Start using Linkedin more like Facebook (but not in the way you think!)

I always thought of Linkedin as a fairly useful tool. My profile is 100% complete and up to date, and more times than not I connect with people that I meet at work or work with (I don’t have a hard copy business card!). I would also occasionally post articles or updates that are generally relevant to likeminded professionals.

Despite fulfilling these basic requirements, what I have recently found out is that I have been missing a big trick. And, having spoken to a number of colleagues and contacts, and also through monitoring my feed, it has become obvious that others have missed it too.

Think for a minute about how you use Facebook. What you should notice is that, regardless of how many posts you like/love/ha ha/wow/sad/angry react to, actual engagement does not increase with those people. In other words, liking someone’s photo doesn’t inspire then to start a conversation with you. It’s just another reaction to add to the like count of the post – in these instances, you’re just a number.

If, however, you write a comment on that post. Whether it’s a “You ok hun, inbox me” for an attention seeker, or a “Wow, where was this taken?” to a photo, or “I totally agree, have a read of this article which you might find useful…” – 9 times out of 10 you’re likely to receive a comment back from the poster. You’ll initiate conversation. It will create the beginnings of potentially meaningful engagement. Then, if you inboxed that same person, especially if you were asking for a favour and it’s been a whilst since you spoke, they’d be a lot warmer to the prospect of speaking to you.

There is an even greater opportunity on Linkedin.

A lot of people will grow a network of relevant people – contacts, suppliers and their target audience or customers in some cases. And they think the opportunity stops there – occasionally inboxing certain contacts. Some go one step further and scroll their feed, liking posts from their contacts. But the problem is that creates the same issue as providing a reaction on Facebook – you’re just another number!

What I have found to be an extremely successful Linkedin strategy is, rather than simply like posts, make sure that I comment on as many as possible. This has 3 main benefits:

1. You stand out from all of those that simply clicked like
2. You show the contact that you actually care about what they’re saying. You’ve taken time to read, analyse and post a response
3. This type of action can grow your relevant contact base, especially if your comments are good quality, as your comments will show up in the feeds of your contacts’ contacts.

Applying these pointers does have a couple of prerequisites, namely a decent and up to date profile, and the ability to write comments that are genuine or provide real value.

I’m not saying you need to post CandyCrush invites or quizzes about your star sign, but I’m certain that if you mirror the engagement that takes place on Facebook in a Linkedin environment, you’ll see more value out of Linkedin and your visibility within professional circles increase.