Developing an Online Presence

The biggest mistakes I made with my digital presence (so you don’t have to) Your website should be your best employee—working 24/7, converting visitors into customers, no matter the time or place. Mine wasn’t pulling its weight. Here’s what I learned. Make your CTAs unmissable: If you want action, make it obvious. Guide every click with purpose. Craft a seamless site path: Your website should be a journey, not a maze. Lead visitors from curiosity to conversion without friction. Capture data early: Don’t wait. Offer value upfront—a lead magnet, a free meeting, or an email course. Start the relationship now. Align your presence: What good is great content on LinkedIn if your website doesn’t match? Make your online presence consistent and compelling. Stand out: Different is memorable. Research your competitors and then do the opposite. Bold colors, sharp copy, a unique message—leave an impact. Design for all hours: Your site should be ready at all times. Accessible. Functional. Always on. Your visitors won’t wait. Oh and remember: if you're including a calendar booking thing, keep your cal updated and automated! It's horrible when the wrong people book at the wrong slots. Finally, let your website work: Your website has one job—help visitors do theirs. Make it easy. Make it effective. These are hard lessons I’ve learned and I keep learning. Don’t repeat them! Build a site that’s not just a pretty face, but a powerful tool for 24/7 growth.

What if you could be 'always on' without the burnout? That’s how I built a global speaking business with zero corporate experience! Many people ask me how I managed to create a successful speaking career without stepping foot in a corporate job. The answer lies in the power of social media. For over 10 years, my business has thrived entirely on organic growth. Social media has allowed me to connect, engage, and share my journey with audiences across 20 cities, even catching the eye of governments in Japan and Saudi Arabia. When I asked how they discovered me, the answer was clear: "We see you on LinkedIn." This realization became my secret weapon— → Using social media intentionally to build my brand and reputation. So, how can you tap into this power? 💡 Be Intentional → Use social media with purpose. → Share your insights and experiences to reflect your unique brand. 💡 Create Valuable Content → Regularly post content that speaks to your audience. → This positions you as a trusted voice in your industry. 💡 Engage with Your Audience → Take the time to respond to comments and messages. → Building relationships online can lead to unexpected opportunities. 💡 Showcase Your Journey → Share your personal stories and lessons learned. → Authenticity is key to attracting those who resonate with you. 💡 Leverage Your Unique Strengths → Embrace your individuality. → Use your unique perspective to create deeper connections with your audience. With the right approach, your online presence can open doors and help you succeed without the stress of traditional networking. What strategies do you use to maximize your social media impact? I’d love to hear your thoughts! 👇 P.s. ✍🏻 I am Benjamin Loh, CSP, a strategic growth coach and consultant who has taught over 65,000 leaders in over 20 global cities and constructed some of the leading icons (TOT, Award Winners) in the financial industry in Asia through the power of authentic storytelling and authority building. 💪 Follow me for personal brand and growth insights. #topofmind #millennials #business"

Every time someone asks to "pick my brain," I reflexively roll my eyes. It's the digital equivalent of demanding free samples before even saying hello. That's why meeting Lorraine K. Lee felt like a professional palate cleanser, she's approached with her hands full instead of empty. "I'd like you to write for Prezi's blog," she said, offering me access to her massive audience without asking for anything in return. No "pick your brain" coffee. No "quick favor" requests. Just genuine value on the table. That's what made her unforgettable to me. Years later, I've watched her seamlessly navigate building her presence as both a corporate leader AND entrepreneur, something most people struggle to balance. In her new book "Unforgettable Presence," she destroys the myth that LinkedIn success requires groundbreaking ideas or perfect audience targeting. "This is where a lot of people get tripped up. They think they have to have unique insights... I wholeheartedly disagree with all of this!" Instead, her 4Es framework gives you permission to post without overthinking: • Explore (posts 1-30): Practice hitting publish, worry less about perfection  • Establish (30-60): Focus on 2-3 core expertise areas  • Envision (60-90): Use analytics to refine your approach  • Excel (100+): Double down on your unique voice The book is packed with frameworks just as practical as this one. And she left out the fluff that would make you lose momentum. So what's one "rule" about building your online presence you wish someone would debunk? I’ll go first in the comments. P.S. Grab your copy of "Unforgettable Presence" today. Unlike most career books that just diagnose the problem, Lorraine gives you actual frameworks, templates, and scripts to implement immediately.

Last week, I was reviewing a LinkedIn profile for a potential client. Talented coach. Great experience. But their profile? Generic. Bland. Forgettable. It reminded me of a story... Once upon a time, there was a village with a leaky bucket problem. They'd go to the well, fill their buckets, but by the time they got home, half the water was gone. Frustrating, right? The same thing happens with your brand. If your message is unclear, your value proposition is weak, and your online presence is forgettable... You're leaking clients. You're leaking revenue. You're leaking POTENTIAL. Here's the data (from over 50 LinkedIn audits I've conducted): - Only 50% of coaches and consultants truly understand their ideal client's pain points. - A mere 40% can articulate their unique value proposition. - While 60% TRY to stand out - And 40% feel they effectively communicate their offer on LinkedIn. Unfortunately, the consequences of a weak brand are: - People don't quite "get" what you do. - Your marketing efforts feel like a waste of time. - You start to question your expertise and value. - Potential clients choose your competitors instead. - Your business stagnates, and your dreams feel out of reach. The good news? You CAN fix those leaks. You CAN build a brand that's strong, magnetic, and unforgettable. Here's how: 1️⃣ Clarify your message - Who are you? - What do you do? - Why should anyone care? 2️⃣ Identify your ideal clients - Who do you serve BEST? - Where do they hang out online? - What are their wants, needs, frustrations, irritations, aspirations, challenges, goals, and desires? 3️⃣Create a consistent online presence - Your website, LinkedIn profile, and content should all tell the same story. The payoff? - Higher client conversion rates - Increased visibility and engagement - A thriving business that reflects YOUR efforts I recently wrote a guide about how to leverage your strategic thinking to make your brand stand out - read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gX8amumJ

Most advice about building an online presense gets is completly wrong. After a decade of creating content, this is the guide I wish I had when I started. 1️⃣ Start With Why Before you post anything, get brutally honest and ask yourself: Why do I want to build an online presence at all? People connect with your mission, not what you do or how you do it. When you start with why, you’re free to fail, pivot, and grow—without losing your purpose 2️⃣ Be Selfish You heard that right. Say out loud how you benefit from doing this. And don’t be ashamed of your answer. Want more impact? More opportunity? More control over your career? Good. Passion gets you started. But endurance—the kind it takes to create for years—comes from internal motivation. 3️⃣ Trust Your Gut No matter how complex the decision, I’ve learned this: When I go against my gut, I create friction. I’d rather be wrong and fully aligned and learn from it, than succeed while second-guessing myself along the way. 4️⃣ Be You Write and create exactly how you speak. Don’t use jargon unless you’d normally use it. People trust people—not personas. Even if I use AI tools or my team provides me a template to begin, the final output will always be me. It has to be authentic to feel authentic. 5️⃣ Be Vulnerable Don’t just post your polished wins. Talk about what you’re learning. Show the pivots, the messy middle, the internal debates. Your audience doesn’t just want your answers—they want to see how you arrived at them Personally, I’ve gone through so many different phases with content and have had a love/hate relationship with it since the beginning. ✅ When I love it - I’m following these 5 steps. ❌ When I hate it - I’m not being me. If you’re thinking about posting online, keep it simple. Be you - and the rest will follow.

Your personal brand is your lifelong distribution engine. Whether you choose to start a newsletter, build a social presence, or host a podcast, the medium is totally up to you. But you have to start putting yourself out there. Especially if you’re a builder, creator, or entrepreneur. One of the biggest problems founders face is user acquisition. Yeah, you can build an amazing product, but how do you get the word out? Paid marketing is getting more expensive. Growth marketers can be tough to hire (especially if you want someone with years of experience in your specific niche). My recommendation is to keep an active, steadily growing personal online presence. This way, you can funnel your audience to whatever projects you’re working on at any given time. This will also deepen the relationship with your online community since they’ll see your progression over time. I’ve been publishing online for nearly 15 years, and some of the of the people who follow me have seen me grow from the kid who just got into college, to landing my first real job, to working at LinkedIn, to going on a National DJ Tour, and all of the miscellaneous side projects along the way. I’ve had countless job offers, reverse hiring pitches, and even helped my last startup raise a seed round of funding by tapping into my network (long live Crave It). I’ve also used my online presence to drive thousands of downloads for that startup, grow my podcast to 10k downloads in 4 weeks, and sell hundreds of thousands of tickets for DJ gigs. Having an online presence is a superpower. I hope this post prompts you to get started (or double down if you’re already doing your thing). 🫡

When I first ventured into building my online presence, I wasn’t sure where to start. It felt like I needed to project a flawless version of myself, which was exhausting. 😮💨 But over time, I found that what resonated with people wasn’t perfection—it was authenticity. The moment I shared my firs t post about a challenge I overcame at work, the response was overwhelming. People connected not because I had the perfect story but because I shared my real experience, including the lessons I learned along the way. 💜 Here are some tips for crafting your online professional image: Start with Your Story. Your LinkedIn summary shouldn’t just list your skills; it should reflect who you are and why you do what you do. I rewrote mine to share a bit about my journey as a first-generation college graduate and the values that drive me. Engage with Purpose. Comment on posts that resonate with you and share your perspective. This is how I built connections without even meeting people in person. I remember when a simple comment I left turned into a conversation that led to a professional collaboration months later. Post Authentically and Regularly. Your posts don’t need to be long essays. Sharing a short insight or experience can show your thought leadership and personality. The key is consistency—engage regularly to build visibility. Building your professional brand online is about letting people see who you really are. It’s not about curating a perfect image; it’s about being present, sharing, and learning from others. PS. Happy Thanksgiving, see you all MONDAY

"I know I should build an online presence, but I have no idea what to post about." This is the #1 thing I hear from developers. Most developers think they need groundbreaking insights to post online. "I'm not an expert." "Someone else already said this." "Who am I to give advice?" So they stay silent while others build their networks and reputations. You don't need to be a guru. You just need to document what you're already doing. The best developer content isn't expert advice. It's real experiences from the trenches. Your debugging process. The library you just discovered. The mistake you made and how you fixed it. Clear Takeaways: → Document your daily work: "Here's how I approached this problem" → Share your learning: "I just discovered X and here's why it's useful" → Ask questions publicly: "Has anyone dealt with this issue before?" → Show your process: "My workflow for debugging complex issues" → Share mistakes: "This broke my app and here's how I fixed it" Your experience solving real problems should be shared to help others. What problem are you working on right now that others might learn from?