How to Love LinkedIn More Than Social Media

I believe LinkedIn has so much to offer quieter and more thoughtful folk, especially if you wish to make positive change in the world, have limited resources and are prepared to think carefully about your professional goals. To get more from LinkedIn you need to decide which free profile and page features you wish to leverage to maximise your time, build awareness of your mission and engage in the topics you care about.

Perhaps I am preaching to the converted by sharing this topic here on LinkedIn.

However, if you hang out on social media 'more than you should' and have an increasing feeling that you are losing yourself in updates that are not serving your goals, or helping your mental health, then this month's update is for you!

Having finally extracted myself and Think Bespoke from Facebook this month (in terms of any plan to post content), and deciding where Instagram fits in our overall content marketing playbook, I'm enjoying the increased headspace this brings. Combining that with 5 nights camping in Bright with family and friends, it's been a great month.

But first, a big thank you!

Before I dive into this month's topic I'd like to thank those of you who continue to share my updates with their friends and colleagues. I really appreciate your continued support.

If you're new to reading my monthly newsletter, hello there! Here's some fun facts about me:

• I established my educational consultancy, Think Bespoke, in 2010 while navigating motherhood, ageing parents and the digital age.
• As an educator, writer and gardener I enjoy a healthy balance of work, rest and play.??
• As a digital minimalist, I leverage key technology to maximise analogue pursuits away from a device.
• I have ambivert tendencies and recommend Susan Cain ’s book, Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking. If you sense you may also be someone who prefers time alone to recharge, or you can feel a bit overwhelmed by too much 'peopling', please get this book! Your future self will thank you.
• I love to read and am the co-host of One Roof's quarterly book club. Join us this month to discuss Ronni Kahn AO 's book, A Repurposed Life. Register here.
• When I grow up I want to be a Bibliotherapist (a therapist who prescribes books), because reading can make you happier.

On to today's topic - loving LinkedIn more than Social Media.

How to Love LinkedIn More Than Social Media

Here are some tips to help you seriously contemplate the idea of spending more time on LinkedIn and less time on social media.

The full version of this article can be found on Think Bespoke's blog here.

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform and demands a lot less from you than social media from a content creation perspective. This is really good news!

Many of the new clients I work with make a point of telling me they’re not really someone who uses social media, and they're relieved when I show them how to approach LinkedIn with methodical networking, sales, marketing and content rituals that do not require too much of their time each week.

Ways to Use LinkedIn Better

Because so many professionals treat LinkedIn like social media, they don't get the most from this professional networking platform. Following are my tips for how to maximise your time (and protect your headspace) when on LinkedIn so you can love it more than social media.

Curate Your LinkedIn Newsfeed

The quality of your LinkedIn newsfeed is greatly influenced by the time you invest in curating who and what you follow. When I tune into my LinkedIn newsfeed I’m able get help with issues I may be facing right now, stay up to date with relevant professional news and learn more about trending topics relevant to my industry. And one of my favourite things to do on LinkedIn is celebrate and acknowledge the success of my community and connect people who are seeking talent to help them with their next project.

Tip: Curate your LinkedIn newsfeed.

If you’re yet to curate your LinkedIn profile’s newsfeed,?read this article to learn how.

Connect with Subject Matter Experts

LinkedIn is also a place where you can reach out to subject matter experts in their field, either by inviting them to connect or following them on LinkedIn. This is especially useful if they post value adding content on LinkedIn in their area of expertise, which is possible via LinkedIn Profile updates, LinkedIn Newsletters and LinkedIn articles published via LinkedIn Profiles.

Tip: Explore Creator Mode.

Creator Mode has expanded the scope of topics being discussed on LinkedIn and improved the diversity of opinions. If you’d like to learn more about activating Creator Mode you can?learn more about this feature here.

Connect Privately Via LinkedIn Messaging

If you imagine LinkedIn is like a virtual room and the LinkedIn newsfeed is the public corridor where you pass lots of interesting conversations, then LinkedIn messaging is the more private meeting room to chat with one or a few people.

I have lots of conversations with colleagues via LinkedIn messages and see this as a wonderful way to stay more meaningfully connected with my LinkedIn community than public newsfeed banter that can be witnessed by all my LinkedIn connections.

Tip: Leverage LinkedIn messaging.

Consider how you can use the LinkedIn messaging feature to share interesting articles or job opportunities from your LinkedIn newsfeed privately with dormant connections, acknowledge you’ve seen connections viewing your profile, or introduce connections to each other for specific projects, or as a follow up to a conversation.

Be Active on LinkedIn

This sounds obvious, and is a reminder that if you want to get maximum value from LinkedIn then you need to spend time here every other week day. Checking your newsfeed three to five times a week is enough to stay on top of new invitations to connect, read the latest updates in your LinkedIn newsfeed and research specific companies or people you’ve crossed paths with recently.

“How often should I post on LinkedIn?”?is a question I get asked often. It’s not mandatory to post updates and you can get a lot of value from your time on LinkedIn as a research tool or to network privately with new and current connections. You can like and comment on posts in your newsfeed and re-share updates from connections and LinkedIn pages with your commentary or perspective.

Tip: Make ‘time on LinkedIn’ part of your daily or weekly rituals.

There is value in posting an update from your profile at least once a week, but this does not always need to be content you have written or created. You can share an interesting article you’ve read, a freely available resource you discovered, a TED talk that inspired you or a photo of you and team members celebrating a recent milestone.?

Make sure you add a relevant commentary with your post to contextualise for the reader why you are sharing it on LinkedIn. You can also mention connections, companies and tag connections in photos. To find out more about these features,?read this article on how to mention people in posts and comments?and?this article about how to tag people in photos on LinkedIn

By sharing resources like this LinkedIn newsletter,?my LinkedIn marketing podcast?and Think Bespoke's blog?here on LinkedIn and reading, liking and commenting on the insights of other LinkedIn members, I actively engage in a professional pursuit to inform, educate, learn, reflect, celebrate and acknowledge my LinkedIn community.

Tip: Consider the best way for you to inform, educate, learn, reflect, celebrate and acknowledge your LinkedIn community

Use LinkedIn On Your Terms

Technology like LinkedIn is only useful when you become strategic about leveraging it to achieve your professional goals. This is certainly something I have learnt from Cal Newport in his book, Digital Minimalism. If you are like some of my clients, and would prefer not to post content via your LinkedIn Profile, you can simply tailor your newsfeed with relevant insights, unfollow connections who share content you do not value and privately message your connections if you wish to converse with them.

Tip: Take control of your LinkedIn profile’s communication settings.

LinkedIn is a prolific over-communicator, with email and in App notifications. Take better control of how you use LinkedIn by reducing the number of emails LinkedIn sends* you and spending specific time each week on LinkedIn.

* Learn how to update your LinkedIn communication settings?here.

Ignore Bad Sales Behaviour on LinkedIn

Given that recruitment or sales leads are the focus for many LinkedIn members, you may dislike LinkedIn because some professionals try to sell to you via LinkedIn messaging. Please understand that recruiters use LinkedIn as a key talent pool for potential candidates for the roles they’re currently trying to fill for their clients. Sales people responsible for business development or a charity seeking strategic alliances and generous corporate sponsors use LinkedIn is a source of potential clients or patrons. They are as welcome as you are to use LinkedIn to help achieve their professional goals.

Tip: Ignore the bad behaviour on LinkedIn and focus on your goals.

Do not be put off by any bad sales behaviour you experience on LinkedIn. Whenever I attend networking events there’s always one or two people who come across as a bit pushy. It’s easy enough to side step these conversations and move on to seeking out more meaningful connections. I recommend you ignore any bad sales behaviour on LinkedIn, accept invitations to connect from recruiters (you may need them one day) and focus on connecting meaningfully with your LinkedIn connections.

Why I Want You to Love LinkedIn More Than Social Media

With an up to date LinkedIn profile and a company page, your LinkedIn presence can play the role of a 24 / 7 online ambassador. For job seekers or individuals researching or considering a change in career direction, LinkedIn is also a place where you’re likely to find your next job or client or get head hunted.

In an increasingly disconnected world, LinkedIn is a great place to stay in touch with your professional community. If you believe in good manners, diverse points of view and respectful debates, networking on LinkedIn can mean engaging with the insights of professionals and continuing conversations you’ve had at in real life or online events, conferences and social gatherings.

I’ve heard LinkedIn described as ‘the blue devil’ and it certainly acts like a pushy sales person, regularly prompting members to update their current membership.?Please ignore LinkedIn’s extroverted tendencies. While there are advantages of investing in LinkedIn premium, there’s LOTS you can do on LinkedIn for free, and LinkedIn Learning can be accessed at no cost via most local library memberships.

Tip – ask your friendly local librarian to show you how to access Lynda (this is what LinkedIn Learning used to be called).

Need help getting started with LinkedIn??Check out Think Bespoke's?free downloads here.