Building a strong digital brand has become vital in achieving long-term growth and connections in the ever-evolving realm of B2B success. But what exactly does it take to establish a powerful digital brand that captures attention and cultivates trust and credibility? And how can professionals effectively navigate the digital landscape to unlock their true potential?

In this thought-provoking Predictable B2B Success podcast episode, host Vinay Koshy engages in an enlightening conversation with digital branding expert Kylie Chown. With years of experience and deep insights into the intricacies of modern marketing, Kylie shares her invaluable expertise in crafting a compelling digital brand that resonates with your target audience.

Together, Vinay and Kylie unravel the secrets to honing your digital brand, empowering you to leverage platforms such as LinkedIn to their fullest potential. They delve into the importance of embracing your strengths, finding confidence in your abilities, and evolving your online presence. From highlighting the significance of content creation to the art of nurturing a proactive network, this episode uncovers the key elements required for establishing an impactful digital brand.

Join us as we embark on a journey to uncover the untapped potential within your digital brand and discover the transformative strategies that can elevate your B2B success to new heights. Don’t miss out on this enlightening conversation—tune in and unlock the power of your digital brand today!

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About Kylie Chown

Kylie is a social media trainer, strategist, and the current #2 LinkedIn expert in Asia-Pacific.

With over 15 years of experience, she has worked with thousands of people to help them grow their businesses and careers using LinkedIn and managing their online digital brands.

She has been featured in The Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner, Smallville Official Contributor, and HRM Online Australia, America & Canada. 

In 2021, she was awarded Best Use of LinkedIn and was a finalist for Best Social Media Educator from the Social Media Marketing Institute. She is Australia’s first Certified Social Media Crisis Advisor, certified as a Social Branding Analyst by Reach in the USA, and founder of My Digital Brand, helping professionals, businesses, and corporates create a world-class digital brand.

Kylie is also the co-author of the book “CONNECT: How to Leverage Your LinkedIn Profile for Business Growth and Lead Generation”.

Mastering LinkedIn: Strategies for Building a Successful B2B Digital Brand

In this episode of the Predictable B2B Success podcast, host Vinay Koshy engages in an insightful conversation with Kylie Chown about leveraging LinkedIn to achieve B2B success. Kylie, an expert in helping businesses build their digital brand and presence, shares her expertise and strategies for creating a strong LinkedIn profile, producing compelling content, and proactively building a powerful network. This blog post summarizes the key takeaways from their discussion on predictable B2B success.

1. Evolving Strengths on LinkedIn:

Kylie Chown believes people’s strengths evolve in their business journey, especially on LinkedIn. Initially, she focused on mastering the LinkedIn platform’s technical aspects. As she worked with more people, her expertise evolved to helping others become comfortable and confident in utilizing social tools to build a powerful digital first impression.

2. Overcoming Confidence Challenges:

Many people possess excellent skills and experience but struggle with confidence when putting themselves out there. Kylie emphasizes that taking small steps and gradually building confidence is crucial for success on LinkedIn. She advises starting by engaging with other people’s content, then progressing to sharing articles or newsletters, and eventually expanding to creating one’s own content.

3. LinkedIn for Organizations of All Sizes:

The challenges of building a digital brand and presence on LinkedIn vary depending on the organization’s size. Smaller businesses often need help scaling because their brand is built around an individual. On the other hand, organizations with team members need to address how those individuals represent the business and brand. Implementing a social media policy can help set the right guidelines for appropriate digital engagement.

4. The Importance of a Company Page:

Kylie suggests that a company page on LinkedIn can be beneficial for recruiting, staff development, and retention. It allows organizations to showcase what it’s like to work at the company, providing behind-the-scenes insights. While engaging with individuals is crucial on LinkedIn, a company page can support and amplify those efforts.

5. Content Creation and Engagement:

Creating diverse and engaging content is essential for attracting and retaining an audience on LinkedIn. Different people have varying preferences for consuming content, so incorporating audio, visuals, and written formats can help meet their needs. Reusing and repurposing existing content is important to avoid constantly creating new material. Monthly performance tracking allows for better planning and identifying top-performing content for the following year.

6. LinkedIn for Crisis Management:

LinkedIn is a valuable platform for crisis management, especially for businesses whose target audience is active on the platform. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn users have different mindsets and intentions when engaging, making it a suitable space for addressing and managing crises effectively.

7. Underselling Yourself on LinkedIn:

Kylie highlights that many people undersell themselves on LinkedIn, primarily by failing to emphasize their current work. Profiles often focus on past accomplishments rather than everyday activities, important awards, or client recommendations. Proactive engagement with clients and contacts is crucial for receiving recommendations and building credibility.

8. The Power of Consistency:

Less than 3% of people consistently create and share content on LinkedIn, offering businesses a significant opportunity to stand out by regularly sharing valuable content, advice, and industry insights. While not everyone may engage with the content, they still consume it. Kylie shares a personal experience of meeting someone at an event who recognized her but had never engaged with her content, emphasizing the importance of consistent presence.

9. Developing a Content Strategy:

Narrowing one’s focus and identifying preferred topics on LinkedIn helps develop a content strategy. Balancing content across the awareness, consideration, and decision stages is essential for building authority and trust. However, excessive promotion can be detrimental, leading to people tuning out. 

10. Three Elements of Success: Profile, Content, and Network:

Kylie believes that a successful LinkedIn strategy requires three key elements: a great profile, great content, and a proactive network. These three components must work together to achieve optimal results. A great profile and content are only enough with a proactive network to engage with and share your content.

Building a Strong Digital Brand on LinkedIn: Lessons from Kylie Chown

Let’s explore the insights and actionable takeaways that can help you enhance your online presence and leverage the power of LinkedIn for your business goals.

Evolution of Strengths in the Business Journey:

Chown emphasizes that people’s strengths evolve in their business journey. Initially, her strength was in the technical aspects of the LinkedIn platform. However, as she worked with more people, her focus evolved to helping others become comfortable and confident using social tools to build their digital first impression. This highlights the importance of adaptability and continuous learning in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.

The Importance of Confidence in Digital Engagement:

Chown highlights that many people have great skills and experience but need more confidence in putting themselves out there. This lack of confidence can hinder their ability to leverage platforms like LinkedIn effectively. She advises individuals to start small by engaging with other people’s content, getting comfortable with the platform, and gradually building confidence to start creating their content. This approach enables individuals to take the next step and build their presence on LinkedIn with increasing comfort and ease.

Challenges Faced by Different Organizations:

Chown discusses how the size of an organization and business impacts its challenges in building its digital brand and presence. Smaller businesses often need help scaling because their brand is built around individuals. On the other hand, organizations with team members need to address how those members represent the business and brand. A social media policy can help address inappropriate digital engagement by team members, preventing subjective opinions on individual actions. 

Maximizing LinkedIn for Digital Brand Building:

Chown explains the benefits of having a company page on LinkedIn. It allows organizations to showcase what it’s like to work at the company, giving behind-the-scenes insights that can be valuable for recruiting, staff development, and retention. While engaging with individuals is important on LinkedIn, having a company page can support those efforts and provide a centralized platform for brand-building activities.

Tailoring Content for Different Preferences:

The speaker stresses the importance of diversifying content and presenting it in various formats to cater to different preferences. Some individuals prefer audio content, while others prefer visuals or written content. By reusing and repurposing existing content, businesses can avoid constantly creating new content and reach a wider audience. Documenting and tracking content performance every month also helps plan future content strategies.

Utilizing LinkedIn for Crisis Management:

Chown highlights LinkedIn as a useful platform for crisis management, particularly for businesses whose audience is active on LinkedIn. While other platforms like Facebook and Instagram have advantages, LinkedIn stands out for its professional mindset and intention-focused user base. Leveraging LinkedIn effectively during a crisis can help businesses manage their reputation and communicate with stakeholders effectively.

Optimizing LinkedIn Profiles:

The speaker addresses the common issue of underselling oneself on LinkedIn. Profiles often focus more on past accomplishments rather than current work. Chown recommends actively seeking recommendations from clients and contacts, sharing valuable content, and positioning oneself as an authority in their expertise. She emphasizes that less than 3% of people consistently create and share content on LinkedIn, providing a significant opportunity for businesses to stand out by sharing their insights and expertise.

Building a Proactive Network:

Chown highlights the three key elements of a successful strategy: a great profile, great content, and a proactive network. She explains that the strategy will have a deficit without all three elements working together. A great profile and content are only enough if one has proactively built their audience, and vice versa. Developing a strong network involves considering who to reach out to and how to engage with them, thereby strategically expanding one’s LinkedIn connections.

Metrics for Measuring Success:

The speaker emphasizes the importance of assessing metrics across different marketing funnel stages – awareness, consideration, and decision. For awareness, Chown suggests looking at company page followers and determining if they align with the target audience. Additionally, personal profile followers and connections serve as important awareness metrics. Content engagement rate is a valuable metric for measuring consideration, enabling businesses to gauge the effectiveness of their content in generating interest and engagement.

Actionable Takeaways:

1. Start small on LinkedIn by engaging with other people’s content and gradually build confidence to create and share your content.

2. Create a company page on LinkedIn to showcase your brand, efforts, and behind-the-scenes insights.

3. Diversify content formats to cater to preferences and avoid content fatigue.

4. Implement a social media policy to guide team members’ engagement on LinkedIn and maintain consistency in representing the brand.

5. Optimize your LinkedIn profile by actively seeking recommendations, sharing valuable content, and highlighting current work and expertise.

6. Build a proactive network by strategically connecting and engaging with individuals in your industry without limiting connections to ideal clients.

7. Assess metrics across the marketing funnel stages – awareness, consideration, and decision – to measure the effectiveness of your LinkedIn strategy.

8. Use LinkedIn as a platform for crisis management and communicate effectively during challenging times.

Conclusion:

Building a strong digital brand on LinkedIn is crucial for B2B success. Kylie Chown’s insights in this episode of the Predictable B2B Success podcast provide valuable guidance on leveraging LinkedIn effectively. By following the actionable takeaways and adopting a proactive and strategic approach, businesses can enhance their online presence, engage with their target audience, and establish themselves as authorities in their respective fields. Embracing LinkedIn’s power will yield fruitful results and contribute to predictable B2B success.

Some areas we explore in this episode include:

• Evolving strengths in the business journey
• Building digital first impressions using social tools
• Challenges faced by organizations of different sizes in building their digital brand and presence
• Implementing a social media policy for team members
• Starting small and gradually building confidence on LinkedIn
• Benefits of having a company page on LinkedIn
• Different preferences for consuming content on different platforms
• Reusing and repurposing existing content to avoid constantly creating new content
• Importance of crisis management strategy and platforms for marketing that strategy
• Underselling oneself on LinkedIn and strategies to improve online presence
• And much, much more. 

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Related links and resources

Connect with Kylie Chown

• LinkedIn

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