It’s time to go beyond your LinkedIn profile. With more than 1 billion members, LinkedIn offers you so much more opportunity than just a simple profile. Leveraging LinkedIn’s tools and effective techniques can bring you highly effective results.
Get the basics right
Before you can set forth and go beyond the profile, make sure you’ve got the basics right. On LinkedIn, your own profile is better for finding new business than your company’s page. To make your profile shine, add a professional headshot and highlight your accomplishments. Strengthen your profile by asking former colleagues for endorsements and recommendations. You can also offer to return the favour by endorsing their skills. Write a clear headline that explains what you do and how you can help others.
Create your own content hub
In a world of constant information overload, people are thirsty for relevant content. To establish yourself as a thought leader and force in your industry, dedicate some time to creating your own content hub on LinkedIn. Use LinkedIn Articles to publish long-form articles on topics you’re interested in. Shake it up with some key insights into your industry. If you’ve read an interesting report that relates to your industry, summarise the key points and expand on them. You can use your LinkedIn timeline as a content hub too, sharing articles of importance, and commenting on their contents.
Log on and go live
I understand: it’s not always easy to put yourself in front of a camera. No matter your reticence, you’d be surprised by how many people enjoy that you dare to do it. Set yourself apart from the shy crowd, and host a LinkedIn Live. LinkedIn Live enables you to host live video sessions that enable you to connect with your audience in real-time. You can talk about industry happenings, conduct product demonstrations, or run a quick Q&A session. You will need to have activated Creator Mode to access this feature.
Hashtags are essential
You’re committed to creating good content, but how will people find it? That’s the power of hashtags. Hashtags increase the discoverability of your content, extending your audience beyond your connections. Research relevant hashtags that relate to your industry and target audience. Use those hashtags strategically, and incorporate them into your posts. I’d recommend adding three relevant hashtags to each of your posts. You don’t want to overwhelm your readers with twenty hashtags, but you do want to increase your discoverability.
Pick a poll
LinkedIn Polls are a useful tool for increasing engagement and getting people involved in online conversations. Use LinkedIn Polls to spark conversations, by asking thought-provoking questions and encouraging your network to participate. Don’t forget to add relevant hashtags to escalate your poll’s discoverability too.
Recommend and endorse
When you’ve worked with someone, and connected with them on LinkedIn, go out of your way to leave them a recommendation, or endorse their skills. This opens the door for you to ask for something similar in return. You’ll be surprised by how many people are eager to receive recommendations and endorsements, and happy to provide you with one in return.
Investigate Sales Navigator
LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator suite of tools is perfect for premium users. Sales Navigator levels up your networking abilities, with advanced search features, lead generation tools, and insights into your connections’ activities. Consider signing up for Sales Navigator to elevate your LinkedIn lead gen activities.
Keep track of your content with bookmarks
Talking about that information overload, use the LinkedIn Bookmarks feature to your advantage. Rather than trying to remember where you read that interesting statistic, simply save it as a Bookmark. You can then go back to it for referencing, or use it to create an engaging conversation around the content. This is also a great way to build an easy-to-access personal knowledge base.
Let’s get personal
Sending connection requests shouldn’t be a simple click-and-send exercise. Take the time to personalise your connection requests with a short note. You can highlight a shared connection, comment on a shared interest, and introduce yourself in an authentic, relatable way. Establishing a common ground with a new connection is key.
Engage in a meaningful way
Instead of simply scrolling through your feed, take the time to engage in meaningful conversations. Of course, you can endorse a great comment with LinkedIn’s emoji-like responses, but when something strikes your eye, make sure to respond. Tag the person you’re responding to, and share a suitable, thoughtful response.
Don’t just sell
Nobody likes a salesperson interrupting their conversation. Rather than leaping into sales mode every second, focus on offering value to your network. Think of ways to offer advice, give insightful commentary, and participate in discussions in a helpful way.
Build relationships
Many people think that the bigger their network, the more effective their presence. This couldn’t be further from the truth. People seek genuine connection and relevant conversation when engaging online. Focus your efforts on building relationships, rather than simply trying to connect with all 900 million LinkedIn users. A highly engaged community is far more useful than a high number of connections. Genuine connection can lead to long-term, genuine outcomes, collaboration, and warmed-up leads.
P.S. Here are 4 ways we can help you accelerate your Lead Generation results:
- Follow Adam Houlahan’s LinkedIn Profile Now Click Here
- Join our FREE LinkedIn Group and connect with entrepreneurs who are scaling too
It’s our Facebook community where smart entrepreneurs learn to get more leads and smart ways to scale using LinkedIn — Click Here
- Take our FREE LinkedIn Productivity Assessment
Score your current presence and activity on LinkedIn against industry best practice benchmarks. Receive customised results instantly and as a BONUS you’ll get a FREE PDF download of Amazon’s Best-selling book “The LinkedIn Playbook” Click Here - Join our Content Ninja Club Today!
This Club is a community of professionals who are dedicated to mastering LinkedIn engagement and seeing real results. In fact, members experience a 300% to 1000% increase in content traction! The best part? You can join the Club accessing a comprehensive set of tools and resources for just $197 AUD/month with no lock-in contracts. Join today Content Ninja Club Registration