How to be Effective on LinkedIn
Here is a list of tips that will turn you into a pro at using LinkedIn:
1. Free unlimited, messaging in Groups
While you need to pay for a premium account to access the LinkedIn In-Mail feature that lets you message people that are not your first connections, there is a way to reach out to people and message them for free. Use ‗Send Message‘ to send a message to any LinkedIn Group member. Just search for their name in a group and click ―message‖. Use this functionality sparingly and always make your messages relevant, engaging to your message recipients. Do not send promotional material. Rather you should focus on demonstrating thought leadership and adding value to Group members. Your objective is to expand your network not try to win a new client with a single message.
2. Use Groups to expand your network of 1st connections
In Groups you can strategically follow second and third degree connections. This LinkedIn functionality is powerful when you‘re looking to start conversations with prospects. You can Like, Share and Comment on their updates and interact in ways that will generate new connections. You can invite fellow Group members to become first degree connections of yours. If a pop-up box appears asking how you know the person that you are sending a connection invitation to, you can simply select the Group that you both belong to and your request to send an invitation will be automatically approved.
3. Make your content interactive
Communicate interactively by uploading video and presentations to your profile. Include call to action buttons so that other members can contact you directly for your services or products. Remember to focus on adding value not uploading promotional content.
4. Source leads direct from your LinkedIn profile
Add a white paper or eBook to your profile page and build a free web form with Google Drive. Place the links to the form as content on your Profile Summary and share the links as updates once a day every day.
5. Share engaging, relevant breaking news
Many online news sites have Social Media (often including LinkedIn) sharing buttons built into their websites. Frequently, I find these sharing icons at the top or bottom of the news articles.
If you find an article that you would like to share and there is no LinkedIn icon on the page, then you can simply copy the article using your smartphone, tablet, PC etc. and then open your LinkedIn home page or a Group home page and then paste the article. Always add your own headline when you paste because often LinkedIn truncates the headline or sometimes instead of the headline only a date appears, which is not an effective attention grabber. Also don‘t just hit the share button.
6. Target your sharing
By selecting a sub-set of your connections that will be interested in your share you can personalize your content. LinkedIn gives you the option to select which of your connections toy want to receive your share and you can elect to hide the list of names that you are sharing with from other connections. This individualized sharing capability enables you to personalize your content sharing by including personalized messages with your content.
7. Pay for a premium account
If you are establishing or operating a consulting business, particularly in the B2B space then it is worth it to upgrade to a premium account. In most cases you will find that the Basic account is all that you need as it has a powerful Advanced Search function that is a fantastic way of identifying prospects.
8. Profile targeting
While LinkedIn was originally perceived as a career site where you could post your resume for recruiters to see it times have moved on. If you are in business as a consultant the primary aim of your LinkedIn profile should be to establish credibility with prospective clients. Since your LinkedIn profile is often the first place prospects go to find out more about you and your firm it needs to be a credible, professional, interactive marketing tool that establishes you as an industry expert. Clearly to be a positioned as an expert you need to be creating your own. Your content becomes a permanent pathway for prospective clients to find you. Think of publishing on LinkedIn as free prospecting. Remember you don‘t have to publish until you get your content exactly how you want it including adding images sourced from professional online image galleries that optimize your content for posting online. One such image gallery that I use is www.canva.com and SlideShare enables you to share PowerPoint presentations for the more visual content. Get help with your content editing from colleagues and peers or content editors.
Aim to be recognized as a go to publishing expert in your field.
9. Make LinkedIn Your Professional Website
Really work at getting your Profile to an All Star professional standard. Increasingly, your LinkedIn profile is the first and often only place that prospective buyers of your services and/or products, partners and future employers are going to go to find you and judge you online. Make your Profile your competitive advantage and have maximum impact.
You will know that you are a making effective use of LinkedIn when you begin to receive emails from LinkedIn like this one that I received after publishing several articles: “Thanks for sharing your perspective in 2014.
Cheers to you for being one of the first members to publish on LinkedIn!”
Add value to your network; give and never remember, receive and never forget.
To read more entrepreneurial success strategies please visit:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-...
The Ultimate Guide to Consulting in the Networked Age by John Watson - A step by step guide to starting your own consulting practice with proven strategies to build a consulting practice with global reach by capitalizing on technological innovation including the latest in social media marketing trends.
"Many people have the operational skills to strike out on their own as a consultant either in the B2B or B2C space, yet hesitate to take the leap into establishing their own consulting practice. This step-by-step guide will assist prospective entrepreneurs turn their dreams of establishing successful consulting practices into reality.” - John Watson
1. Free unlimited, messaging in Groups
While you need to pay for a premium account to access the LinkedIn In-Mail feature that lets you message people that are not your first connections, there is a way to reach out to people and message them for free. Use ‗Send Message‘ to send a message to any LinkedIn Group member. Just search for their name in a group and click ―message‖. Use this functionality sparingly and always make your messages relevant, engaging to your message recipients. Do not send promotional material. Rather you should focus on demonstrating thought leadership and adding value to Group members. Your objective is to expand your network not try to win a new client with a single message.
2. Use Groups to expand your network of 1st connections
In Groups you can strategically follow second and third degree connections. This LinkedIn functionality is powerful when you‘re looking to start conversations with prospects. You can Like, Share and Comment on their updates and interact in ways that will generate new connections. You can invite fellow Group members to become first degree connections of yours. If a pop-up box appears asking how you know the person that you are sending a connection invitation to, you can simply select the Group that you both belong to and your request to send an invitation will be automatically approved.
3. Make your content interactive
Communicate interactively by uploading video and presentations to your profile. Include call to action buttons so that other members can contact you directly for your services or products. Remember to focus on adding value not uploading promotional content.
4. Source leads direct from your LinkedIn profile
Add a white paper or eBook to your profile page and build a free web form with Google Drive. Place the links to the form as content on your Profile Summary and share the links as updates once a day every day.
5. Share engaging, relevant breaking news
Many online news sites have Social Media (often including LinkedIn) sharing buttons built into their websites. Frequently, I find these sharing icons at the top or bottom of the news articles.
If you find an article that you would like to share and there is no LinkedIn icon on the page, then you can simply copy the article using your smartphone, tablet, PC etc. and then open your LinkedIn home page or a Group home page and then paste the article. Always add your own headline when you paste because often LinkedIn truncates the headline or sometimes instead of the headline only a date appears, which is not an effective attention grabber. Also don‘t just hit the share button.
6. Target your sharing
By selecting a sub-set of your connections that will be interested in your share you can personalize your content. LinkedIn gives you the option to select which of your connections toy want to receive your share and you can elect to hide the list of names that you are sharing with from other connections. This individualized sharing capability enables you to personalize your content sharing by including personalized messages with your content.
7. Pay for a premium account
If you are establishing or operating a consulting business, particularly in the B2B space then it is worth it to upgrade to a premium account. In most cases you will find that the Basic account is all that you need as it has a powerful Advanced Search function that is a fantastic way of identifying prospects.
8. Profile targeting
While LinkedIn was originally perceived as a career site where you could post your resume for recruiters to see it times have moved on. If you are in business as a consultant the primary aim of your LinkedIn profile should be to establish credibility with prospective clients. Since your LinkedIn profile is often the first place prospects go to find out more about you and your firm it needs to be a credible, professional, interactive marketing tool that establishes you as an industry expert. Clearly to be a positioned as an expert you need to be creating your own. Your content becomes a permanent pathway for prospective clients to find you. Think of publishing on LinkedIn as free prospecting. Remember you don‘t have to publish until you get your content exactly how you want it including adding images sourced from professional online image galleries that optimize your content for posting online. One such image gallery that I use is www.canva.com and SlideShare enables you to share PowerPoint presentations for the more visual content. Get help with your content editing from colleagues and peers or content editors.
Aim to be recognized as a go to publishing expert in your field.
9. Make LinkedIn Your Professional Website
Really work at getting your Profile to an All Star professional standard. Increasingly, your LinkedIn profile is the first and often only place that prospective buyers of your services and/or products, partners and future employers are going to go to find you and judge you online. Make your Profile your competitive advantage and have maximum impact.
You will know that you are a making effective use of LinkedIn when you begin to receive emails from LinkedIn like this one that I received after publishing several articles: “Thanks for sharing your perspective in 2014.
Cheers to you for being one of the first members to publish on LinkedIn!”
Add value to your network; give and never remember, receive and never forget.
To read more entrepreneurial success strategies please visit:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-...
The Ultimate Guide to Consulting in the Networked Age by John Watson - A step by step guide to starting your own consulting practice with proven strategies to build a consulting practice with global reach by capitalizing on technological innovation including the latest in social media marketing trends.
"Many people have the operational skills to strike out on their own as a consultant either in the B2B or B2C space, yet hesitate to take the leap into establishing their own consulting practice. This step-by-step guide will assist prospective entrepreneurs turn their dreams of establishing successful consulting practices into reality.” - John Watson
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