Be Effective on LinkedIn by Getting Up, Showing Up, and Staying Up

#TheLinkedInGuru?Gazette LinkedIn Tip of the Week: Be Effective on LinkedIn by Getting Up, Showing Up and Staying Up

Hello again everyone and welcome to the 26th edition of?#TheLinkedInGuru?Gazette! I never thought when I started in August 2020 that I would be doing this for over two years!

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Introduction

First of all, let me say that there are no "silver bullets" that will make you a success on LinkedIn. It takes work, it takes commitment, and it takes consistency to build a brand and build a following out here.

I've often heard the metaphor that LinkedIn is like a gym membership. If you never go to the gym (LinkedIn) and you never put in the time to learn how to use the equipment (LinkedIn features), then the gym (LinkedIn) will probably not help you reach your goals.

And, if you aren't willing to put in the time, I really doubt that you are going to like or be successful on LinkedIn. But, if you ARE willing to define who you are and what you want from LinkedIn, set some goals, and put in the time then you will reap the benefits. I have seen it time after time in watching many folks who are a whole lot smarter than me become STRONG and a FORCE to be reckoned with out here.

So what does it take to be effective? I've divided it into three areas: Getting Up, Showing Up, and Staying Up. Check out the brief details below and please let me know what you think.

Getting Up

First of all, when I say "getting up" what I am really talking about is determining your reason for being on LinkedIn and the goals that you believe LinkedIn can help you achieve.

It is really best if you do this first so that all the activity that follows and the features that you use on LinkedIn are focused on your goals.

How do you do this? Well, I've always started by asking my network what I do well and what they think of when they hear my name.

Then I compare what I hear from them to what I really want to do and what I want to be and make adjustments. Once you have this in mind, then you can determine how LinkedIn can be the tool that will work for you and not just be a "hammer looking for another nail".

A big part of this is also determining who your audience is on and off of LinkedIn. Figuring out who you want to "attract" AND and the same time who you want to "repel" will save you a great deal of time later on.

Showing Up

Showing up on LinkedIn starts with your Profile. It is the place where you establish for all to see who you are, what value you bring, and how you attract that all important audience that will become your connections and followers.

The most important things that will make your Profile stand out are:

1. Having a complete and optimized Profile.
2. Having the right keywords in the first place and having those keywords repeated enough times that you show up ahead of your competition.
3. Strategically placing those keywords in the four most important areas of your Profile (Professional Headline, About Section, Experience Section, and Skills section) to help get you found.
4. Displaying your brand visually in the most important graphic sections of your Profile (Banner/Background Photo, Profile Photo, Featured Section, and Experience Section) to help you get your brand across once you actually ARE found.

For a whole lot more detail on showing up please check out another LinkedIn Newsletter I did a while back about "Be Effective on LinkedIn by The Numbers" (see link below).

Staying Up

Now we come to where "the rubber meets the road" on LinkedIn: Consistency. "Staying Up" on LinkedIn means "staying the course".

First of all, you have to actually use LinkedIn on a consistent basis. This will mean you will have to devote some time and effort.

I have never been a person to recommend that you spend ALL day on LinkedIn, but I have always said that you should spend SOME time each day on LinkedIn.

Sooner or later you are going to have to decide if some of that time is spent creating and publishing content. Deciding when and what to post and posting on a consistent basis will go a very long way toward differentiating you from your competition because only 1 - 5% of all members on LinkedIn post on at least a once a week basis.

And, perhaps even more importantly, you will want to spend the majority of your time on LinkedIn ENGAGING with your network and other potential members of your audience by interacting and commenting on THEIR posts. This is absolutely necessary because this is how most conversations, and therefore most connections get started.

This will care for your existing network and help you expand your network at the same time. I have always heard a ratio of 10 - 20 comments on other's post for every 1 post that you do is a winner, but you will have to decide the best ratio based on your own situation.

I will say from experience the more time I have PUT INTO engaging on LinkedIn, the more that I have gotten OUT of LinkedIn!

After all folks, they don't call this a SOCIAL media platform for nothing, so you need to be SOCIABLE!

Summary

So there you have it. That's a wrap on another edition of #TheLinkedInGuru?Gazette!

I talked about "Getting Up" where you bring the right attitude and your goals to LinkedIn to get a good foundation started.

I talked about "Showing Up" where you create that all important brand and utilize the right areas of LinkedIn that will show that brand to the world and help get you found.

And finally, I talked about "Staying Up" by actually using LinkedIn consistently to make the most of social interactions that will continue to build your brand and a network that will eventually work as hard for you and you did to build it.

As always, please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or if there is a topic which you would like me to write about in the next Newsletter!

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