Nicole Ramirez on Unlocking LinkedIn for Leadership Growth

Editor’s Note: 
This article is part of a Digital Summit Collective series where we’re turning standout live sessions from recent Digital Summit events into actionable, on-demand insights for our community. Each piece is adapted from a real stage presentation—capturing the ideas, examples, and strategic thinking that resonated most with attendees. 

When Nicole Ramirez asked a room full of marketers how many of them had a LinkedIn profile, nearly every hand went up. When she asked how many were actively using LinkedIn to build visibility, credibility, and influence, far fewer responded. 

That gap is the problem Ramirez set out to address at Digital Summit Denver. Her central argument was straightforward: LinkedIn is no longer a digital résumé or a passive networking tool. It is the most visible expression of your leadership brand. And for professionals willing to use it intentionally, it can create opportunities that no job board ever will. 

Why Personal Brand Ownership Matters 

Ramirez’s perspective is shaped by experience. After spending years in senior marketing roles, she was laid off from her position as Director of Marketing at Forbes—a moment that forced her to confront how much of her professional identity had been tied to a company name rather than her own voice. 

At the time, she had been on LinkedIn for over a decade and had built a network of roughly 2,400 followers. Instead of treating the platform as a safety net, she decided to treat it as a growth channel. By posting consistently and sharing real, experience-driven insights, she grew her audience to more than 11,000 followers in six months and nearly 20,000 within a year. 

The growth itself wasn’t the point. What mattered was what it revealed about how people actually respond on LinkedIn — a lesson Ramirez returned to throughout her session.

Here are the takeaways worth applying to grow your LinkedIn presence.

✔ Rethink What LinkedIn Is For 

One of Ramirez’s core points is that most professionals are still using LinkedIn based on outdated assumptions. Many treat it as something to optimize only when they’re job hunting, or as a space that requires overly formal, corporate language. 

In reality, LinkedIn has become the primary platform where leaders, decision-makers, and peers evaluate credibility long before a conversation ever happens. Studies consistently show that buyers are more likely to trust companies whose leaders are visible and active on social platforms, which is why organizations are increasingly investing in employee advocacy and executive visibility. 

LinkedIn, Ramirez argues, is not just where careers are documented. It’s where reputations are formed. 

✔ Stop Treating Your Profile Like a Résumé 

A recurring theme in Ramirez’s session was the need to stop treating LinkedIn profiles as static career summaries and start treating them as living brand assets. 

An effective profile doesn’t list responsibilities. It communicates value. It makes clear who you are, what you do, and why it matters—using language your audience actually searches for and understands. That includes a clear headline, a focused summary, and visible proof points through featured content, media, or writing. 

When someone lands on your profile, they should immediately understand your point of view and relevance. If they can’t, visibility won’t convert into opportunity. 

✔ Think Beyond Customers: Define Your Audience 

Ramirez also challenged the idea that LinkedIn content should only target buyers. Instead, she encourages professionals to think in terms of an Ideal Audience Persona—a broader group that includes future clients, peers, collaborators, and well-connected industry voices. 

This mindset shifts content away from selling and toward trust-building. Ramirez shared that she writes with a specific person in mind, asking whether her insights would be useful, credible, or share-worthy for someone at a similar career stage. 

The result is content that feels intentional rather than performative, and sustainable rather than transactional. 

✔ Aim for Consistency Over Virality 

One of the most practical lessons from Ramirez’s session was her emphasis on consistency. Growth on LinkedIn rarely comes from viral moments. It comes from showing up regularly with a clear voice and perspective. 

That means defining a small number of content themes you can return to naturally, whether that’s industry expertise, leadership lessons, personal growth, or lived experience. Over time, these patterns help audiences recognize what you stand for and why they should pay attention. 

Equally important is engagement. Ramirez emphasized that LinkedIn rewards participation, not broadcasting. Commenting thoughtfully, responding to conversations, and showing up for others’ content is often what drives the most meaningful visibility. 

Over time, that consistency does something more important than drive metrics — it reinforces the idea Ramirez discovered early on: that credibility on LinkedIn is built through clarity and perspective, not polish or performance. 

The Long-Term Value of Showing Up 

Ramirez closed her session with a reminder that LinkedIn growth is not about chasing metrics or manufacturing authority. It’s about building familiarity, credibility, and trust over time. 

When professionals take ownership of their voice and show up consistently, opportunities follow—often in unexpected ways. New roles, speaking engagements, partnerships, and clients tend to emerge not because someone went looking for them, but because their perspective was already visible. 

LinkedIn, when used well, becomes more than a platform. It becomes leverage. 

Watch the Full Session 

This article was adapted from the live session Unlocking LinkedIn for Leadership Growth, presented by Nicole Ramirez at Digital Summit Denver 2025. 

Watch the full video: 
https://resource.digitalsummit.com/resources/material/unlocking-linkedin-for-leadership-growth-den25/