, J. and Jonkman, R., 2018. “This is who I am, this is what I do. This is the Freedom I
have”-A Qualitative Study of How Marketing Freelancers Perceive and Practice Personal
Branding.
Job-Hunt.org. 2018. Effective Linkedin Profile. [online]. Available at : https://www.job-
hunt.org/social-networking/effective-linkedin-profile.shtml 9((Accessed on : 21 Sept. 2018).
Kapidzic, S., 2018. Personal Branding on Social Media: Predictors of Self-Presentation and
Relationship Management of German Academics. Nomos.
Khedher, M., 2014. Personal branding phenomenon. International journal of information,
business and management, 6(2), p.29.
Linkedin.com. 2018. Eleanor Allen [online]. Available at : https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-
allen-p-e-bcee-ba948430/ (Accessed on : 21 Sept. 2018).
Linkedin.com. 2018. Yves Moury. [online]. Available at :
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvesmoury/ (Accessed on : 21 Sept. 2018).
Linkedin.com. 2018.Toby Norman. [online]. Available at :
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobynorman/ (Accessed on : 21 Sept. 2018).

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Peters, T 1997, ‘The Brand Called You’, Fast Company, viewed February 2017
< https://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you >

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Bibliography
Labrecque, L.I., Markos, E. and Milne, G.R., 2011. Online personal branding: Processes,
challenges, and implications. Journal of interactive marketing, 25(1), pp.37-50.
Lair, D.J., Sullivan, K. and Cheney, G., 2005. Marketization and the recasting of the professional
self: The rhetoric and ethics of personal branding. Management communication quarterly, 18(3),
pp.307-343.
Montoya, P. and Vandehey, T., 2002. The personal branding phenomenon. Santa Ana: Peter
Montoya.
Nolan, L., 2015. The impact of executive personal branding on non-profit perception and
communications. Public Relations Review, 41(2), pp.288-292.
Philbrick, J.L. and Cleveland, A.D., 2015. Personal branding: building your pathway to
professional success. Medical reference services quarterly, 34(2), pp.181-189.
Vallas, S.P. and Cummins, E.R., 2015. Personal branding and identity norms in the popular
business press: Enterprise culture in an age of precarity. Organization Studies, 36(3), pp.293-
319.

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Appendix

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