One billion users on LinkedIn - here’s how not to get lost in the crowd

This week LinkedIn reached that magic number of one billion members , which is an incredible and well-deserved milestone.

If you’re someone who’s been on the fence about creating content on LinkedIn, you might look at that number and get discouraged:

- One billion people potentially means a whole lot more content on the feed, so how on earth do you not get lost in the crowd?!

If that thought has indeed crossed your mind, let me help you with some truth.

One billion is absolutely a huge number, but the truth is the large majority of these users will be dormant accounts or, at best, lurkers - people who look but don’t get involved in the action.

The good news for you is that if you make the decision today to become a content creator on LinkedIn - to start being visible - you will join the small minority of people that get to experience all the benefits this platform has to offer.

These benefits include:

• increased business and career opportunities
• elevating your profile and thought leadership
• building a personal brand that opens the door to opportunities

So instead of getting discouraged, let this one billion milestone be your wake-up call to get off the sideline and jump into LinkedIn visibility today to avoid getting lost in the crowd.

Here are 5 things you can do to get started:

1) Have a goal, make a plan

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying before that 'he (or she) who fails to plan, plans to fail'.

The same is true of LinkedIn.

If you’re going to succeed in using this platform to support your professional goals, whatever they may be, you need to start with a goal in mind and make a plan on how you’re going to get there.

Without a proper plan in place, you’ll quickly run out of steam and wrongfully conclude that “social media” isn’t worth your time.

2) Fix your profile

Your profile is the home of your personal brand on LinkedIn.

One billion users means potentially one billion eyeballs on your profile, so you need to make sure what’s on your profile page accurately reflects your brand.

This starts from the very top of the page with the banner, all the way down to the recommendations section.

Make every word count.

3) Engage first

If you’re brand new to LinkedIn (or you’ve been a lurker up until now) and the thought of creating your own content is a little overwhelming for you, start with engaging with other people’s content first.

Set yourself a target to comment on at least five posts a day. This will help you gain confidence and slowly raise your visibility on the platform.

A meaningful comment on the right post is a great way to stand out from the crowd.

4) Share helpful content

I’ve posted every single weekday on LinkedIn (and some weekends) for almost four years now.

In this time, I’ve seen my audience grow organically from a few thousand connections to over 50,000 followers.

One of the biggest things I attribute this to is the ability to share helpful content with my audience (and also consistency - see point #5).

Most people come to LinkedIn because they want to learn something. If you can meet this need through your content, you will stand out from the crowd and your business or career will thrive as a result.

5) Stay consistent

Consistency is such an underrated key to success. It’s often easy to start something, but it takes a whole different level of character to stick at it and remain consistent, especially when you don’t see immediate results.

Building a solid personal brand on LinkedIn that you can leverage to advance your business or career does not happen overnight. You need to commit to the process and stay consistent all the way through.

In conclusion...

Although LinkedIn is growing at a fast rate, it’s still behind the likes of Facebook and Instagram in numbers, so if there was ever a good time for you to start being visible on this platform, that time is now.

? If you would like help with this, my team and I would be more than happy to support you. Please feel free to send me a DM, or apply for coaching on my website here .

Has this article been helpful?

Let me know in the comments which of the 5 things most resonates with you...