Professional branding for executives on LinkedIn

With an apparent personal brand, executives promote the overall culture of the company, with positive effects. The tasks that CEOs must consider in professional branding are extensive. The significance of personal branding is optimal when the company itself becomes a brand. In this case, the service or product does not become the personal brand. Famous examples of such personal brands are Karl Lagerfeld or Naomi Campbell. Personal or professional branding means "personal brand". In this context, the focus is not on the company or a specific product (corporate brand), but on the employee as an individual. Other well-known terms for professional branding are "self-promotion" or "own brand". Thus, the norms, content, or values of the brand are not based on a specific product, image, or service of the company, but on the personality of the employee and their recognition. Executives must bring specific talents and strengths. Through professional branding, they emphasize their own personality and professional competence compared to a personal brand. The team clearly and confidently recognizes what the leader stands for, what is important to them, and why they want to achieve the goal together. This is particularly motivating. As an employer, companies become interesting not only through their own conditions. Employees who are recognized as strong personalities within the company can make a significant contribution to the brand. Well-grounded employees carry the spirit outward and then work as ambassadors for advertising. The term professional branding was first used in 1997 by the American management coach and consultant Thomas Peters. He did not precisely define the term but also stated that this area must be clearly and distinctly delineated. The author Schawbel also explained what should not be exclusively understood by this term. Accordingly, a personal brand does not aim to change one's own individuality to meet expectations. Instead, the focus should be on highlighting personal characteristics. Each employee has the opportunity to showcase their personality, achievements, competencies, and accomplishments to a wide audience. Therefore, an own brand fundamentally encompasses various aspects. **What do I need to implement?** Professional branding allows one to come into the awareness of responsible managers at the right moment. Once the true talents have been recognized, it is very likely that employees will be involved in interesting and important tasks, helping them to assert themselves in the competitive environment. There are generally many expectations and demands on executives. However, the most important task by which a manager's performance is measured is increasing the company's value and the rise in the stock price for companies active on the stock exchange. Only the CEO who increases the shareholder value for the company owner and shareholders through continuous price increases will be revered as a successful manager and retained in that position. This is how many well-known managers have become successful. On the other hand, nurturing a personal brand supports managers in professional branding to convince colleagues in the team, stay in the minds of customers and partners, be considered for a possible promotion, and establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs. The selection of particularly successful role models in employer branding can primarily be made in relation to external corporate strategic measures, as internal measures are carried out within the company and are less emphasized externally. There is a suitable selection for successful implementation of a good employer branding strategy, which can serve as inspiration for entrepreneurs. Therefore, the implementation of the strategy and possibly a dedicated blog as the focal point of professional branding, which can be developed, is crucial. High-quality articles can be regularly written here. It is also beneficial to answer customer questions at this point. This often leads to constructive discussions on specific topics. **Which platforms are suitable?** For entrepreneurs selling products or services to a B2B audience, LinkedIn, for example, is a very good option. It has never been easier to find the right contact person and start a conversation with them. Companies should consider whether they want to be active on LinkedIn and where the difference lies between Xing and LinkedIn. No other network is more popular among management executives. About 45 percent of users engaging with LinkedIn articles hold high positions, including C-level, VPs, directors, and managers. Therefore, the goal is for companies to reliably connect with many contacts. Not every user may be willing to invest in this immediately, but once contacts are connected with the company, they can see the shared content. By creating their own content, companies can regularly present high-quality content to new contacts. Therefore, self-marketing is the appropriate means for executives. No one else is as passionate about the products, services, and offerings as these individuals. They especially desire more engagement, ideas, and passion from the sales team. However, a leader should definitely have a central role in the company regarding digital visibility. Turning oneself into a brand usually leads to managers inspiring other customers to be enthusiastic about who they are, eliminating the need for further persuasion. Modern marketing teams generally face challenges. Either they have to deal with a small number of tools and programs or struggle with powerful but complex solutions. Customer data usually needs to be searched for, making marketing particularly challenging and time-consuming. However, this does not have to be the case, as marketing hubs provide companies with all marketing data and tools in a powerful and user-friendly platform. This saves a lot of valuable time, and all the information needed to offer each prospect a unique experience quickly is readily available. Companies should always assess how strong their personal brand is. Whether the manager works for themselves as an individual or for the entire company, if the company represents itself as a brand or represents one, and if customers perceive it, the company can gain significant marketing advantages, not only on social media platforms. LinkedIn is the ideal environment to showcase the personal brand or the company itself as a brand - if they know how to do it right. Consequently, it is often shown what it takes and what mistakes should be avoided when the company aims to build and enhance the brand in the long term with the help of LinkedIn. Companies spend time on websites like LinkedIn because they enjoy following people. They want to recognize faces and not just brands. It is much more interesting to read the latest post from politicians than a formal statement on politics at home or abroad. Many politicians reach more people every day with a Twitter account than major newspapers, as is the case with electric cars. The perception of a company is primarily shaped by the employees associated with it. LinkedIn is definitely on-trend and has the potential to fully occupy a company's digital world. However, errors in the appropriate use of this platform are accumulating. Various shortcomings are at the forefront. **How can I ensure success?** The development of executives is a special area that belongs to personnel development and leads to long-term success. Instead of aiming to promote and educate employees, this measure focuses on promoting the responsibilities of managers. It should ensure that suitable managers can be hired for the right positions at the right time. Besides active managers, the discipline of success also aims to promote the next generation. Talent management is closely linked to the development of executives. As employees from subsequent generations leave the company in the coming years, succession planning becomes crucial. Formulating the goals includes both measures of internal personnel marketing, such as employee retention, and external personnel marketing, i.e., recruitment. The appropriate target groups must be determined by the company, and the specific benefits must be recognized. To determine the objectives of external personnel marketing for the conception of personnel marketing, it is necessary to first identify the essential market. The first step requires a geographical definition that allows the target group to move within it. This target group includes all potential employees who must meet various characteristics, such as psychographic or behavioral dispositions or specific qualifications. The personnel marketing concept ultimately aims to strengthen the corporate image to make it attractive to customers. At the same time, other goals are also conceivable. For example, a higher cost efficiency in personnel advertising or a higher number of unsolicited job applications could be desired. It is crucial that the achievement of the objectives is measurable, otherwise, the subsequent assessment of success is not possible. This applies especially to the goals of personnel marketing. However, the personnel marketing concept connects the existing workforce with the company. Individual goals include presenting career opportunities to increase employee potential. On the other hand, reducing employee resignations, turnover, and the colonization of other employee groups can also be important. To adequately define the goals, a stock analysis is recommended before creating a suitable concept. Companies can quickly fill key and leadership positions with suitable professionals. The development of managers has several different goals. On the one hand, it aims to clarify the potential of the company's executives. On the other hand, it focuses on qualifying and promoting managers strategically and ensuring their long-term commitment to the company. Another goal is to establish a pool of managers from which the company can draw in the future.