3 Key Elements to Help Implement your LinkedIn Profile Game Plan

Did you get swept up in the hype of the Australian Open? I loved watching the finals from the comfort of my lounge room and believe women's tennis has gone to a new level as a result of the standard of players, especially the performance in the final between Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

I was a ballgirl when the AO was still held at Kooyong and I grew up with a tennis court in my back garden. My Dad is a retired professional tennis coach and he had big plans for my tennis career. I was part of the team that won the 壳牌 Under 12s Victorian championship and these plans were going well until my first 'seeded' tournament at South Yarra tennis club. This is when I realised I didn't have the killer instinct required to win at that level. I can still picture my opponent who started crying as I led in the second set. Her Dad was shouting at her from the sidelines. It was painful to watch and hear.

I gave her that and the following set, deliberately losing. Winning meant much more to her than it did to me.

The Importance of a Strategy

I share this formative tennis experience with you as I'm convinced it's where I developed my love for strategy. Had I already won the game when I handed my opponent the next two sets? Some would say yes, others would say no! Tennis is as much a game of strategy as it is a game of skill. We saw this in so many of the Australian Open matches that made it to tiebreakers and 3rd or 5th sets.

The absence of a plan or LinkedIn strategy is the number one reason why many professionals do not maximise LinkedIn as a more effective tool for their career or business.

It's for this reason my LinkedIn Marketing Mentoring program (which kicked off this month) includes the development of a strategy for your leader's LinkedIn profiles and your organisation's LinkedIn page.

The Importance of Having a Game Plan on LinkedIn

Many of us grew up with the following words of wisdom:

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

While this concept makes sense, where to begin on LinkedIn? LinkedIn is not the same as social media. It's a professional networking platform, the behaviours and etiquette are different and there is the requirement to be more 'intellectually rigorous' (as identified in the LinkedIn Edelman Thought Leadership study*).

But we're nearly half way though February! Where did the last month go?

Do not fret. LinkedIn's not that hard when you think more deeply about why you're here. Once you've determined your goals and focus for your time on LinkedIn, the following three elements will help you implement your LinkedIn Profile game plan.

1. Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile

I dedicated last month's LinkedIn Live via Think Bespoke to this topic. If you missed this free live event, the good news is you can watch the broadcast replay here. If the tech does not work for you, it's also available via Think Bespoke's YouTube page here. Start at 3:48. If you joined the event live, thank you for your patience with the first few minutes. The sound quality corrected soon after this. Streamyard is a wonderful tool to stream LinkedIn Lives, but technology can sometimes let you down.

2. Develop LinkedIn Rituals

It's Gretchen Rubin who said:

What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.

Deciding to commit to regular time on LinkedIn and knowing the steps you will take, or the rituals you will follow, when you are here can reduce decision fatigue across your day or week. A colleague of mine uses this idea with her ‘Fast Fifteen’. She puts a weekly repeating 15 minute appointment with herself to spend time on LinkedIn and has three actions she takes when she’s there.

Having a more ritualised approach to your LinkedIn activity may also mean you can spend less time on LinkedIn and get the same, if not better, results. If you’ve taken the time to consider your goals for LinkedIn you will hopefully have narrowed your focus on who you’d like to get into more conversations with. This helps you be more intentional about why you are on LinkedIn. It is also a great filter for helping you decide what you follow on LinkedIn.

3. Clean Up Your LinkedIn Newsfeed

Once you’ve done this step your LinkedIn user experience improves and what you see in your newsfeed will become much more relevant to your focus for LinkedIn.

• Narrow your focus: Develop a clear picture of the types of people you’re trying to influence or get into conversations with here on LinkedIn . Once you’ve got that picture in your mind, it’s helpful to decide the 3-5 topics or types of information that you’d like to engage with that’s relevant to those communities and is also broadly connected to your organisation’s service offerings and the problems you can help your clients or potential employer's solve.
• Favourite reads: Think about all the sources that you currently subscribe to, the people who you love reading, watching and listening to and make sure you are following them on LinkedIn.
• Follow thought leaders and companies: Consider specific hashtags and follow them for a while to find out who’s commentating meaningfully on LinkedIn right now in these areas. This is also a great way to learn from others and stay informed. Make sure you’re following the relevant ones for your industry and areas of expertise.

Sharing content and liking/commenting on your connection's content is an essential part of your LinkedIn game plan. Taking the steps above will move you into implementation mode faster than you may think, without having to create ANY content. #YouAreWelcome

*?2021 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study

LinkedIn Profile & Marketing Resources

• Download my Professional Profile Checklist when you sign up to my e-insights
• Listen to?The 5 Minute LinkedIn Marketer Podcast