8 Tips to Become a LinkedIn Influencer

Want to make a difference?

Really have the guts to influence people in your industry? Plus you have a thing for writing as well…

Then you have come to the right place because this write up is really going to help you!

I’m sure you must have heard about the recently trending ‘Influencer Marketing’.

Influencer Marketing is being carried out in many different forms in the market these days.

The online influencers are not only promoting the brands in fact the influencers are playing roles like experts, connectors, analysts and agitators.

An influencer can support a product/ brand; analyze an issue or an upcoming trend. Or he can market his own work as well! So there are different ways of going about it.

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Now there are different platforms where you can have the chance to be an influencer.

LinkedIn Influencer Platform is one of those trending mediums.

It is amazing to see how LinkedIn has evolved from a job hunting site to being the best platform for B2B companies and individuals for promoting services, building networks and generating traffic.

LinkedIn has actually proved to be an unbeatable platform for Networking. And now Its Publishing and Influencer Platforms are doing wonderful jobs in the market as well.

But here’s the Kicker:

"Being an influencer is not a piece of cake… it does require a constant struggle".

And the most tricky part is that now you can Only become a LinkedIn Influencer if LinkedIn invites you on its own.

But you don’t need to get disappointed!

Because you can still make your way… In this post I have penned down some very simple strategies on how you can be a LinkedIn Influencer.

Here are Eight Useful Tips to become a LinkedIn Influencer:

1. Optimize your LinkedIn Profile

Yes, first of all, you need to optimize your LinkedIn Profile according to the best practices.

You must have heard about web optimization or the search engine optimization, but how can you optimize your LinkedIn profile?

No, you don’t have to panic…

Because it's just a game of few easy steps such as:

• Putting a Professional Display Picture
• Using Keywords in your Headlines
• Getting Recommendations from people in your network
• Getting Endorsements
• Joining groups
• And lastly, trying to fill all the sections of your profile

For more details, check this Complete Guide On How To Optimize Your Linkedin Profile.

2. Produce Powerful Content

You have to keep writing and posting your content on LinkedIn Profile to increase your readership.

But remember:

Relevance is extremely important when it comes to content creation. Your content needs to be applicable especially when you have to attract more readers.

The know-how of your industry will make you create relevant content. Your content includes all long-form posts, short posts and your participation in conversations through comments.

Sharing daily updates can also help you in getting more reach.

Don’t forget to do a proper SEO for your content!

Related Article: Content Creation in a Slump? Here are 5 Ways Qualitative Data Can Help

3. Create LinkedIn Long-form Posts

I will highly recommend you to post long-form articles through the LinkedIn Publisher. These articles will give you a lot of exposure and will make you reach out to the relevant audience.

Adopting an informative and conversational tone is the best strategy!

Secondly, avoid having a self-promotional tone because that will ruin your image and wouldn’t really help in building your profile.

4. Be your own Publicist

LinkedIn gives you a chance to showcase your expertise and to be a Publicist for your own work.

But you just have to be smart enough to use this platform in a wise way. Upload articles, videos, podcasts, interviews and presentations of your own brand.

You can opt the role of a Thought Leader when publishing your work. You can start a debate or do an analysis of a current trend while being a thought leader. This will also help you in reaching out to a larger audience.

Be sure that you have the relevant audience in your network or channels who would be really interested in the kind of content you are posting.

5. Be the first one to Break the Latest News

After setting up a perfect audience and content strategy, don't think that you are done with the hassle.

Because it is a constant struggle my friends!

You have to be well-read and well-aware all the time. Just keep publishing relevant latest content from your LinkedIn profile but be sure to publish it timely.

It is highly recommended to maintain your audience's’ trust and be the first one to break all the news about current happenings in your industry.

Following and writing about all the trending topics going on in your industry is the best thing you can do.

Read More: Tips for effective content marketing

6. Build Your Follower Base

You have to build your followers in a smart way. Remember, to have related audience because only that will benefit you in a proper manner. Raising the number of audience at LinkedIn who doesn't belong to your niche would never help you.

Create suitable audience which would practically make the use of your work. Not someone who is not interested in your brand at all.

It’s always about the quality of people you have in your network but not the quantity!

Connecting with other influencers is another trick which will help you reach your desired audience.

Don’t ever feel threatened by influencers in competition rather take them as your gateways to move forward and connect with the relevant people in the market.

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This will open the doors for other amazing opportunities for you and for the brands you are supporting.

7. Build a Strong LinkedIn Network

One of the main objectives of people to join LinkedIn is building and expanding their Networks. Now to build your networks, you have to adopt certain strategies on LinkedIn.

Remember:

Adding all the people or adding spam profiles would never help you!

You can build up a relevant Network by:

• Creating relevant content
• Sharing content
• Commenting on other posts
• Joining relevant groups
• Connecting with the right people

Remember:

The larger your network is, the larger the influence will be. Networking is all about how you get inspired by the right people and then influence others around you.

Here you go with 20 Critical Do's and Don'ts of LinkedIn Networking by Kevin Daum.

8. Engage with Others

To be a real LinkedIn Influencer, you have to become genuinely interested in the people in your network.

And this interest will only be shown when you would create useful content, publish it in the right audience, share other relevant content, post useful comment on the shared posts and be popular among people.

Make them feel that you are really interested in whatever they are doing and you are there to help them at any time!

So…

What’s the bottom line?

If you really want to become a LinkedIn Influencer just remember to be focused! Keep writing and publishing.

It is surely not an overnight thing and it's going to take some time and energy but keep up your enthusiasm!

The best part is that if you really write good stuff, you can publish your posts on LinkedIn Pulse and that will definitely give you a boost as an Influencer because it has a wide readership!

As Dana Clancy says in his post on LinkedIn Publisher:

“LinkedIn has an audience in search of content, rather than content in search of an audience.”

So gear up... start optimizing your LinkedIn Profiles and keep publishing on the LinkedIn Publishing Platform!

Please visit my website: HammadAkbar.com