4 top tips to get the most out of LinkedIn

As a professional, one of the best things you can do for your business or career is to start being visible on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a great platform to build your personal brand and to connect with professionals in all sectors from around the world. It is, essentially, a global marketplace with opportunities for you to greatly advance your professional life.

On a personal level, I’ve enjoyed the benefits of being on LinkedIn for more than a decade now. LinkedIn accounts for over 90% of referrals to my business – even in previous years when my business wasn’t LinkedIn coaching!

In addition:

• I’ve received speaking engagements and podcast interview invitations from this platform;
• I’ve engaged in various partnerships and collaborations with great people I’ve met online;
• I’ve started and grown a mailing list of subscribers to my newsletter...
• ...and, most importantly, I’ve found an outlet to use my voice and influence to make a difference.

4 Top Tips for Getting the Most Out of Linkedin

As you can tell, I’m a huge fan of LinkedIn and I think you will be too if you take the time to get the most out of it.

To help you get started – or to up your game if you’re already using this platform – here are four top tips you can put to use straightaway:

Tip #1: Have a goal in mind

Why do you want to be on LinkedIn? Who do you want to meet? What value do you want to offer?

Having a clear objective is the first step to winning on LinkedIn. A clear objective decides your priorities and allows you to focus and make decisions that move you forward in line with your goals.

More importantly, a clear objective will help you with this next important step…

Tip #2: Create a compelling profile

A compelling LinkedIn profile is one that accurately represents and communicates who you are to the people you want to attract.

A compelling profile communicates your personal brand (and yes, we all have one, whether you’re aware of it or not).

For your LinkedIn profile to be compelling, it needs to have four key elements:

1. A great professional picture of you (and only you!)
2. A striking headline that summarises who you are and what you’re about
3. A visually attractive and well-targeted banner
4. A killer write-up in the About section that tells the story of who you are and what you do and appeals directly to the people you want to reach.

Once you have your compelling profile, the next step is to start showing up to the party on a regular basis.

Tip #3: Consistency is key

In order to get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to show up and you need to do so consistently.

How consistent is consistent? I’m talking daily. Treat it like a job and show up to work every day.

By showing up I mean come to the table with something – post content daily, whether it’s yours (preferably) or someone else’s; engage with people in your network by liking and commenting on their posts; and grow your network by adding new connections daily.

“But I don’t have the time to do all this”, I hear you say.

Yes, you do! We always have time for the things that are important to us, so you might need to re-read Tip No #1 to remind yourself of why you’re doing this.

That aside, the good news is you don’t have to spend a lot of time on LinkedIn to achieve a good result. 45 minutes to an hour a day (you can spread this out in 5/10/15min blocks across the day) is enough to make a useful impact.

The trick is to be consistent and to show up?every?day (weekends are optional).

Tip #4: Realise it’s a long-term game

LinkedIn is essentially a relationship-building platform and just like in real life, good relationships take time to develop.

If you’re on LinkedIn for the quick gains, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Be in it for the long haul. Build your network and your influence organically, one day at a time and one person at a time.

A good LinkedIn presence is something you will always have with you regardless of what job you find yourself in or what new business you start.

Taking the time to build and market your personal brand on LinkedIn is a great strategy that will yield a significant return on investment for you in the long run.

Want to learn how you to build a visible and profitable presence on LinkedIn?

Send me a DM (or email [email protected]) to find out more about my next LinkedIn workshop, taking place in June. Spaces are limited.