​The standards for personal branding have come a long way with the rise of LinkedIn influencers and pressure to post work achievements and wins.

Can marketing and advertising professionals get away without being active on LinkedIn?

The public nature of marketing and advertising work adds more pressure on professionals to showcase their work and promote themselves as a social media influencer would. LinkedIn is often the first place hiring managers and recruiters go to scope out an applicant beyond their CV, so a detailed LinkedIn profile is essential. LinkedIn activity often provides more context about a candidate. However, not everyone wants to or has time to post frequently about their achievements.

I believe there are many other ways to showcase your work and talents outside public platforms vis a vis the traditional media portfolio. Akin to a showreel or design portfolio, marketing and advertising professionals can also use a portfolio to highlight their work. Link it in your resume. Create a website, powerpoint or a simple pdf.

Little to no posts on your LinkedIn account shouldn't jeopardise your chances of getting a new job. Whilst it is the expected norm to post, perhaps reverting back to more traditional branding approaches could make you stand out from other applicants.

A basic LinkedIn presence with a summary of work experience will always be relevant to validate your resume. Learn how to optimise your personal brand on LinkedIn with Medium's 7 Steps to Finding Your Personal Brand and our Guide to LinkedIn for Job Hunters.

​How should you use LinkedIn for Personal Branding?

If you're a maximalist, LinkedIn is prioritising content creation and working closely with creators to boost their reach and create a new culture of professional influencers. Start creating, posting and reap the benefits of your public image. Who knows, you could become a micro influencer.

If you're more cautious or want to keep your account private, a detailed profile that matches your CV is enough to help recruiters and hiring managers do a background check once they connect with you. Post and interact at your discretion.

And if you're obsessed with scrolling through the homepage like me but don't post that often, you can keep your activity to a minimum but deck out your profile to showcase your brand. I prefer to use learn from industry professionals, see business news and connect with past coworkers.

Great recruiters can take these insights from LinkedIn as an indicator of your personality and your interests through the companies and people you follow.

Personal branding isn't all or nothing. Take from it what you wish and find your communication style.

This article was inspired by Harvard Business Review.