How to increase your LinkedIn engagement by more than 30%

This blog is made specifically for the lovely crew at Workday to support a recent Webinar we ran.

Not sure where to start on messaging or connecting on LinkedIn? Posting, Sharing, Liking, Commenting and not getting anywhere? No one answering your Inmails? Emails left unopened. Here is the answer to increasing your engagement by 30%

For those who follow me regularly, you will already know I am an advocate of the use of the Ethical Persuasion strategies, as outlined by Dr Robert (Bob) Cialdini in his book, Influence – The Psychology Of Persuasion.

I have successfully used Bob’s 6 principles of persuasion in everyday conversations, LinkedIn Inmails, emails, telephone calls and more to drastically increase the chances I can get someone to agree with my point of view or with my request. Let me show you HOW I do that.

The 6 Principles of Persuasion are:

1 – Reciprocity

2 – Consistency

3 – Social Proof

4 – Liking

5 – Authority

6- Scarcity

Let's take a look at how these persuasion strategies work here on LinkedIn so that you're more successful in increasing the levels of engagement you’re able to achieve. I believe engagement is the key metric on social to measure and to focus on, not connections, not views, but engagement.

Here I break down these 6 principles with examples of how you might be able to leverage them within your everyday LinkedIn activity.

Reciprocity:

Theory: I will feel more obligated to reply to your message, accept your connection request, refer you to a colleague, or even take a meeting with you if you have first shared valuable information with me. This could take place by sending me something via Inmail or just tagging or mentioning me in a post that I will find of particular interest and telling me why you thought of me. Specifically if it is personalised, unexpected and perceived as valuable.

(Gavin, I noticed you recently 'liked' an article I posted on social selling. So, it just made sense I also send you this infographic checklist I've created. Hope you find it helpful. Rgds Mark M) OR

(Gavin, thanks for the connection. Nice to have you in the network. Can I share with you my social selling infographic? Because you're in software sales I think it'll be helpful. Rgds Mark M)

Consistency:

Theory: If I have previously liked your articles, posts and comments and generally supported your LinkedIn activity, I would be more open to meeting with you or accepting another request, such as a connection or referral request. Especially if I am reminded about those previous activities as part of the interaction. People like to be consistent with what they've done publicly and voluntarily

(Hi Gavin, really appreciate all the support for my sales training articles recently. I was hoping to connect with Bob in your office so I can share them with Bob as well, would you mind facilitating a connection to Bob? Rgds Mark M)

Liking:

Theory: Regularly seeing your profile in my feed makes me feel closer to you than I actually may be and therefore more likely to accept requests from you. I also feel closer to those connected to both you and I, than those who are not connected to either you or I.    

If we are in the same LinkedIn groups and you highlight that we share this, I’m more likely to accept your message requests because of the feeling of increased 'sameness'.

(Gavin, as we are both in the 'Sales Leaders for World Peace' group here on LinkedIn, made sense to reach out for a connection. Hope you agree. Rgds Mark M)

Should you provide a complimentary comment on one of my posts or articles, especially if it is a public comment, then I’m more likely to accept requests from you.

(Gavin, Loved your recent article on world peace, especially the part about the place the pacific nations might play in future politics. Could we connect? I'd love to stay abreast of your content more closely, hope you agree. Rgds Mark M)

Authority:

Theory: I am more likely to comply to requests from people who are perceived as experts in their field. Particularly if those requests are associated with their area of speciality.

By carefully crafting your profile and with the ongoing support from others (comments, shares and likes) you have higher levels of perceived authority to me. Meaning, I’m more likely to respond positively to your requests.  Especially if those requests are congruent with your areas of authority.

(Gavin, just wanted to share an article with you on how you could increase your engagement here on LinkedIn. Importantly, how my current clients leverage, the 'god-father' of influence, Dr Robert Cialdin's, principles as the framework which led me to be ranked the # 1 social seller in Australia. Would love to talk you through those strategies as I think you'll find them useful in your BDM role. When's the best time to chat? Rgds Mark M) See what I did there?

Scarcity:

Theory: I want more of those things which are harder to come by. Something which is in limited supply or high demand may create a level of 'FOMO' thus driving a compliant response more quickly. Something which is in short supply or NEW qualifies as scarcity. (NB: I have found this most difficult of the 6 to use effectively)

I want to be accepted into your network and be part of your 'select' group of connections. Also, as not everyone communicates with me through LinkedIn, those who are on LinkedIn and communicate with me may also be considered 'scarce'.

Alternatively, an Inmail can be positioned as scarce as the communication takes place outside of the public forum.

(Gavin, just wanted to send you this directly rather than into your feed. I noticed you posted XXX so this article on YYY made sense to send you as I think it might help with your ZZZ. Rgds Mark)

Social Proof:

Theory: I am more likely to join your network, take a phone call or reply to a message if I can relate professionally to the people who took action before me. The closer they are to my situation the more likely they are to take action.

 If you have a large number of connections who are just like me, or lots of supporting comments and likes from people who are just like me then, to me, you are perceived as more believable and desirable to have in my network. If people, just like me, are publicly approving of your comments, posts and shares, I’m more likely to as well and be more likely to accept requests from you.

(Gavin, this particular article has really received some great responses from Sales Directors who are also in financial services, so it just made sense that I send this to you, as I thought you might find it valuable as well. Rgds Mark)

Proximity (Bonus Persuasion strategy).

Theory: I am more likely to connect, respond and comply to requests when the requester is someone who is close to me and or my network.

If we are both connected to the same people or we are located in the same locations, highlighting these creates a sense of 'sameness' and therefore positions us as a 'safe' choice and is more likely to drive a compliant response.

(I'm sure you've seen a version of this one before: Gavin, we are both connected to John Dougan & Adam Thorpe, just made sense to reach out for a connection as I see you in my feed all the time anyway. Rgds Mark M)

OR (Gavin, I see you are located in Chicago too. I'm surprised that we have not yet crossed paths over the years. Would be great to have you in the network and hoping we catch each other at some point in the future. Rgds Mark M)

So there you have it an overview to the use of Ethical Persuasion on LinkedIn. As Bob says, use with caution and only for good. These strategies are designed to make our brains look for the safest, easiest decision based on what decisions we've made previously. Ethical persuasion, used well, makes your request seem like the best option to take. - Simple.

There are lots of other ways you can use these strategies on LinkedIn and I'd love to hear what you've been successful with, in the past OR simply, try these out and see if you can't increase your engagement effectiveness.

The Science of Persuasion explained in a YouTube animation in just 11min .

If you found this to be useful please share amongst your connections, like or comment. It's how the social media thingy works. If we are all only passive viewers, eventually the content will stop. I know I'd hate that.

As well as being a sales execution coach and trainer to Australia's corporate sector. Mark is the #1 ranked Linkedin Social Seller in Australia. Contact Mark via Inmail message or [email protected] for a discussion around sales growth, coaching, social media, golf, cycling, AFL and sales effectiveness. 

P.S. In 2018 Mark invested in a FINTECH start up called Earnd. You'll also find Mark acting as the Head of Corporate Partnerships, building out the sales function for this awesome new business.