All right. Well, Abby, thank you so much for joining me today and welcome to the Awfully Quiet Podcast.

Thank you so much for having me, Hannah. I'm so excited to chat everything about LinkedIn.

I've been waiting for this conversation for a long time. You know that I really need it. Where I want to start is I hear you talk about being, really, I, I saw somewhere that you talked about being a sucker for an unconventional career. And I really want to understand from you what that means for you and whether you had an unconventional career and what that looked like.

Yes, so I am a, I love hearing one thing. I love hearing people's career stories, especially when they've kind of taken that non traditional path. I think it's just because I resonate with that because when I, when I first left school, I thought I had it all figured out. I was like, yes, I'm going to be a primary school teacher.

That's all I ever wanted to do when I did my HSC, which is, what you have to do to it. get into university here in Australia. I did all the subject to get me into teaching. I was, and yeah, I so excited. I studied that. I went to university, studied that for 12 months. I did that. I went on my first prac and did not like the experience at all.

It was just not exactly what I kind of wanted to do. And then. Yeah, just I ever since primary school, I want that's what I wanted to do. So when that through a spinner in the works, and I was just like, all my other girlfriends are at university. And here am I, I'm feeling a little bit lost in my career.

What do I do now? Considering this is my plan. and. So, what happened is then I moved to Newcastle, and then what happened, because I'm actually originally from a small country town and, what there was a lot more career opportunities, in a place like this. So, when I, yeah, when I moved here, I kind of went back to uni and then I studied nutrition for a little bit.

And I think that was more of a, more of a passion of mine more than, A career, yeah, a career endeavor. So I did my toes in that for a little bit. And then I was like, no, this isn't either. And I just, I put a lot of pressure on myself in my early 20s. And I was like, you have to have it figured out.

Like, you need to go to university. You need to get a degree. That's what schools told you to do to be successful. Like, you need, this is what you need to do. So, yeah, in my early 20s, I put a lot of pressure on myself with that. And then when I was, When I was working, I was working in a hospitality establishment at the time, and 1 of my favorite favorite customers that used to come in.

I didn't realize that he worked. He had his own recruitment agency. So, I just came to him 1 day and. Yeah, I just said, I was kind of feeling a little bit lost. I'm just working here just to pay my rent and kind of just like, figure out what my next move is. Is this like, Abby, I work for a recruitment agency, come chat to me kind of thing.

And I was like, it's like this, I was like on this treadmill and like, all of a sudden this, like, this whole, this door just opened for me anyways. And it just started from that conversation. And then I always had the feeling that I am very ambitious. I always have been, and I always had that fire in my belly feeling.

I was like, I'm meant for something like I'm meant for something different here. Anyway, so I've kind of taken every opportunity as a stepping stone. I'm like, okay, this might not be, this might not be the end goal, but it's getting me closer to where I need to go. So what happened is I finished work that day and I went over to have a chat with him the next day.

I started at an international company just in like a HR administration role. So what that did is it got my foot in the door of an international company and I got to learn the way a business runs. so at the time, and I didn't even know what HR was, they just saw the potential in me. They knew that I, you know what I mean, I had a great work ethic and I was willing to learn.

So yeah, at this time, I deferred uni at this, at this point. I was like, there's no point kind of just picking and choosing something just to do it for the sake of it. I just didn't want to fall into that. So yeah, then I started at this company and I, I was in HR and recruitment there for a little bit. And then I was like, this isn't, this isn't the end goal.

Like, there's, there's something in it. Like, I loved the career component of it. Like, I loved working with people to help them find a career that, a job that really aligned to their values and, you know what I mean, added value to the livelihood. Like, I love that component of it. And just kind of hearing about people's career stories.

So I was like, okay, yeah. I just kept going with it, and then I started my business degree. So I started studying that part time as I was working full time at this at my career. And then I ended up, I was like, there's, I'm very, like, I'm quite creative to my core kind of thing. So I was like, there's okay. So how can I kind of mix.

Mix the 2, like, I was like, what's what's a creative degree what's a creative career kind of thing and then it kind of just I ended up working, working alongside the marketing team to help them with their social media. So I hope with their social media, because we didn't have a social media presence and also a referral program for the.

Yeah, there's some of the, some of the workers and I was like, okay, you know what I mean? And then I was like, just started to, okay, this is feeling a little bit more aligned. So I kind of went with that and then I left that job after just under 2 years and then I just took off a few. I had a few months off just to kind of figure out what my next move was and then I landed in a role that was made for me.

It was the role was, it just started with a conversation. So what happened is I applied for a marketing manager position with. No experience. I had experience. Obviously, I had a, I feel like as a millennial, you kind of grow up with social media in your hands kind of thing. So I always had a love for social media and expressing myself on Instagram in creative ways.

So that was my creative outlet. And anyways, I applied for this marketing manager position at my previous corporate role. And they're like, look, Abby, you don't have the experience for this role. But there is a role for you. So even though I put myself out there and I just opened up that opportunity for me to kind of get my name out there.

So then, yeah, I started at that role and I was there for 3 and a half years and I built that from the ground up. I ended up studying part time as I was building my career. In a full time capacity and yeah, even though my, my boss was more like, I didn't have a marketing leader. So I didn't have head of marketing or marketing manager, anything like that.

I had a very, very intelligent boss, but she was more operations and finance based. So she kind of, I was taught a lot about, like, email, adequate communication. The ins and outs of business and stuff like that, but for the marketing and the mindset component, I studied part time and then I got my own mentors.

so I kind of just, yeah, I, so I feel like, and then obviously, like, I finished university and then I just, when I worked for that, when I worked for my previous Corporate gig, that's what kind of ignited the next stepping stone for me. So that was when I got the idea of bold mood and to help people in their careers, use my love for social media and helping people in their careers and I've kind of just merged those 2 careers together.

So, yeah, so I didn't follow that traditional path where I was like, okay, finish school, go to university. You know what I mean? And kind of

Do something for the rest of your

yeah, do something for the rest of your life. Like I've always kind of just, yeah, I've just kind of taken, yeah. Gone with each stepping stone. And I was like, okay, what can I, what value is this adding to my next step kind of thing?

So, yeah. So that was a bit of a long winded answer, but I believe

that. I, I'm a sucker for an unconventional career too. And

Yes.

there are so many things in there that I want to react to. But firstly, I didn't realize that we had so much in common. Like I started in HR, in recruiting and then at a personnel agency too. and then went over into HR for a CPG organization and.

ended up working in marketing. So, yeah, absolutely understand, how you kind of step into that and kind of how you let yourself, go, but based on what made sense at the time. And I feel like what you've done is you, you went in eyes wide open to opportunities that may arise. And I feel like there's a lot in there about.

just kind of random connections with people and finding opportunities and being open, for opportunities. Oh, that's

absolutely. Yeah. And it's just about, you never know where a conversation is going to lead you. And it's, for example, like, when I was working at the cafe and I was, I had that, I didn't realize. That my favorite customer there was in, you know what I mean, in recruitment and then that just opened up the gate for me kind of thing.

So, yeah, it's, it's just incredible. And that's even goes from being offline and online, like, even starting the, like, having a conversation, reaching out to someone on LinkedIn, like, you just never know where that's going to lead you.

Yeah. We're going to get into that now. You mentioned, you mentioned bold. That's your company that you run

Yes.

And I love the name. I love something that's bold. what I often struggle with, and I know my audience struggles with, because I've asked them prior to this interview, what their questions were with regards to LinkedIn and a lot of what I got back was, how do I muster up the courage and how do I show up on LinkedIn, in a bold way or in a way that feels confident.

But still natural to who you are. And you know that my audience is rather introverted, more on the quiet side. So I want to hear from you how you translate being bold into showing up on LinkedIn. Do you have to be super, super confident and, you know, communicative, extroverted to do it? Or do you think that LinkedIn could also be a great tool for introverts?

LinkedIn is made for introverts. I feel like it's just a platform. What my goal is to educate, clients and my, yeah, my community on is LinkedIn is a platform that is, it's just such an invaluable tool for your career for, networking and your, yeah, your development personally and professionally. And it's a platform where You are in control of it.

So where you're wanting you to be authentic. So it's just I know that word kind of gets thrown around a lot. but it's who you want to show up as it's, because you kind of can get in when you are consuming so much content online and you're seeing everyone that's so confident and has it all figured out and like, how do they come up with all this content and they're promoting themselves constantly.

And you're just like, how can I be like that? But it's a lot of people think that personal branding is self promotion, where it's about adding value to your audience.

So My advice would be for introverts that really want to kind of show up online, but they just feel like, What's the word?

Awkward.

I would say, I would say it feels awkward. Kind of icky, kind of like, you know, when you're putting yourself out there for the 1st time, and this is my reflection and you may have had some of the same thoughts and emotions when you 1st put yourself out there with your business, right? You have probably been on LinkedIn from like a business perspective, like, and with your corporate jobs, and that's the profile that you have.

And all of a sudden you show up. Somebody who has a business, right? And there is also, it's kind of feelings in terms of like, well, what are people are going to think about me? You know, if I talk more about myself and promoting myself and promoting my business, what are they going to think? So that's something that happens to me quite often.

Even when I started building my personal brand on LinkedIn, three and a half years ago. You're in a position where you're sharing your own opinions. Like, it might be, you might have read an article or you might have listened to a podcast that you are vulnerably putting yourself out there. There's a billion people on LinkedIn.

I mean, so you're not just speaking to a small community. Like, you can reach, yeah, a whole, a whole global audience out there. So past the cringe. Is my is my advice. Trust me. There has been times where I've kind of posted or even left a comment and I'm like, you've just got to push past it because at the end of the day, you.

Don't feel the pressure to conform to a certain persona that you think you have to do with LinkedIn. Like, you might follow someone where you're like, oh, they have it all figured out. Like, they, how do they come across really confident, but it's what you want to be known as. So, if you're really clear on who you want to show up with online, you're sharing your expertise.

And your skills and just like showing up is who you are. And LinkedIn is that incredible platform where introverts can thrive. So introverts, correct me if I'm wrong, but they really thrive with written communication.

True.

yeah, so it's a platform where you can share your value without really having to.

You know what I mean? You obviously can use photos and videos, but you can analyze articles and share your own opinion with that. You can a podcast you've been listening to. What's your opinion about that? It's just about creating that thought leadership content. That's really going to add value to your target audience.

So, it really comes down to what you want to get out of the platform. Is it to get a promotion at your current. Role Is it to build side gig? Is it just to build your personal brand on the side when you are working in a corporate gig? so when you do kind of lead that, lead that role, you are really favorable and you are getting noticed by employers and, and recruiters.

I love the element of thought leadership. and I want you to talk more about what are the kind of things that you put out there? Where do you start? You mentioned podcasts that interest you, articles that, you might have read and, you know, pull something out of it and you just. Share a little bit about it for somebody who rarely posts on LinkedIn, and it's just kind of there to consume content.

Where would you start?

So, I would start with the conversations that you're having. So, the conversations that you are potentially having with customers, with clients, with candidates, with your colleagues, what's happening in your current market at the moment? So, is there something that, it just depends if you are, you're quite an analytical person and you prefer to kind of.

read an article and make some notes on that. Or if you're having a conversation with a client, listening to what their pain points are and helping them solve it. So, what the core of creating content here is, is solving. Solving an issue or solving the problem that your target audience is having. So, if you're really clear on who you're talking to, then creating content in this thought leadership, this thought leadership piece will be, fill a lot.

More seamless to you. So if you're trying to speak to everyone and that's when it will feel like you're just kind of treading water and you're yeah, it's not feeling very intentional. So, what I recommend is just take note of the conversations that you're having and because you never know, like, if you're, you're having a conversation with someone, you never know if someone else might be having that same.

So it's like, you're wanting to turn that conversation into a thought leadership piece and help educate someone else on that. And that also builds your credibility in that space. Another, and as I've mentioned, if you prefer to read articles, listen to podcasts, be really intentional with who you're following on LinkedIn.

So, if they're industry leaders that you. Or mentors that you really look up to, and you see yourself wanting to be there in the next 5 to 10 years, then be really intentional with who you're connecting with on LinkedIn. So, you never know what they're going to post or what could inspire you from their content.

And you'll go, oh, actually, light bulb moment. I have something to say about that. So, it's not about having this big, great idea that's so new and no one's really ever spoken about. It's about consuming the content. All the conversations that you are having and putting your own spin on it.

I really like that. because it also helps cut through the noise and differentiate to a certain extent. I feel like what you say about. Look at the conversation that you're currently having, and what are the kind of topics that come up time and time again. I often feel like that's not necessarily what I perceive on LinkedIn as stories, but what I perceive a lot is like.

All the same, same terms of, Oh, here's a vulnerable share that I manufactured in a way so that it is really, really engaging and really attention grabbing on LinkedIn. And then something that's super, super polarizing and it's, it's meant to be that way to, you know, gain more reach and a lot of comments and engagement.

So it always feels like a little bit. And so if I were to think about the conversations that I have at work in my business, there are a lot more raw and there are a lot more things where I don't necessarily have the answer and where if I were to share that on LinkedIn, that would be a lot more authentic than just putting something out there to, you know, to make me look good or make me, you know, stand out in a certain way.

So I really like that. The conversations that you're having,

yeah, and I think it's really important if you're, I made a post about this yesterday and it's, if, do you know the saying, you are the five people that you hang around? Or, yeah, you know that saying, well, that same goes online as well. So if you're saying content flooding your feed, that's not making you feel great.

Or it's not, you feel like it's just for the vanity side of like the metrics and they're just trying to get great engagement. It doesn't feel authentic to you. Make sure that you're auditing your connections and your followers. So I feel like being super intentional with who you're following will really help you inspire with, inspire yourself with content and the way that you do show up because you might see people that are showing up quite in genuine and they're, they're showing.

So, the idea of LinkedIn is that,like certain stories that you know is quite like a formula. It's not authentic to them. It just feels like a LinkedIn formula to kind of get their engagement. It just comes down to how you want to. Yeah. How you kind of. Like one to be perceived on LinkedIn and how personal you want things to be.

So obviously the point of LinkedIn is to connect with other professionals and the way that humans connect with each other is through emotion. So. By sharing, not kind of just showing up daily and kind of showing, look at me, look at me, this is look how successful I am. Like, I think when people are kind of showing those vulnerability, the vulnerability, vulnerable side, sorry, of their content and their story, that kind of does, that resonates with people.

so I know why people do. It's create content like that because it does connect with people and it shows that you are human to human, but there is a tasteful way to create that content that feels quite genuine and not just sharing it because you want to reach more people and engage more people like that.

You should be sharing that because you want to help inspire someone else on your journey. Yeah,

I, I, I really like what you say about curating your feed on LinkedIn. And I have a feeling that you have a really positive experience on LinkedIn. So, why don't you tell me a little bit about. How LinkedIn makes you feel when you open it up and what are the kinds of things that you really like to read, maybe something really positive that happened to you on the platform that, has just kind of like been really, motivating or has helped you in your career.

absolutely. I how long have we got because I talk about this all day. And, I, I LinkedIn is, you know, how you have a certain platform that just lights a, I mean, you just, it just ignites you like it just. Encourages you and influences you in all the right ways. So I used to when I, before I started my corporate gig, I, I'm quite a creative person.

So when my boss was just at the time said, look, we're going to have to invest some more time in LinkedIn and kind of use it to build personal branding and, and content marketing and stuff like that. I was like, oh, LinkedIn. I was just like. Absolutely not like I'm a creative. I belong on. I belong on Instagram and I remember that conversation was honestly, like, 3 and a half, 4 years ago.

And it's just a conversation that replaced my mind sometimes because it's just so incredible. The growth from that conversation now and the opportunities and what LinkedIn has actually provided me so I LinkedIn is a place for me to. and so, it's a way for me to not just create content and kind of engage with my audience, but it's also a creative outlet for me to share my story to share to share into that as an example and then just really connect with people.

So, I'm a connector. I'm a relationship. I'm a relationship orientated person, so I really thrive on a platform that allows me to connect with people on a global level. So. And this is through, like, each day I wake up, I do my non negotiable. So I do my exercise routine. I have my coffee and then I have an engagement strategy.

So a community management strategy. So what I do is each day I dedicate about 30 minutes per day to. Build the relationships on my profile, so that's connecting with people already in my community or that is building new connections. So that's either commenting on new.new posts from new connections, or even reaching out to people that.

I want in my community, so that's sending personalized connection request or just leaving a meaningful comment. On the post, so that's something that I do each day and really invest in because I want to get the most out of it and I want to make sure I'm connecting with people that are going to add to my growth.

And so it just gives me, yeah, that as a relationship orientated person, it just allows me to. Just have really incredible conversations and it's helped me create my own business. It's I've a really big experience. I've had is I've met people on there that we have never met in real life that we always showed up every day.

And we commented and supported each other's content and.

I think you just mentioned about, building that connection and starting with your own audience and the kind of, you know, the, the. Commenting on what really resonates with you and you may see people comment on something that you may have shared and that's an easy way to start rather than just kind of cold.

Code reaching out to a stranger, right? So I feel like that's a really nice habit to have or a habit to almost like a muscle to build in terms of connecting to other people and building that network. Gradually. And

LinkedIn and build your personal brand, but you are not ready to kind of share this through. Content straight away, I highly recommend just starting small and show up daily and just leave a comment on an industry leader or someone that you want to connect with, or someone that you find inspiring, or someone that you just wanted your connection.

So, start small by sharing your opinion in a small form in a small format. And what this does is it builds your confidence. It grows your audience and then. You get to start seeing how people are showing up online. So you get to see how people are forming their own stories, how they're creating content, what ideas they're kind of, they're using and the format.

So there's so much benefits. You're just kind of like starting and, and sharing your opinions by yeah. Commenting.

Is that also how you would recommend people reach out to their kind of dream company or the dream organization or somebody they really want to connect with?

Is it just kind of starting to engage with the content that they share rather than sending a DM right away? Do you call, call a DM on LinkedIn? No.

Say, if I'm commenting on, like, wanting to get noticed by industry, for example, my recommendation is to send them a personalized connection request and just like, hey, such and such I. Like, I'm looking to build my network in with these kind of professionals and your content really resonated with me. It's like, just something that's just opens, like, opens that conversation. so that's 1 example. And then another example is, yeah, connect with them as well as if they are posting content, engage with them, engage with people in the company that you want to work for.

So just making these little small intentional 1 percent steps each day. That can compound over time, like, it might not get you the results straight away that personal branding on linked in is a long game strategy. It's it's not you just want to optimize your profile and create a post and you're going to be noticeable out there.

It's something that you have to consistently show up and be really intentional with.

,

The other thing I wanted to ask you is some of the mistakes that you see people make on LinkedIn, like what are the things that you wish people knew? Or what are the things that you wish people wouldn't be doing on LinkedIn? Where would you start?

I would start me that profile optimization. So with your headline. So, the first thing that you do see, it's something that it's not just when people land on your profile that follows you around when you like something, when you comment on someone's post or when you're engaging in a LinkedIn group. So for that to for you to stand out in your industry or business, my recommendation is.

Adding your why, or your point of difference in your career or business, because you've just got to think, Hannah, there are so many people that probably share the same job title as you, there's going to be lots of HR consultants out there, lots of project managers out there, so you just need to think what is the What am I doing in my career that is different?

How do I show up different? What is the problem? I'm helping solve my target audience in my career or in my business. So what that does is it just it makes you stand out amongst everyone else in your industry and as well as the search ability. So when people are searching you. It does it makes you more like, it makes you more findable.

So what happens is the being intentional with the keywords that you're using. So, say, with, with my headline, like, it's make sure personal branding linked in content writing, like, it's I'm making sure those keywords that I want to be known for and how people can find me up really clearly written in my about me section.

I mean, in my headline.

The headline, ah, so if I want to position myself as a brand marketer, that's what I should be putting in my headline too, in terms of like, you know, brand marketing as a keyword, but then a twist or a little bit of an edge towards what I might be doing differently or how I am different from all the rest.

I love that.

Yeah, and it's, it's really important to still have your job title in there, but for if the purpose is, is to kind of stand out in your industry or get a promotion or, you know what I mean? Find, align your profile and content with your target audience and just be noticeable. Then I highly recommend just step going to that next level and using as many keywords as you can and being really intentional with what those keywords are.

So if we're thinking about, somebody who feels, you know, still slightly cringy on the platform, you already mentioned the 1 percent each day, almost like building that habit of interacting, of engaging, of small little steps along the way, have a compound effect, and you mentioned that LinkedIn is a long term game.

Now, the other thing is the subject line and the title that we've got to optimize. What are other things that you would recommend? Especially introverts do on the platform in terms of optimizing their profile in terms of setting themselves up for success.

So what I recommend is with. Like I, I, we kind of was speaking about beforehand is introverts are really, really enjoy that written communication piece. So with their about me section, I know a lot of people, they cringe at this because they're like, I do not like talking about myself. It's just like an icebreaker when you're sitting in a group and someone asks you to share a fun fact about yourself.

It's, it's not the most. People aren't drawn to kind of, really speaking about themselves. So my recommendation is, is to depending if you're a pen to paper person or get your notes out on your phone or your laptop and just start writing out your career story. are the pivotal moments that have happened in your career?

So, like I kind of mentioned at the start with mine, like the pivotal moments and those conversations that I had in the stepping stones that kind of led me to where I'm meant to be. So that's your career story that is going to connect with your, your audience. And then what else you want to do as well is what do you do differently in your, your career or your business?

what's the problem that you hope? So what is something? Yeah, you do that. Someone else might not do all that. What's like your, your superpower kind of thing in your career. So sitting down and just going inwards, just thinking, okay, so what are my strengths here? What's my experience? What are the pivotal moments in my career?

What is some and then the credibility piece behind that? So I say, if you have changed industries over the years, so you've gone from sales to HR to marketing to, you know what I mean? It's not about telling the story of go. Done this, this, this, and this it's kind of finding the relatable transferable skills from your careers.

So it's like you to be in recruitment. That's that ticks the box of your marketing as well, as well as sales, because you're marketing with your job ads, you're marketing with yourself and you're also, you know what I mean? It has a sales component in there as well. So it's about kind of building that credibility instead of saying I was in marketing for two years.

Then I was in this. And then I was in that it's like, I've had. 10 years experience in customer service sales, industry, and I've helped this person get from A to B. So when people land on your profile, they go, okay, this person resonates with me and I want to be where they are kind of thing. And that's how they're going to help me get there.

So it's about that balance of The right balance of you and sharing your career story and the value that your audience is going to get out of that. And that's through facts, figures and successes. So what are the pivotal moments in that story in your story? And yeah, what are those like the data that can back that up?

Yeah. So you say facts, figures, and successes. So, what I really like about that is it gives you almost a bit of a structure in terms of like how you should go about it. And I reckon there's a lot of self reflection in there too. I mean, you know, it's, it's not just. You know, it's something that you just instantly know about yourself, right?

And what makes you different than the rest? How do you cut through the noise? How do you stand out in a sea of people who quite frankly, and as you say, may have a very similar experience, may have, you know, about the same time and role or the same time of experience in a certain field. So, almost like weaving in your personality and weaving in a little bit of spice that takes a lot of effort, doesn't it?

Absolutely. And it's about how you show up off like, so say if you're creating content, you've optimized your profile and you're about me section. And you've written that in a way that is quite transactional. And you're just writing that because that's how you think you need to speak on LinkedIn when you meet people offline or you're chatting to them and you're, you come across quite differently.

That's going to be really in genuine because. Yeah, you're wanting to connect with people online and offline. So if you're kind of showing up on either one differently, how you would offline online, people are just not going to connect with you there. So, yeah, make sure that when you are optimizing your profile.

Don't get caught up in the old way that LinkedIn kind of has the stigma around it, where you have to speak like a robot and you have to speak overly formal as if you were kind of writing a uni assessment. Make sure that you are sharing your personality throughout your whole profile, because. That's what's going to make you stand out.

Like, like you said, there are a lot of people that do share that same job title as you and might share those same experiences, but no one has your story or your personal, like your personality and yeah, your those, yeah, those pivotal. Those pivotal moments in your career. So, yeah, it is a massive self reflection piece and it does it.

I highly recommend just grabbing a pen to paper or just writing your notes and just kind of like, yeah, just doing a bit of self discovery and kind of joining the dots

Yeah, it's also such a shortcut when it comes to interview processes, because it's always, you know, it's, you're a stranger to a potential company to a potential hiring manager. So almost like giving them a little bit of that favor and giving them a little bit of that personality might even help make faster decisions in terms of.

Am I going to be inviting that person? Is that, is this a person that could fit well with the team, et cetera? So, I really like the element of bringing in more personality of showing like yourself natural to who you are and. I believe that is the thing that does make it really interesting for introverts, because I feel like, in general, we are quite in tune with our, you know, who we are, what we stand or what we, what we stand for, what we want to be known for.

Now, 1 final thing I want to ask you is all about. some of the CI around LinkedIn, like the picture, the banners, that often comes to mind when you talk personal branding. and I know it's a lot more about the content and the way you share this and the, the words that you use and, and how you kind of talk about yourself in a genuine way.

But what would you recommend in terms of, you know, should you have a professional picture? What are the do's and don'ts around that? Do you have, should you be having a banner on there? But

look with your absolute, like, it's all about sharing through like. Making sure your profile is optimized and sharing content and engaging with your audience. But your photo and your banner is the 1st, the 1st things that kind of catch people's eye when they land on your profile. And obviously that your profile photo follows you around just as your headline does.

So. My recommendation day is to make sure that represents it's just complimenting yours. It's complimenting what you've kind of written on your profile. So making sure like, say, if, for example, with my profile, I have an orange background on my display picture. With me laughing with a coffee, and that just kind of shows that bold side of me that I'm kind of showing up a little bit more unconventionally.

And that's what aligns to me in my brand. But for example, I have other. Other people in my network that are HR leaders, and they have a photo that was professionally taken, but it still has that level of personality in it. So you just, it doesn't need to be a professional photo from a professional photographer.

Like, as long as you have an iPhone or a phone that can take a really nice photo, and you're You You know what I mean? Have that natural lighting and it's not a photo that you've taken out with friends on the weekend, or it's not your wedding photo or you know what I mean? Making sure it is. It's representing how you want to be perceived online and reflecting how you have shown up with your about me section and the rest of your profile with your banner as well.

There are so many different ways that you can. Optimize your banner. So, for example, I know a lot of people in the creative field where they have a photo of them at a speaking event, and they just have their name, and their, their business why, so why they, they're out here helping people. Or then I have other people that have, that are business owners, and they have their two books that they've, that they've written, and a link, like sharing a link to where they can.

Either sign up to their email subscription or, you know what I mean? More of that kind of like business y, connection sales y piece. Or then you've got people in their careers that honestly, you can jump onto Canva. it's all free and you just type in LinkedIn banners and you can honestly just, there's thousands and thousands of banners there.

And especially if you're not like the most creative type, like the banners are there for you. All you need to do is edit them. So There's options there where you can add your name, your job title, what your purpose or what your why is. and as well as yeah, and add your email address or how people how you want people to contact you.

So there's no right or wrong way to kind of create your banner. It's just what you want people to do when they land on your profile. If you want them to. Subscribe to something if you want them to, you know what I mean? Contact you if you know, I mean, if you just want to show them behind the scenes of what you have done at a speaking event, like a bit of a vision board, there's there's so many different ways that you can be really creative with your benefit as long as it just aligns with you.

And it, it makes.

makes, it's, it's like it's a

Like it's a call to action for what you want your audience to do.

Love it. It also links back to what we initially talked about in terms of thought leadership and that whole sentiment of like, if I'm able to convey what I'm really interested in what I really love to have conversations about that almost invites other people in to a conversation with me or to connect rather than.

You know, not really being open about it. And then it is really like a bit of an awkward conversation at first. So, yeah, I really like the banner thing. Plus, everybody has access to Canva. So that's easy.

Absolutely. And yeah, you don't have to be overly creative or a graphic designer to kind of create this banner. So it's, yeah, it's, there's lots of tools out and resources that you can use to really leverage your personal brand on LinkedIn.

Love it. Now, Abby, for somebody who. Is intrigued at the thought of leveraging LinkedIn and becoming, more present on the platform, potentially building their personal brand, but they really feel they want some help. They want some more support. How do you work with people on their profiles? Like, what is the kind of support that you give?

What, what do you typically do with the clients you work with? What does that look like?

So depending on where you are at in your LinkedIn journey and personal branding journey. So I, work with individual clients. In 3 different ways. So if you are just wanting me to give you advice and feedback on your current profile, you kind of optimize it in university 10 years ago, or, you know, I mean, it's kind of collected a little bit of dust and you're

That would be me.

platform's grown since 10 years.

I'm not quite sure how to kind of go from here. I provide a LinkedIn audit. So that just is a video where I kind of just give people feedback and then they implement it. that my advice if they see necessary and the second option is is a strategy session. So say if people come to me and they say, Abby, I really need help changing my mindset on LinkedIn, building my confidence, optimizing my profile, writing my about me section or building a content and the community management strategy.

But they're like, I don't need to invest long term. It's just I need help with these 2 to 3 things. Then I recommend the strategy session where we have 90 minutes together and we work together just to help solve those problems. But if people are really like fresh to LinkedIn and wanting to build their personal brand and want to invest in that longer term coaching program, then I have a 3 month.

three month coaching program where we meet every fortnight or month and work through anything that they need help with. and as well, they have me in their pocket, but they can contact me within those three months. So that's more for people that need that extra support, as well. So a few different options for people wherever they are at in their journey as well.

I really like that. And I feel like a lot of personal branding and showing up on LinkedIn. Does come back to self reflection and going really deep and inward. And it can often help to have someone reflect back or just kind of ask the right questions or spare on, you know, what are the things that you should be asking yourself or thinking about?

And it's almost like a neutral person that doesn't know you yet. So it feels to me like that's, you know, great resources to have. Now, where can anyone find you and get in touch with you?

you

Can find me on LinkedIn at Abbey Naylor and bold mood on Instagram. I'm underscore bold mood. And then on Tik TOK, I am. Bold mood as well. I am still kind of learning the land on TikTok, but you can predominantly find me and all my LinkedIn tips, tricks, how to work the algorithm and just, yeah, just a bit more about, me on predominantly on LinkedIn.

Well, Abby, thank you so much for coming on today. I certainly, I took so many notes. I really needed it. I am this person who still feels a little cringy on LinkedIn and you really got me excited about going on there. First and foremost, curating my feed a little bit more and just kind of making sure that what I'm seeing there is actually reflective of what I want to be seeing and starting to connect some more and build a profile that really lends itself to.

Underlining, personal branding and what I want to be known for. And I'm sure my audience feels the same. So thank you so much for coming on. I feel like we got to do a part two

Thank you so much for having me, Hannah. It's been awesome to chat to you.

Thank you so much.