The term “hustle culture” really gets to me, sometimes. It feels inauthentic and seems to set an expectation that we should be sacrificing our wellbeing for the sake of pursuing success. Success, however, is not a rushed journey with an unknown destination. True success is found through consistency, good habits, and a focused approach. When it comes to business success, and LinkedIn success, slow and steady wins the race.
The hustle is overrated
I can appreciate some of the key messaging that supports “hustle culture.” The content created by motivational speakers and industry leaders that espouses the importance of “hustle culture” often helps to pick you up when you’re feeling demotivated. Being on a 24-hour adrenaline rush isn’t healthy, though. Consistent effort and small steps forward help you build a scalable business. It’s the same with LinkedIn.
Starting out sparkling
When you first signed up for LinkedIn, and started dedicating extensive time to your lead generation efforts, you felt ready. You were certain you’d go viral, and become a thought leader within mere days. Maybe your content did perform well, and perhaps you did shoot out the lights in your first few weeks on LinkedIn. You dedicated more time to LinkedIn than you intended to, and you were determined you were going to change the world on the platform. That sparkle when you start out is, however, not sustainable. Building a sustainable routine to effectively manage your time, resources, and energy is step one towards building a successful LinkedIn presence. Now that we’re looking at ways to build your LinkedIn approach sustainably, let’s consider some of the most important factors that support an effective strategy.
Quality over quantity
Posting on LinkedIn seven times a day might seem like a great idea to get your name in front of the right eyeballs, but it’s not. There’s a reason why it’s called Content Marketing, and not Content Spamming. Focus your efforts on creating quality content that’s targeted towards your ideal audience. Rather than spewing out ten poor quality posts, focus on crafting one insightful, interesting, and high quality piece of content at a time.
Relationships aren’t built overnight
I always laugh when people talk about a business being an “overnight success.” An “overnight success” is just not possible. Every time, there’s a far longer story behind those “overnight success” stories, and it’s almost always that there were five to ten years of nothing looking like it was successful before then. That’s part and parcel of building a sustainable business, and it’s the same approach you need to take when building relationships on LinkedIn. You won’t connect with someone on LinkedIn and become their best friend within four interactions. Building relationships takes time, nurturing, and genuine interest. You need to engage in conversations, offer value, and form a genuine connection with the people you interact with. People can smell desperation a mile away, so ditch the robotic outreach messages and focus on building authentic connections.
Consistency is the key
Let me be clear: consistency does not mean staying online all the time. Consistency is what happens when you build a good habit and routine around your online time. Establishing good habits about when and how you are online helps you keep your sanity and your focus. Instead of scrolling through LinkedIn at 2 am, set aside specific time slots in your day to focus on your LinkedIn presence. When you put it into your schedule, you’re mentally assigning that time to focus on building your LinkedIn presence, consistently. The key is to show up regularly, provide value, and stay engaged with your audience.
The hustle isn’t authentic
Bringing it back to the big talk of “hustle culture”…apart from not being sustainable, it’s simply not authentic. Nobody (well, at least, nobody who is a human!) is switched on 24/7 and flipped into overdrive. We all have high energy days, medium energy days, and days where it all feels a little too much. The same goes for how you present yourself on LinkedIn. Not every piece of work you do is going to be a raving success story. Don’t be afraid to be authentic and real. Sharing your struggles is just as important as celebrating your wins. In a world that, all too often, seems to glorify the hustle, be a human.
Intention, not desperation
As you slowly build your LinkedIn community, do it with intention. Set yourself achievable, measurable goals, and work towards them. Slow and steady always wins the race. Yes, on LinkedIn too.
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