LinkedIn is the “adult” in the LinkedIn and Facebook group. Facebook is where you post all the fun things and LinkedIn is where you post all the “business” stuff.
It’s kind of like two people standing together. One is in jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers and the other is in a 3 piece suit and shiny dress shoes. One person you have casual conversations with and the other you talk shop with over cocktails.
LinkedIn has the power to connect you to influencers, provide a focused area to share your content and if you are a B2B business it could possibly be your new best friend.
There are over 187 million monthly unique users, over 3 million LinkedIn business pages and over 2 million Linkedin groups.
So how can you be more effective on LinkedIn?
- Simple is usually better. Often the simple things you do are what make a difference.
- Update your status daily. You may post a link to your latest blog post, share an interesting presentation or an article that is of value to your industry or ask a question that makes people think and follow it with a link to your site.
- Participate in (or start) LinkedIn group discussions regularly. You may want to do this 3 days a week or all 5 days. The more you are popping in and providing value the better people are going to get to know you and will start to like and trust you.
- Follow influencers and ask or answer questions on their posts. Not only will you learn from them but you will be associating with other like minded people.
- Join relevant LinkedIn groups and stay active on each one. This could take a little trial and error to make sure that you are getting involved in the ones that are a fit for you but once you have that sorted out you will find that the groups really can be a big benefit to you.
- Send three new invites daily to people you want to connect with and personalize it. Let them know why you want to connect with them.
- Prominently display your contact information so you make it easy for people to contact you
- Endorse people you know for their skills with no expectation of reciprocation
- Promote your LinkedIn profile. Include it on your card, place it in your email signature and on your website/blog
- Include links to your blog and website in your LinkedIn profile. This will help you build credibility by displaying your full online presence
Start implementing these tips today to really see the impact they will have on your professional profile.
