Trying to increase your brand visibility? Tap into your personal LinkedIn Here's how to maximize your most underused social media channel.

LinkedIn may be the biggest social networking site in the world (to date, it has 860 million members!), but it's come a long way since the days of simply connected professionals to each other.

Today, LinkedIn has the power to help business owners – local and global – market their brands to engaged audiences made up of fellow founders, influencers from industry, decision makers, potential customers and future team members.

As the co-founder of a content marketing agency, I find it essential to have a very active presence on LinkedIn. This means following and engaging with thought leaders, interacting with content from my network, and populating my own feed with useful and relevant updates.

Whether you're just looking to increase brand awareness or turn new connections into promising leads, here are six ways to get started with LinkedIn Marketing.

1. Choose between a profile or a page.

First things first: should you market your brand on a personal LinkedIn profile or on a company page?

To put it simply, a profile is for an individual while a page is for a business. While a company page may be necessary for general brand awareness, your personal profile is critical to building your own credibility within the industry through thought leadership, which, in turn, has a positive impact on the image of your company.

For example, although my company Masthead Media has a business profile (which we regularly update with content), I create unique first-person updates on my own profile LinkedIn, and those tend to get far more engagement.

For the purposes of this article, let's focus on creating and using your own LinkedIn profile to boost your brand image and establish yourself as an industry thought leader.< /p>

2. Optimize your profile.

Before you do anything else, optimize your personal LinkedIn profile so that it reflects the brand image you want to spread.

Update the cover photo with a relevant image such as your brand logo, and use the headline section to let people know what you do. Make sure the "About" section is up-to-date and highlights the key messages you want people to know about your brand. Indicate your role in the company as your current position. If you also created a page for the company, link to it here.

There are also several sections of the profile that you can customize to highlight the work you've done, the press you've received, or the awards you've earned. It may seem awkward to share everything you're proud of, but self-promotion is necessary if you want to grow your business.

3. Send personal invitations.

Connecting with others is an essential part of building your LinkedIn network: you've probably sent and received hundreds of connection requests throughout your career!

But next time, instead of just hitting "Connect", consider making your note more engaging by personalizing the invite.

Remind the person how you know each other or, if not, why you want to connect. Incorporating a human element goes a long way in creating more meaning...