3Cs: Essential Elements for LinkedIn Success

What’s inside this issue: Don’t "network," make business friends instead; easy-to-implement LinkedIn tips + helpful resources; from my LinkedIn lab: a request and a discovery I made; Sign up for my LIVE event on May 15: "Jumpstart Your Networking"

Hello from my virtual lab, where I use new and tried-and-true approaches on LinkedIn to grow my business … like this Quick LinkedIn Tips (QLT) newsletter, which I’m thrilled to hear people enjoy! If you missed the first two, here are March and April.

Three Cs of Networking

My message today is focused on networking, which I define as making business friends.

Networking shouldn’t be painful, but it is for many of the people I coach and mentor (creative pros like designers, writers and speakers) – maybe you too?

In-person, networking can feel awkward when you approach someone new. On LinkedIn, it’s a tad less awkward but it can still be hard to break the ice –— even when you have a few minutes to think about what to say.

Networking via LinkedIn is a big topic, and I’ll cover it again down the road. For now, let’s distill it down to its three scientific elements — this is a lab, after all — the three Cs:

• Cn - Connecting
• Cm - Commenting
• Ct - Committing

Connecting

Think how many times we use the word connect when talking about LinkedIn …

Are you connected with that person?

I sent her a connection request but haven’t heard back.

I didn’t know you were connected to that person, too!

I love connecting. That’s why I love LinkedIn – it is optimized for connecting, which makes it THE most efficient way to connect on social media, if your goal is more business friends.

Here’s why.

You can easily find out what a potential connection does for work, where they live and went to school, if they do any volunteer work, what they’re talking about on the platform — almost in real-time — and more. Everything about a person is bundled together on their profile. Try getting that same information from a Facebook or Instagram profile — you can’t.

Commenting

In last month’s QLT, I talked all about the power of commenting as a LinkedIn strategy. Commenting is easy because it doesn’t require the same effort as writing a LinkedIn post -- though it does require some thought. And it’s an ideal way for your connections to notice and remember you. There’s more to say about the essential element “Cm” (Commenting), and I will again soon.

Committing

Your creative business takes time and energy to run. You can’t put it on autopilot for long, or your business will die.

I want you to think of your LinkedIn network the same way. You see, if you take care of your network, it will take care of you.

So. if you haven’t updated your profile recently OR if you haven't engaged on the platform — say, in the last six months — you’re invisible to your connections.

I highly recommend spending at least 30 minutes every week on LinkedIn. Tweak your profile, grow and cultivate your network, and make it part of the strategic networking you do for your business.

Let’s keep the essential element Cs going with these tips you could try this week.

Connect with commenters – Here’s a new way of thinking about who to connect with: Look at your most recent post (or status update) on LinkedIn. Are there any people commenting with whom you’re not a first-degree connection? Send each one a personalized invitation to connect!

Comment with meaning – LinkedIn comments are like compliments. While short and sweet is better than nothing, more meaningful and specific comments are much more memorable — and often prompt a reply. And that’s what we want — to get a conversation going.

Compare these two comments to see which one makes an impression.

Your past client makes a comment or post on LinkedIn about lousy customer service they received. You type this comment:

Agree!

Or, you take a few minutes, give it a little thought and write this:

Poor customer service sure seems more common these days. I suspect companies aren’t as focused on covering good customer service when they onboard people.

If you were the person who shared their customer service experience, wouldn’t you pay more attention (and maybe even reply) to the person who took the time to write a thoughtful comment?

Want to stand out on LinkedIn? Take the time to write more than a word or two when you comment!

Commit publicly! – In next month’s QLT, I’ll share a few commitments from readers who start spending more time on LinkedIn.

Are you ready to commit to using LinkedIn more often? More strategically? With an outreach campaign you plan to follow?

Then, here's your lab assignment.

If you dare to go public with that commitment, add your name, business and what you plan to do on LinkedIn to this Google sheet by May 24, 2023. I'll give a shout-out to five people and their commitments in the May QLT.

Be specific, be creative, have some fun!

Learn how to grow your business with meaningful connections at my upcoming event. You'll learn a new way to think about networking that's painless and even fun; how to make and maintain meaningful connections even if you don't know anyone; AND how to never come off as "pushy" or "salesy." (Don't you hate it when people sound salesy on LinkedIn? I sure do!) Register for FREE May event.

1. Lost track of open connection requests? in this short video, Melanie (the Marketer) Deardorff shows you how to find them.
2. "Trust is the shortcut to connection." That's just one of many gems shared by one of my favorite people, brand storyteller, speaker and author Terri Trespicio, on our recent LinkedIn Livestream. Catch what you missed here.
3. Should you clean up your LinkedIn network? – Watch this Quick Video Tip to see how I responded when someone asked if you should get rid of LinkedIn connections from a past career or past life.

A Lab Discovery: LinkedIn is Glitchy!

As I worked on the last issue, I ran into technical difficulties. First, an image wouldn’t display correctly, even though it worked fine in the March QLT. Then, an almost-final draft of the newsletter disappeared completely from LinkedIn!

I contacted LinkedIn’s help desk, and they responded within a day. Their diagnoses didn’t fix the problems. A friend offered tech advice, which fixed the image issue. And I recreated the draft on LinkedIn since I had the QLT copy in a Google Doc to refer back to.

See You Next Month in the LinkedIn Lab

I hope you feel inspired to connect, comment and commit to growing your creative business with a little LinkedIn magic.

Ilise Benun, Your Marketing Mentor – Marketing-mentor.com

If you enjoy the QLT newsletter, you'll love my original Quick Tips message, a bi-weekly dose of marketing tips, advice and resources covering more than LinkedIn. Subscribe here.