In today’s digital world, brands struggle to get traffic, build a reputation, and retain customers. Traditional marketing doesn’t work like it used to. People are more selective about what they engage with and which brands they trust.
One big challenge is visibility. With social media algorithms always changing, rising ad costs, and shifting consumer habits, reaching the right audience is harder than ever. Even when brands do get attention, turning visitors into loyal customers isn’t easy. People today don’t like direct sales pitches—they prefer authenticity, transparency, and real engagement.
Some brands have found a different way. Instead of just focusing on selling, they connect with people through the faces behind the brand. Founders, leaders, and team members share their experiences, ideas, and insights. When people relate to the individuals behind a brand, they engage more, trust more, and are more likely to support it.
This shift towards personal branding and thought leadership is changing how brands build trust. By having real conversations and sharing valuable insights, businesses can create stronger relationships that boost both reputation and sales.
This is where LinkedIn comes in.
How LinkedIn Can Be Helpful?
Once just a professional networking site, LinkedIn is now a powerful platform for brand-building. It has 1 billion users globally, including over 300 million in India. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn isn’t about direct selling—it helps brands share their journey, values, and culture in a natural way.
Studies show that 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn, making it a key platform for visibility and networking. LinkedIn posts also get 15x more content impressions than job postings, proving that storytelling and engagement work better than recruitment-focused content.
This blog explores how brands use LinkedIn effectively, key strategies for building a strong presence, real-life examples from India and global markets, and common mistakes brands should avoid.
People want to do business with people, not companies. LinkedIn helps brands build human connections that drive real engagement.
Table of Contents
1. Why Should Ecommerce Brands Use LinkedIn?
2. The Rise of Humanizing Brands
3. How Ecommerce Brands Are Using LinkedIn?
4. How Founders Are Changing the Game?
5. Why Personal Branding of Leadership Matters?
6. Examples of Brands Doing It Well
7. Where and How to Build a Personal Brand Beyond LinkedIn?
8. Common Mistakes Brands Make on LinkedIn
9. Conclusion
1. Why Should Ecommerce Brands Use LinkedIn?
India has over 300 million LinkedIn users, including professionals, decision-makers, and employees. When brands actively engage on LinkedIn, they influence:
Potential customers – Showcase brand values, product updates, and customer success stories.
Employees and job seekers – Attract top talent by sharing company culture and job openings.
Investors and industry peers – Build credibility by sharing insights, milestones, and thought leadership.
Additionally, LinkedIn promotes individual posts more than brand pages. To maximize visibility, brands should:
Encourage leadership participation – Founders and executives should share insights.
Engage in industry conversations – Commenting and interacting boost reach.
Be consistent – Regular posting increases credibility and audience engagement.
In recent times, many companies are moving beyond just promoting their business pages. Instead, they are leveraging personal branding, especially of their top executives, to humanize the brand and make it more relatable.
2. The Rise of Humanizing Brands
Brands have traditionally tried to humanize themselves through their official pages on LinkedIn and Twitter, sharing polished content and corporate updates. However, there’s been a shift towards a more personal approach.
Instead of just company-driven messaging, brands are now leveraging the personal branding of their leadership teams to build stronger connections.
This shift is driven by:
Authenticity – People relate more to individuals than faceless brands.
Trust – Founders sharing their journey fosters deeper engagement.
Higher Visibility – LinkedIn prioritizes personal profiles over brand pages.
3. How Ecommerce Brands Are Using LinkedIn?
Successful brands use LinkedIn to humanize their identity through storytelling rather than direct promotion. Instead of just selling products, they share experiences, challenges, and milestones, making their journey relatable and engaging. Here’s how they do it:
3.1. Sharing Company Culture
A brand’s culture plays a crucial role in attracting employees and customers who align with its values. Brands that showcase their work environment and team experiences create a strong emotional connection.
- HubSpot is known for its culture-first approach. The company regularly shares insights about its remote work policies, diversity initiatives, and employee success stories. This helps them attract top talent while reinforcing their reputation as a great place to work.
- Zappos, famous for its customer service, frequently highlights its team members, their contributions, and work-life balance, emphasizing that a happy team leads to happy customers.
- CRED, a fintech startup, takes a unique approach by sharing witty, thought-provoking content about work culture, leadership, and company philosophy, making it stand out among tech brands.
3.2. Celebrating Milestones and Achievements
Brands use LinkedIn to highlight key business wins, funding rounds, and expansions, reinforcing their market position and credibility.
- Mamaearth, a rapidly growing personal care brand, posts about product innovations, sustainable initiatives, and customer milestones, reinforcing its brand purpose and growth journey.
- Noise, a leading Indian smartwatch brand, frequently shares milestones such as hitting sales records, launching new product categories, and expanding into offline retail. These posts not only showcase progress but also build consumer trust.
- boAt, one of India’s top D2C brands, shares updates on revenue achievements, strategic partnerships, and international expansion, positioning itself as a dominant player in the lifestyle electronics market.
3.3. Posting About Mistakes and Learnings
Authenticity builds credibility, and brands that openly share their challenges and lessons learned create deeper connections with their audience.
- Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED) frequently posts about his entrepreneurial journey, discussing business failures, funding struggles, and hard-earned insights, making him one of the most followed business leaders in India.
- Ankur Warikoo (Co-founder, Nearbuy) has built a personal brand by sharing candid lessons about startup failures, personal finance, and leadership. His storytelling approach makes complex topics relatable.
3.4. Highlighting New Job Openings
LinkedIn is a powerful platform for hiring, and brands that actively share job opportunities and career growth stories attract top talent.
- Swiggy regularly posts about its open roles, employee benefits, and work culture. Their HR team also shares insights into company policies, making the brand more appealing to job seekers.
- Zomato, apart from listing job openings, uses LinkedIn to highlight employee journeys, celebrating promotions and work anniversaries to showcase career growth opportunities within the company.
3.5. Engaging with Employees and Industry Leaders
A brand’s LinkedIn presence is amplified when employees and leaders actively engage with content and industry conversations.
- Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft) frequently shares insights on leadership, technology trends, and innovation, making Microsoft’s brand voice stronger and more personal.
- Dharmesh Shah (Co-founder, HubSpot) is known for his engaging posts about company growth, SaaS business models, and startup learnings, attracting both customers and potential employees.
- Lenskart has successfully encouraged employees to share their work experiences, company achievements, and product innovations, which increases visibility and brand trust organically.
4. How Founders Are Changing the Game?
More than ever, founders and executives are stepping into the spotlight to represent their brands.
Instead of relying solely on corporate marketing, they’re actively engaging with audiences, sharing their journeys, and providing thought leadership.
This approach creates deeper trust and emotional connection with customers, investors, and employees. Here are some examples of founders leading the way:
- Ankur Warikoo (Nearbuy) – Makes business lessons engaging and relatable through storytelling.
- Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics) – Shares behind-the-scenes insights on building a D2C brand and lessons from her entrepreneurial journey.
- Aman Gupta (boAt) – Uses humor and authenticity to talk about brand-building, resilience, and market trends.
- Deepinder Goyal (Zomato) – Gives a transparent view into Zomato’s operations, leadership decisions, and future vision.
- Aadit Palicha (Zepto) – Talks about the fast-paced world of quick commerce and the challenges of scaling a startup.
- Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com) – Shares insights on business strategy, investments, and the evolving digital landscape.
- Peyush Bansal (Lenskart) – Discusses innovation, customer experience, and what it takes to build a category-defining brand.
- Ritesh Agarwal (OYO) – Provides a candid look into the hospitality industry, leadership lessons, and startup scaling strategies.
5. Why Personal Branding of Leadership Matters?
When company leaders are visible, it significantly impacts marketing efficiency and brand trust. Personal branding isn’t just about self-promotion; it’s about adding value, building credibility, and creating a direct line of communication with the audience. Here are some of its key benefits:
Higher Engagement – Personal posts often get more reach and interaction than brand pages.
Thought Leadership – Establishes credibility in the industry.
Customer Trust – Transparent communication builds stronger relationships.
6. Examples of Brands Doing It Well
Some brands have mastered the art of using LinkedIn not just for corporate updates but for storytelling, thought leadership, and community engagement. Here’s a closer look at how they do it:
6.1. Noise
Noise, one of India’s leading smart wearable brands, has built a strong presence on LinkedIn by sharing a mix of product updates, company milestones, and industry insights.
- They frequently post about new smartwatch launches, highlighting innovative features and how they improve daily life.
- When they hit sales milestones, they celebrate the achievement with their community, showing appreciation for customers and partners.
- Noise also talks about industry trends, such as the rise of smart accessories, wearable tech adoption, and fitness tracking, making them a thought leader in their niche.
One of their most engaging posts was about crossing 1 million smartwatch sales in a year. By sharing this milestone and thanking their customers, they strengthened their brand credibility and built excitement for future products.
6.2. CRED
CRED, the fintech brand known for its premium rewards-based credit card payments, takes a different approach. Instead of typical brand marketing, much of its influence on LinkedIn comes from Kunal Shah, the founder.
- He shares unique perspectives on business, startups, and economic trends, often challenging conventional thinking.
- His posts about entrepreneurial struggles and VC funding realities receive high engagement, as they provide unfiltered insights into the startup ecosystem.
- By discussing mistakes and learnings, he creates authenticity, making him one of the most followed startup leaders in India.
One of Kunal Shah’s most viral LinkedIn posts was when he shared his thoughts on why startups should focus on retention over acquisition.
This post sparked debates, engagement from other founders, and further conversations across the platform.
6.3. Zerodha – Simplicity and Industry Insights
Zerodha, India’s largest stock brokerage firm, has leveraged LinkedIn differently—by keeping things simple and educational.
- Nithin Kamath, the CEO, regularly posts about stock market trends, personal finance, and investing advice.
- His posts don’t feel like marketing—they are educational and add value to the audience.
- Zerodha also shares company updates and financial literacy content, helping both beginners and experienced investors understand the market better.
One of their best-performing posts was when Nithin Kamath explained how compounding works in investing, using a relatable, everyday example. The simplicity of the explanation made it widely shared and appreciated.
6.4. Nike
Nike, a global brand, has mastered the art of brand storytelling on LinkedIn. Unlike Instagram or Twitter, where their focus is on athletes and campaigns, LinkedIn is where they highlight:
- Workplace culture – Nike frequently posts about employee experiences, career growth opportunities, and diversity initiatives.
- Sustainability efforts – They use LinkedIn to talk about their commitment to eco-friendly products and sustainability goals, resonating with environmentally conscious consumers.
- Brand values – Nike posts about inclusivity, gender equality in sports, and empowerment stories that align with its brand ethos.
One of Nike’s standout LinkedIn posts was their “Move to Zero” campaign, which highlighted their progress in sustainability.
By sharing transparent insights into how they’re reducing carbon emissions and using recycled materials, they positioned themselves as a responsible global brand.
7. Where and How to Build a Personal Brand Beyond LinkedIn?
While LinkedIn is a great platform, founders and executives can extend their personal branding efforts beyond it:
Other Effective Channels:
Twitter/X – Quick industry insights and real-time engagement.
Podcasts – Long-form content to discuss ideas and leadership experiences.
Industry Conferences – Speaking engagements to showcase expertise.
Blogs and Newsletters – Writing valuable content for niche audiences.
Tips for Building a Strong Personal Brand:
Be Authentic – Share real experiences, not just polished corporate messaging.
Engage in Conversations – Comment, interact, and respond to industry trends.
Provide Value – Teach, inspire, and share insights that help others.
Be Consistent – Regularly share updates to stay visible and relevant.
8. Common Mistakes Brands Make on LinkedIn
While LinkedIn is a great platform for branding, some mistakes can reduce impact:
- Only Posting Promotional Content – LinkedIn is about engagement, not just sales. Brands that only promote their products see less engagement.
- Ignoring Employee Advocacy – Employees are valuable brand ambassadors. Not involving them in content creation is a missed opportunity.
- Inconsistent Posting – Brands that post irregularly lose visibility. A regular content strategy is key.
- Not Engaging with Comments and Conversations – Posting and not engaging with followers reduces reach and credibility.
- Overlooking Thought Leadership – Founders and executives should share insights, not just company updates.
9. Conclusion
LinkedIn is not just a job-seeking platform; it is a space for storytelling, brand-building, and professional networking.
Ecommerce brands that use LinkedIn effectively create a lasting impact by sharing their journey, engaging with employees, and contributing to industry discussions.
By focusing on culture, milestones, and thought leadership, brands can strengthen their identity and build meaningful connections.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help enhance your social media strategies, we’d be happy to set up a consultation call. Feel free to reach out to us at alibha@daiom.in
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