How To Become A Celebrity In Your Field (With The Power Of Social Media)

Celebrity status is not just for those who walk the red carpet. You too can be a celebrity in your own right, in your own industry.

You’ve heard it so many times: don’t judge a book by its cover, but before anyone meets you, your picture is going to play a big role in how anyone and everyone views you. In today’s fast paced digital landscape, you need to stand out if you are to create a good impression, and that’s why you need to ask yourself this: what is your impression online?

You may wonder now: why is this important? Well, if you want more people to notice your skills and expertise, so that they want you to be part of their team, or if you wish to get more leads for your business, what you portray online is very important.

You are building yourself (and perhaps your business) as a brand. Brand building is vital in remaining relevant and top of mind. With platforms like LinkedIn where businesspeople connect, it’s becoming more and more important not only to have recognizable expertise, you need to highlight, promote, and share what your expertise is all about, and how you add value to others in your daily undertakings.

You can reach over 900 million people in over 200 countries by harnessing the power of LinkedIn alone- so, the question really is: why not? To start, ask yourself these questions:

• Is your title correct?
• Is your personal information up to date?
• Are you expanding your professional network daily?
• Have you posted a profile description that highlights your experience?
• Are you sharing posts regularly?
• Are you joining conversations online?
• Are you hashtagging and using the platform effectively?
• Are you targeting customers/partners online?
• Are you asking for recommendations, singing the praises of you and the skills you offer?

Now, if you’re starting a new business, or engaging with colleagues and customers, your digital presence can help spread the word about your work. But how do you stand out in the sea of information? Here are some quick tips as to how to quickly make your profile stand out:

1. Get noticed visually Did you know? LinkedIn’s own research finds that profiles are seven times more likely to be viewed if a photo is included according to Nicole Williams, LinkedIn’s Connection Director. Consider these points for your picture:

• What do you wear: Dress to reflect the atmosphere of the profession you work with.
• Facial Expression: Make sure your eyes are relaxed and you have a smile on
  your face.
• Posture: Be aware of your posture. Good posture signifies confidence and competence.
• View: Look straight at the camera to get your full facial view.
• Resolution: Upload a hi-resolution, clear photo of your face and upper body only.
• Background: Take the photo against a solid background.
• Cover image: Add a cover image that speaks to your core values and tells others what you are all about in a few simple words. Keep it simple!

2. Get to grips with hashtags Hashtags do way more value by connecting you with a wider audience. Even if people don’t follow you, they do search for relevant hashtags, which means they’ll see what you post when you include keywords.

There are no specific rules regarding how to use hashtags; it depends on what you’re selling, and what your business is about. You can pick up some ideas by looking at other’s accounts in your field, and seeing what words they use. But don’t go too crazy, and avoid hashtag overload. Limit your hashtags to five, and search the keywords in the search bar to see how often the word is being searched before using them on your post.

Strike a good balance. If you use hashtags that are too popular, your posts will get lost, while using hashtags that are too obscure probably means that nobody will think to search for them. The LinkedIn platform also gives you suggestions to make it easier. Try using your location of interest and company name as a standard when posting. This may take some trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

3. Engage effectively Looking to increase the number of people who interact with your own posts? Share the love and engage with others by sharing your thoughts on other posts. Don’t just relentlessly promote your own stuff- you should share posts uploaded by other people, along with your own responses and feedback.

Users, whether potential customers or competitors, are way more likely to take notice of you if you contribute something valuable beyond selling your goods and services. So, stay away from hard selling, and just post your knowledge. Use all other forms of engagement on each platform, don’t just limit it. There is so much more to do, such as view profiles, like, share, recommend, endorse and post.

4. Give people a reason to follow you To accumulate followers, you need to show them interesting or valuable content. Share insights, tips and tricks, quotes, statistics, industry news, and even behind-the-scenes glimpses to ensure your content is interesting and valuable for others to read.

Always be consistent and post regularly, vary the type of content you share, don’t forget to diversify your postings with videos, and include photos of yourself. Posts with your photo have the highest conversion, and help drive the emotional connection of others. The more people see you, the more they remember you.

The last word

Use hashtags to help make you more accessible, so that you will be found quicker. Keep themes, interests, and niches in line with you, your business, and your values. Identify keywords and topics to build your professional celebrity status in that space, and expand your impact on this planet with what you do.

When it comes to self-promotion, you get out what you put in. Put in the time and hard work to create thought-out, useful, and genuine posts for the online world. Even if you’re starting small, don’t be discouraged by slow growth. If you persevere, those clicks will follow. Anything you post online will help with search engine optimization, and add to your digital brand online when searching your name. This will turn into future work, more clients, more connections, and definitely warmer leads generated for your business. Be consistent and regular, so that over time, you’re on track to creating a celebrity status worth connecting and talking about.

Related: Doing Our Best (Instead Of Doing It All): Why Terming Women As Superwomen Might Be Doing More Harm Than Good