Best Ways to Use LinkedIn During the Coronavirus Pandemic

"The long-term relevance of the brand is more important than short-term sales." 

That is a quote from a recent blog post by Mark Schaefer, author of six best-selling marketing books. His most recent book, KNOWN: The Handbook for Building and Unleashing Your Personal Brand in the Digital Age, is my go-to reference on this topic.

In this blog post, he talks about the importance of adjusting our marketing messages to the needs of our audience.

Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs? Well, most people are hanging around the bottom of the pyramid during the #coronavirus #pandemic (safety and physiological needs).

What does this mean for you as a LinkedIn user?

In the short term, it's important to address your network's current safety and physiological needs, while at the same time maintaining a positive, relevant professional brand and positioning yourself and your business to thrive in the post-pandemic economy.

Here are some simple ways #LinkedIn can help you now and in the future.

Offer to help your LinkedIn network

Because your LinkedIn network is made up of some people who are important business connections and others who are more casual acquaintances, it's best to start by doing a filtered search of your first-level connections (see how to do this below).

Review the search results in detail, and then decide which people you'd like to reach out to and ask how they're doing and how you can help them. You can reach out with a simple LinkedIn message. However, if you make a phone call or set up a Zoom meeting, you may be able to more effectively meet their immediate needs and also discuss future business opportunities.

If you have built a strong network and use these advanced search filters, you should be rewarded with a list of people who are waiting for your help and input.

My article Your LinkedIn Network is a Gold Mine of Opportunity includes step-by-step instructions for finding and messaging key people in your network.

Share content on LinkedIn that clearly reflects your readiness to address the needs of your target audience

LinkedIn is telling us that sharing has increased during the pandemic. Therefore, it's critical that your network hears your trusted voice at this time. As long as your sharing strategy has a tone of caring, concern, and helpfulness, it's the perfect time to get your best content out there.

In a recent article that discusses the kind of content that performs well during crisis situations, they give these tips:

1. Post about your experiences.
2. Discover and comment on conversations that are most relevant to you.
3. Be yourself and offer your unique perspective.
4. Stay informed with trusted news, and share your thoughts.

In my opinion, this boils down to things like instructional videos, how-to's, case studies, recordings of past webinars, and blog posts that are highly educational and low on sales pitch.

Also included in this category would be invitations to complimentary webinars, free ebooks, and complimentary short phone consultations.

In my article Do You Know How to Improve the Performance of Your LinkedIn Content? I share insights on how to improve the effectiveness of your LinkedIn posts.

Keep in mind the current mindset of your target audience, and reflect a consistent spirit of kindness and helpfulness in your posts and comments on other people's posts. This is not the time for hard-sell tactics.

Pivot your LinkedIn profile from a resume to a resource

The vast majority of the profiles I see during my one-on-one LinkedIn consulting sessions look like resumes—and sometimes not even very good resumes.

Let's say you're in sales or business development. Your prospective customers are not really interested in your past sales awards and seeing that your top skill is negotiation. They're only interested in how you can solve their pain points, make their jobs easier, and impress their bosses. This is especially true in the current environment.

Here are some simple ways to turn your profile into a valuable resource.

Add some of your most helpful content (videos, recorded webinars, white papers, tip sheets, etc.) to some or all of these profile sections: the brand new Featured section, the media area of your current job entry, and the website area of your Contact Info section.

Review your profile with a critical eye, and see if it has a tone of kindness and helpfulness.

In your About section and your current Job Experience section, offer a complimentary phone call or Zoom session to share your thoughts and expertise on your target audience's current situation or pain points.

Once you are done with your profile revisions, ask one of your cherished customers (who also happens to be a friend) to take a look at your profile, be brutally honest, and answer this question:

"If you didn't know me and you looked at my profile, would you say it reflects a high level of helpfulness, and do you think you would consider having a phone call with me?"

Use the extra time you have during the coronavirus pandemic to reach out and show important people in your network that you care, and revamp your profile so your brand will shine when our economy gets back on track, customers start buying, and companies start hiring again.

Stay safe out there.