What's your SSI score and how can you improve it?

While I offer these insights, I want you to know that my SSI score is only 64/100 (a month later now at 69). Like entrepreneurship, the journey to mastering LinkedIn is one of continuous learning and growth. Keep pushing forward! For aspiring leaders, understanding SSI is paramount. It gauges your LinkedIn effectiveness and showcases where you shine or need improvement. Dive deep, analyze, and iterate.

SSI isn't a new thing for me having been introduced to it at a sales conference 3 or 4 years ago by @Andrew Seerden at Fresh Perspective... interestingly enough as I was using LinkedIn a reasonable amount I had the highest score across our national sales team (71 at the time from memory). Posting, commenting, engaging with other posts and messaging were all things I used and must have contributed to my score. Of course, now I know about SSI the challenge is to maintain or improve... I'm still at 73 and it's proving hard to get above that ?? The great thing is, as I reach out to people it's easy to engage, even with cold outreach, as I have developed an awareness around who I am and how I can support people in my network.

I give training on personal brand building and I am always surprised that people do not know about SSI. Only data based activities have any sense, especially in social media where building a personal brand is so time consuming.

I am using LinkedIn more than any other Social Media I have. Regularly comments, react, sometimes posting and very active , but I still have a low SSI. I think LinkedIn may add more features to assess their SSI and give them more points.

When you think that SSI is a way to increase your customers number you have to change your mind. SSI is showing how you look like in comparison to people in your network. It is very important because when you see people in your industry have lower SSI it means that you are on a good way to become a trustful person. Keep on working on a profile, creating great content and be active in your network - your SSI index will go up as well as number of followers and ... clients :).

SSI isn't just a number. For entrepreneurs, it's a reflection of personal brand strength and networking prowess. High scores amplify your voice and attract valuable connections. Be the leader people want to connect with.

I posted this above as an outcome of paying attention to SSI... the great thing I find is cold outreach to people seems to work as they may have seen content I've posted or conversations I've been involved in and have a sense of how I may be able to support them.

Understanding how people view your credibility is key. Analytical feedback shows improvement areas. Within 1 month, of viewing the data, enabled me to raise my SSI to being in the top 1% in both Industry and Network SSI rankings. Presenting to prospects a high SSI, when you are trying to sell marketing services, brings immediate credibility.

Metrics are always important, there is no doubt about that. LinkedIn is designed for professional use - sales and self-promotion. To improve our efficiency, we need to have a clear understanding of our strengths and weaknesses. That's the purpose of the SSI.

High scores mean more opportunities, better connections, and increased credibility. It's your ticket to standing out, building your brand, and earning referrals. Don't just track it; leverage it for growth.

Your brand is your legacy. Entrepreneurs should meticulously craft their LinkedIn profiles, highlighting their vision and mission. You can regularly share insights and stories that resonate with your entrepreneurial journey.

There are a lot of useful tips and tricks out there for building your personal brand. One thing that is still underestimated is storytelling. People do not remember numbers, they remember stories. It is worth to include your true stories in your brand assets and content marketing efforts.

Boosting your professional brand directly impacts your SSI score. Start by crafting a compelling profile: choose a professional photo, write an engaging headline and summary, and showcase your skills with endorsements and recommendations. Share valuable content regularly to demonstrate your expertise. These steps will not only enhance your SSI but also elevate your presence and credibility on LinkedIn.

To find the right people to connect with depends on the career your are approaching and the goal you want to achieve. The connections is very important to widen your horizon and enrich experience in the industry your are working on or you are planning to have for your future.

Are you building a startup or leading a team? Target the right allies and mentors on LinkedIn. Use LinkedIn's tools meticulously to connect with influencers and potential collaborators. Remember, your network is your net worth.

Boolean operators, whether this is on Linked In, or on Google searches, are seldom used in my view, but offer much more powerful way of searching for specific information and excluding unwanted searches. Using the right tool and understanding how the tool you are using (LinkedIn Sales Navigator for instance) is key to being successful in achieving your goals.

Finding the right connections is key to boosting your SSI score. Utilize LinkedIn's search tools and filters to pinpoint your target audience, leveraging features like location, industry, and keywords. Consider LinkedIn Sales Navigator for advanced insights. Engage with relevant groups, hashtags, and events to expand your network strategically. By connecting with the right people, you enhance your SSI and open doors to valuable opportunities.

A good way of engaging, is simply re-posting a high end engaging article / post / video clip you personally benefitted from and let other know why in the repost comments why you are re-posting. From my perspective, I am more likely to read / watch a re-posted piece of content, if the person I know who re-posts has added a comment why I should read/ watch / view. At the same time, be careful what you re-post, and what, or why you are reposting. If it's fake news, or factually incorrect content, or content that others will baulk at, when you re-post other peoples content, you are putting at risk your own credibility and likely to cause brand damage.

Entrepreneurs thrive on insights. Engage genuinely with content that aligns with your industry and passion. Remember, it's about creating value, sparking conversations, and fostering growth, not just selling.

Active engagement with insights is a direct path to enhancing your SSI score. Start by following industry influencers and publications, then curate or create compelling content that resonates with your audience. Use hashtags and mentions strategically to broaden your reach. Prioritize genuine interaction over sales pitches, responding promptly to comments and messages. By adding value to conversations and sharing insights, you'll elevate your SSI and establish yourself as a trusted authority in your field.

What helps me a lot to start interacting with new contacts is sending a short welcome message. This is not a sales pitch or anything, only a friendly Hello and "Nice to connect with you". Depending on their profile, I may adjust to offering help/support on the product or service they need. Pro tip: engage as you would in a normal (offline) conversation - be casual about meeting new people. Otherwise it's just awkward.

I use the #Garyvee approach, jab jab jab right hook... I'm more than happy to refer people across my network to support what they may be looking to achieve. It's a longer-term approach but I'm seeing the benefit from that. Like any investment, it does take time... but the results are worth it

In my experience in building relationships on linkedIn, I found out that finding a common aspect, specialist, or industry would be a great way to connect with people and that will need to be consistent in keeping adding more connections and keeping in touch with the people who are interested to collaborate.

There are more features that might help to improve SSI on LinkedIn, such as updating profile and contents according to the new situation, completing sections and being more active in term of sharing insights, ideas, planning that are related to the field, announcing new events and collaborate more.