On a previous post, I introduced the 4Bs of LinkedIn framework and in this post, we're going to focus on the first one... Brand
It's critical to start with this B because, without it, we're just saying things that are things... It feels like there's no rhyme or reason.
You've probably bumped into a few of these profiles on LinkedIn, they talk about every topic under the sun and you're not sure if they're a Marketer, Developer, or Physicist. Diversifying your topics is one thing but bombarding your audience is another.
So how can we move away from becoming a walking puzzle?
We need to get deep with ourselves and answer a few questions.
After many chats with CS professionals in the community, one of the main reasons that hold people back from being more vocal on platforms like LinkedIn is the idea of "I don't know what to write" or "who cares about what I have to say."
Understanding your "brand" is how we tackle this challenge. In a previous post, I shared 3 questions with you to help you understand what your brand is.
Those questions are:
Who are you?
What are you passionate about?
What do you do for work?
These questions should influence the big bulk of your content you produce. Now before we start answering these questions, I want to preface this by saying that your answers aren't set in stone, your answers can and should evolve over time just as we humans do :)
So let me give you my example here:
I am a parent and a first generation Latina
I am passion about equality, customer success and learning
What do I do for work? I am a CSM at a B2B SaaS startup
OKAY!
Seems like I know this well but let me tell you, it took me many tries to get it right 😂
So let's unpack this a little bit, what can I write about given who I am:
I can write about the struggles of being a parent during COVID
I can talk about women's rights and how far we've come and how I'm proud of the ladies that set the foundation before me
I can talk about growing up in poverty and living with the nagging feeling that I may lose it all one day.
I've posted about skills like "confidence" in the CS space, I've posted about being a CSM for your team, I've focused QBRs, Success Plans, metrics, Sales <> CS relationship.
There's an endless list of things to talk about once you define what your brand is with these three questions!
And if you're worried that someone else wrote about that 3 months ago, DON'T!
The beauty of being us is that we are unique, I don't want to get all Dr. Sues here but you are you and your story is never going to be the same as anyone else. There's enough space for us all to create.
So What do you do next:
I recommend taking 15-30 minutes out of your day to answer these questions. And if it feels like it doesn't land on the first try, come back tomorrow and try again. Remember, this is an evolution, not a race.