5 LinkedIn mistakes you might be making with your business

I'm going to preface this article by putting my hands up to say that I've made a lot of these mistakes in the 13+ years I’ve been in business and on LinkedIn.

In some cases I learnt quickly that it was the wrong thing to do; in others the revelation took a lot longer to come.

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you suspect you haven’t got it all together with your LinkedIn business strategy, and that’s fine.

Keep reading to find out what the five mistakes are and how you can avoid or stop doing them!

Mistake #1: Investing more time on your website than on your LinkedIn profile

I know when you started out in business everyone told you that you absolutely must have a website if you want to attract clients, but I’m here to tell you that is simply not true.

Now, before all the web designers start trolling me, let me clarify what I mean by this.

Your website is important because it gives you additional professionalism and credibility as a business, supports SEO searches on Google etc, but is having a fancy website going to be the thing that attracts your ideal clients in droves? Absolutely not! Not if you’re pitching it against LinkedIn anyway.

You see, LinkedIn as a platform has over 720 million registered users which means on a bad day, the footfall to this platform (number of people visiting) will be in the millions.

Your website on the other hand – as pretty as it may be – is only ever likely to attract a handful of visits a day, hundreds maybe, if you’re really fab, but the chances of that footfall hitting millions is extremely unlikely for the average business owner.

Now imagine if you had a really awesome profile that speaks to your target audience and that profile is housed on a platform that attracts millions of organic traffic on a daily basis, what are the chances then of you attracting your ideal clients on a regular basis?

I’ll give you the answer – a whole lot higher than relying on your website!

If you want to spend your precious business time and money on something that will actually have a positive impact on your income, spend it on jazzing up your LinkedIn profile.

DM me if you’d like help with this.

Mistake #2: Trying to speak to multiple audiences at the same time

So you're a graphic designer who also bakes cake? Fabulous!

There's no rule to say you can only have just one talent or business, but when it comes to presenting your brand on LinkedIn, it's important to choose which aspect of your talent you want to emphasise and which business you want to focus on.

Yes, it is technically possible to serve everyone in your business, but it’s impossible to market to everyone at the same time.

Trying to speak to everyone at the same time will confuse your potential customers and dilute your overall brand message. The end result is that you will alienate everyone and resonate with no one.

Mistake #3: Asking for sales without first building relationships

If you’re one of those people who believe that spamming, sorry I mean, “marketing” to random strangers by sending them unwanted sales messages through direct messaging is a good business building tactic, you might want to read over this point a few times.

LinkedIn as a platform works best when you concentrate on building relationships with your target audience through the method of “social selling”. This is where you reach your ideal clients by adding value to them, primarily through your content, and building relationships before you ask for the sale.

Asking for sales without first building a relationship is an outdated method that will, at best, generate very limited positive results while burning a lot of bridges in the process.

The next time you’re in the presence of your target audience, instead of aiming to make a sale immediately, think about how you can build a relationship for the long term.

Mistake #4: Taking the DIY approach to everything

I posted a LinkedIn video about this recently (you can watch that here).

I believe one of the biggest mistakes business people make on LinkedIn (and beyond), is to take the DIY approach to everything.

This is where your favourite phrase is “Me, myself and I” and your default setting is to try and figure out everything all by yourself, on the cheap, or for free.

“Posting on LinkedIn? Yes, I can figure that out through trial and error!”

“Filming videos people actually want to watch? Yep, I’m sure there’s a free YouTube video out there somewhere to teach me about this."

It’s absolutely understandable to take the DIY cheap/free route in the early stages of your business when funds might be low, but there comes a time when you have to dip those hands into your pocket and put your money where your entrepreneurial mouth is to grow your business and your income.

When that time comes, quit the DIY and find yourself a good coach. This way, you will grow bigger, better and quicker than you ever could have on your own.

Mistake #5: Being in a hurry to see results

If ‘get rich quick’ is your end game, LinkedIn is not the platform for you (unless of course you want to try your luck at the inbox spamming method).

LinkedIn is a great place to build your visible and profitable brand, but the process takes time. If you’re planting the right seeds (i.e. not DIYing it and hoping for the best), you’ll start to make traction from about 3-6 months of consistency and from there lay the foundation for consistently attracting your ideal clients.

You have to be in it for the long run. There's no escaping that.

? ? Which of these business mistakes have you been guilty of? Let me know in the comments!

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