LinkedIn Is A Great Business Tool But Is It Right For Your Business ??

I’m a Wakefield (West Yorkshire, UK) born and bred lass, so it was great to be featured on my local radio station – Rhubarb Radio for their Wakefield First Business Review podcast to talk all things LinkedIn ??

I see LinkedIn as a great business tool – one you can use to market your business, raise your visibility and of course generating new business opportunities. But, that doesn't mean its necessarily the right platform for everyone.

So on the Business Review podcast, as well as explaining how I became known as The LinkedIn? Lady, I also cover:

? Why LinkedIn is more than just a social media platform

? Why it’s not how long you spend on LinkedIn but what you do in the time you do have

?? How to start on LinkedIn

? How you build relationships with potential new clients

? Connect or Follow on LinkedIn?

? Should you even be on LinkedIn ??

If podcasts are your thing, then please do listen here. If podcasts aren’t your thing, then below is a review of what I said :o)

? Why LinkedIn is not a social media platform

I believe that if you see LinkedIn as something other than a social media platform it makes it a little less intimidating. So, if LinkedIn is not a social media platform what is it?

Firstly, with over 36 million profiles on LinkedIn in the UK alone, LinkedIn is basically one big database and LinkedIn gives you the tools to drill down and find the people you want to meet – still for free although getting a little harder.

And because there are so many people on LinkedIn it’s also the closest thing to in person networking you can get. So, if you go networking, just think of LinkedIn as another networking group and approach it in the same way you would if you were in person networking.

Finally and for me the most exciting, is that it’s also a website. Another online presence for your business that is free to host and gets you found on Google! And as we all know what websites are thinking and approaching LinkedIn as a website just makes it that bit easier to understand.

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? It’s not how long you spend on LinkedIn but what you do in the time you do have

A common question I get asked is ‘how long should I spend on LinkedIn?’ And for me this is a bit like ‘how long is a piece of string’ because it depends on what your objectives are for using LinkedIn, but essentially the more time you spend on LinkedIn the more you get out of it.

But more than that I think its important to know WHAT you’re doing on LinkedIn because although I always say LinkedIn is not a social media platform in a lot of ways it is and its easy to get lost in LinkedIn and suddenly half an hour has gone and what have you achieved in that time.

Which means you need a plan – something you can follow that will keep you focused and not distracted (easily done I know!)

If you’re using LinkedIn as your primary lead generation tool you want to aim to consistently be using LinkedIn 20 – 30 minutes a day if possible. But even if its only 10 minutes by following your plan you will be taking actions that will move you toward your goals rather than just faffing!

? How to start on LinkedIn

You always start on LinkedIn with setting up your LinkedIn profile. Or at least that is what LinkedIn wants you to do when you create an account.

But if we step back and think of LinkedIn as a marketing tool, the first thing to do is ask yourself:

? Why am I on LinkedIn? What do I want to achieve with LinkedIn

? Is my audience on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn will drive you down the CV route and we do not want to use LinkedIn as a CV because if you’re on LinkedIn to help you grow your business and you know your audience is on LinkedIn you want to write your profile for your audience and not about you.

Like any marketing activity you need to understand who your audience is. Who are your ideal clients, what are their challenges, what are they looking for AND use that to position your profile around them.

The next step is then building your network – and it’s not about getting as many connections as possible but building an engaged network of people who are going to be interested in what you have to say. Think about who you want to meet, to work with or collaborate with and connect with those people on LinkedIn.

They say ‘your networth is in your network’ so you want to be protecting the integrity of your network. You do need to be connected on LinkedIn but at the same time it’s a fine line between quantity and quality.

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? How you build relationships with potential new clients

The thing with LinkedIn is that its easy to find people. The problem, unless you’ve met them offline, they’re cold. They don’t know you, you don't them and you don't if they have a need for what you're selling.

So just as we do networking, it’s a process of warming up people up so they do know who you are and what you do. It’s about taking the time to get to know people, to stay on their radar and build that all important know like and trust as we would if we were in person networking.

Once you’ve found your potential client on LinkedIn, you want to do some pre connection activity. Warming them up so they start to see you pop up on their LinkedIn. Things like following first or commenting on their posts before jumping into send a connection request.

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? Connect or Follow?

When you visit someone’s profile you may have the option to ‘follow’ rather than connect. If you choose to follow someone you are opting in to seeing their posts in your newsfeed – or at least the opportunity to see their posts in your newsfeed.

But essentially you are still a second-degree connection, until you or they send a connection request and become a first degree connection. If the option is to follow, then follow first. You can still connect at a later date.

As a first-degree connection you automatically become a follower of that person’s content but you can also then message people (direct message or DM as its sometimes referred to). Ultimately, you want your ideal clients to be directly connected to you.

When it connecting, I still like to personalise my connection requests – LinkedIn is limiting this to 5 per month on the free version but personalising your connection request not only does it help to build rapport the message also stays on that person’s profile as a good reminder as to how and when you connected.

?? Should You Even Be On LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a tool, albeit a very good one, but still one of many in your marketing toolkit.

I'm a huge believer in not spreading yourself too thin when it comes to your marketing.

So, if you’re thinking you ‘need’ to be on LinkedIn, think first about 'why' you want to be on LinkedIn. And, then think about your audience - are they on LinkedIn.

Make an informed decision - so many people jump onto LinkedIn because someone said: 'You should be on LinkedIn!" and then end up just faffing or thinking LinkedIn doesn't work.

I’ve worked with many people who know that LinkedIn is just not their bag and all they want is a good presence on LinkedIn, aka a profile that positions them in the right way so they can leave LinkedIn to do its thing in the background while they carry on with doing other activities to market their business.

But, if you want to use LinkedIn to help you generate leads then you need a plan and a strategy so that you know what to do and when on LinkedIn. And I hope these tips help you work out what you want LinkedIn to be for your business and how to use it effectively.

Need more support with your LinkedIn activity?

For more tips please check out my article on: ??LinkedIn Marketing 101?? What You Need To Know To Make LinkedIn Work In 2024

Or download free LinkedIn Profile ebook here. Your LinkedIn profile is the foundation to success on LinkedIn so working on your profile is a greeat way to improve your LinkedIn results: https://judithparsons.com/ebook

I also run regular LinkedIn LoveIns which are short 30-minute learnings over lunch, often with guest experts to help improve LinkedIn results. If you'd like to be notified of new events why not join my LinkedIn LoveIn group. You can also find the recordings of previous LoveIns as well as tips and updates: https://www.dhirubhai.net/groups/9016385/

OR let's chat . . .?

If LinkedIn isn’t working hard for you or you’re not sure where to start with using LinkedIn, email [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn to chat about how I can help.

Or book a virtual brew here and let’s make LinkedIn work for you . . .

JUDY Parsons Independent LinkedIn? Training & LinkedIn Marketing Mentor

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