Does LinkedIn Work?

What's in it for you?

That is the question you have to answer before deciding to engage with the platform.

Here on my findings after eight months of using LinkedIn in different ways for different objectives.

My objectives were –

To increase my reach

To communicate what I offer

To be here for unforeseen opportunities

?1. To increase my reach

When looking at reach, it seems obvious to look at size of network and engagement via comments and likes as your key factors.

However, I’d be really dubious about this.

Controversial opinion??

Maybe.

The point is that there are lots of users on the platform with tens of thousands of followers who are –

Looking for opportunities

Posting from a position of need

My POV:

The reason for gaining a huge network is to have opportunities at your fingertips.

If they aren’t there, what value is the network?

To be even more controversial.

There are users on LinkedIn (I’m not speaking about famous people here, just plain old users like us) with hundreds of thousands of followers.

But I can't figure out how they got there.

They share claims about how they did it.

The claim tends to run along the lines of –

Just post stuff consistently

Keep going

Be patient

Etc.

Your network will then grow (as if by magic...)

But the number of followers they have does not make sense to me

I don’t understand how so many people queue up to hear the same simple message again and again.

Maybe that's just me.

But I’m still stuck wondering if there is any point in having a huge network, on LinkedIn.

2. To communicate what I offer

This is about getting the ball over the net.

All I’m saying is:

What I do – support people get more from their business and career.

That I’m good at it (and modest...)

That my clients are getting results

You could too

I’m ready when you are

?

It does work.

Although one key point is that three quarters of the clients that have come to me via LinkedIn were people I already knew.

?The other 25% I didn’t know them, but they weren’t completely outside of my universe either – mutual connections were strong.

?This is a strong indication that trust is a key factor and we trust people we know more than people we don’t know.

?LinkedIn can build trust, I’m sure it can, but it will take longer for people you don’t know to trust you – IMHO

?

3. To be here for unforeseen opportunities

This is a toughie to measure.

However, I’m speaking about opportunities received that I definitely would never have had if I hadn’t used LinkedIn.

I’ve had two that have come through.

Granted this would probably be more if I was selling widgets or something…

?But it is still not to be ignored.

So, does it work?

Yeah.

Is it going to be right for you?

?Maybe.

It does take up a lot of time and you really do have to measure that seriously.

Are there any shortcuts?

Probably.

But beware, most things connected to AI on LinkedIn stand out like a sore thumb.

?

Finally, I’d be happy to chat about your experience of LinkedIn over a virtual coffee, but would rather speak about the support I offer in helping you get clear on what your trying to achieve in business or career life.

Give me a shout (by which I mean send a message)

?I have one space available at the moment, send a DM to me if you are ready to succeed.

?Have a fantastic weekend.