The simple act of being on LinkedIn is marketing

Marketing occurs with every action, or inaction, in our business lives. When we attend events, meet one-on-one, and when we use social media. Everything you do defines something about you and in turn, your company. And this includes LinkedIn.

In his seminal essay “Marketing is Everything” in the Harvard Business Review (January, 1991), Silicon Valley legend Regis McKenna makes the case that technology changed the face of marketing.

Twenty-nine years later, that message still resonates.

Marketing occurs with every action, or inaction, in our business lives. It occurs when we attend business events, have a one-on-one with co-workers, clients or partners, and when we engage via social media. Each action creates an impression of who you are, what you do and how you act. You get to live with the results.

Everything you do defines something about you and in turn, reflects on your company.

LinkedIn has become an integral part of the GovCon ecosystem. My January, 2020 Fed/DOD LinkedIn census shows 2,150,912 federal civilian, DOD and military on LinkedIn with every agency and major operating division represented.

LinkedIn is your major face-forward to the market. It is where people will vet you and your company, looking to see who you are and what you do.

Often it is the first impression someone has of you, so it better be good.

Seven years ago I wrote the first version of "The Simple Act of Being on LinkedIn is Marketing." That post's message was transparent: simply being on LinkedIn is marketing yourself and representing your company. You control the content, who you connect with, the groups you join, the information you share- or don't share. It's all there, and you are in control.

While there is nothing earth-shattering about that statement, its simplicity belies its importance. This is why I am incredulous that so many people seem to be so cavalier about how they present themselves on LinkedIn, what they post (if anything) and the message(s) that sends.

So many people simply cut-and-paste from their resumes, or worse, leave entire sections blank.

You don't need a Premium account to stand out on LinkedIn, so you can market yourself. For free.

You have the ability to highlight your unique skills, knowledge, relationships and more. For free.

You can build a network of your associates, partners, prospects and clients. For Free.

You can add graphics, videos, presentations, posts and more. For free.

In the 11+ years I have been coaching people on LinkedIn I have viewed thousands of profiles, including the “bones in the desert” approach (minimal or no information on your profile), the snarky approach with a cartoon character or famous person for your photo, and much more. I often use these in my presentations on how not to present yourself.

Then there are those who use LinkedIn to take political or other non-business related stands, and given the political climate, these are often quite negative.

Certain behavior is just not acceptable in a business setting, and if you don't understand that, I don't want you in my network.

Please take the high road.

LinkedIn affords you the best opportunity to present yourself in a positive way to your market segment. It does require some serious thought before putting pen to paper, or more precisely, fingers to keyboard, but the results are worth it.

In a relationship-driven market like GovCon, every impression you make is marketing, and it needs to be great.

The simple act of being on LinkedIn is marketing, both yourself and the company you work for. Not taking full advantage of LinkedIn means more business for your competition.

Mark Amtower has been coaching individuals and companies on leveraging LinkedIn since 2009. Connect with him on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/markamtower/

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.