Magnetic Attraction and the LinkedIn Squeeze – Making a Winning Combination Work for You

?Do you find LinkedIn confusing?

You’re not alone.

You can set yourself up in a flash, and just like that, you’re active!

However, there’s no operating manual for this wonderful platform. And, though there are many excellent training resources available online and in person, so many people spend their time sitting in the dark, never once switching on the headlights!

Someone once described LinkedIn to me this way:

“LinkedIn is like an excel spreadsheet! You just know there is a lot more to it that you could be doing that would benefit you, if you only knew how to use it properly.”

?A two-way street

Most folk on LinkedIn are there to build their business or craft a career transformation.

On the other side of our two-sided street, there are people looking for your expertise, products, and services.

There are also some confused people trying to cross the street without thinking of their green cross code, looking left or right, and generally making a muddle of things.

LinkedIn success is made up of three factors

The three things you have to focus on to be successful are your profile, your “outbound” activities and your “inbound” activities.

Your outbound activities are the squeeze – the outreach you undertake, the comments you leave and the invites you send.

These are the proactive actions that you take on LinkedIn, where you’re the initiator and instigator… You take LinkedIn and squeeze it! These actions also things like researching, connecting, engaging, direct messaging, and more.

But what about the magnet? I personally believe that the phrase: “communication is the response you get” – is fundamental truth.

Your inbound activities are the magnet. These are things that make you attractive. This is the content you create that generates curiosity, educates others, and helps you share your insights. Directly or indirectly, you are the magnet. People gravitate towards you.

A caveat

LinkedIn is not a quick fix, but it can be a permanent fix.

The two drivers that generate success for individuals and businesses are consistency and the cumulative build of activities over time. Think of this as like compound interest – you have to begin to be able to reap the benefits later. There’s no silver bullet to a solid gold reputation.

But what about the all-important profile? How do you know if yours is a liability or an asset?

Happily, you can find all the answers https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/your-profile-asset-liability-miles-duncan/

Juggling three balls

To maximise LinkedIn and all the opportunities it can offer you, you need to master juggling three balls – your profile, “squeeze” activities and “magnet” activities.

Now, the delegators and discarders of the to-do lists amongst you could point out that you don’t really need to juggle your profile.

That may be somewhat true, but in my experience, a regularly maintained profile is essential for success.

Consider the interactions you are getting - particularly profile views and direct messages. Keeping your profile up to date and your content fresh is key to being the strongest opportunity magnet possible.?

There is no unique way of using LinkedIn

Your activity depends on your objectives. Just because your colleagues are doing a number of activities, these may not be right for you.

This super short video https://vimeo.com/544541841will help you understand what I mean. Clarifying your brand for LinkedIn is one of the best ways to maximise your time, and confidently create the kind of content your audience actually has an appetite for.

There are too many followers of followers. Do what you think works – test, measure, and try again.

Activities to factor in

There are lots of activities that could be considered both inbound and outbound. For this piece, however, we’re going to split them broadly into our squeeze and magnet categories. These are provided in a handy list for you below (some as actions, some as self-reflection questions) so you can tick them off as part of your LinkedIn activity.

Outbound activities (the squeeze)

?Prospecting

·??????Proactive researching and intelligence gathering

·??????Outreach introductory prospecting campaigns

·??????Nurturing prospects (not pestering, requesting, or selling)

o??Ask yourself: how good is your outreach messaging?

o??How do you nurture (not sell!) your prospects?

Client communication, retention, and lifetime value

·??????Client connectivity and activity

o??Are you following the client’s company page? Have you commented on their posts?

·??????How good is your grip of the insights on your client’s company page? Do you note this down?

·??????How good is your grip on the circle of influence? Are you well connected there? Which connections need refreshing?

Quantum observations

·??????Proactively identifying trigger events – what are big moments or news stories, fresh information or notes that are valuable for your audience that you can engage with?

·??????Share, like, comment

·??????Newsfeed interaction

·??????Notification interaction

?Inbound Activities (the magnet)

?·??????Creating, updating, and maintaining a showstopper profile

·??????Content creation ... like this article :)

·??????Content curation (repurposing/sharing someone else’s content)

o??For content creation and curation, consider things like organic articles, industry articles, case studies, helpful guides, PDFs, eBooks, videos, podcasts, guest blogs and more

·??????Deeper dive insights on posts – how can you offer your spin on a current hot topic?

?The way forward

I know this can feel like a lot. One of the biggest things you can do to help yourself is actually to start small and work your way up from there.

Don’t let this feel overwhelming! Think of the end game. Start with at least one outbound and one inbound activity today.

Because if not now, then when?

?Next free LinkedIn Learning Session

My next free LinkedIn Learning Event is on Thursday 27th January 2022 12pm to 1pm. You can register here?https://3vou7w4u.pages.infusionsoft.net?the link is safe and secure

There is nothing for sale or anything to buy at this event

Places are limited to 100

?Miles Duncan (founder)

https://www.linkedinsuccesssystems.co.uk/ ?Large team LinkedIn training service – online and in-line programs, Creators of LinkedIn white label customised eLearning platforms (SaaS)

www.startrunfly.co.ukTraining for individuals & small teams

Please connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/milesduncan/

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Over the next few weeks we will be rebranding as b2b Success Systems (Dec 2021)

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