Too many people “do” LinkedIn without pausing to reflect on why they’re doing it and what they want to get out of it, which might impact the approach they are taking to LinkedIn in the first place!

Hence, they often become unsure of what a good LinkedIn result or outcome might be, hence this first blog which is one of a series of two (part two coming soon).

There are several factors to what a “good” LinkedIn looks like and hence I wanted to share a list of things that you should consider and possibly put a little more focus into. LinkedIn is not a one size fits all and there is certainly no single approach, but this is intended as a little guide for what matters and makes a difference – depending on what outcomes you seek. For more information on the rationale or anything LinkedIn get in touch, but let’s get started ….

1. Look appropriate – and I am not just talking about your profile picture! Have you included your personality, why people like working with you, your level of expertise, some evidence of what you do, who you help, problems you solve and more. The profile is often peoples first focus on LinkedIn, but it is just a small part of it.

2. Evidence of excellence – Using some of the LinkedIn functions like recommendations and to a lesser degree endorsements. Posting about some of the good “stuff” you do in a non-bragging way, writing about it within your profile, and including projects and more throughout your profile (see 4. below)

3. More profile views – Assuming your profile reflects you well, and is well constructed, you post regularly (see 4.) and you interact with your network and more (see 10. In the next blog) you will get more profile views. Once you have exciting profile viewers you can also do something about it to start conversations with them too! And by that I do not mean sending them a connection invite as more connections do not equal more results, often the opposite!

4. More frequent and natural posting – Despite keeping on about posting consistently and conversationally across LinkedIn for the last 15 years, it still amazes me that only 2.2% of LinkedIn users in the UK have posted in the last 30 days, and no doubt the same people will wonder why LinkedIn doesn’t work – grr. Try talking to people, yes talking, not just resharing company posts – talk to people on LinkedIn with what you post in a conversational way just like when you talk to someone you know at a business event.

5. More post views – Now a funny thing happens when you start to post more regularly and more conversationally (in other words talk like a human!) – more people read it! Never forget that on the other side of the screen that you’re typing your post into are all the nice people you know, and the more “you” and conversational you are, the more people will read it. Social media types sometimes call this reach 😉 but I’d say it is about being seen as a person,

My personal definition of LinkedIn is that it “lets me meet less people for nicer cups of coffee” as I use it to both find and filter out the good people from the rest, and then leverage my great network for insight, introduction, and support to enable it. Good people meeting over a good coffee can often create hugely valuable opportunities for sales, partnerships, education, resources and more.

That’s the first five points to get your LinkedIn moving forwards and keep an eye on the blog for part two with another five points for you to think about soon, but if you cannot wait or you want to have a chat about helping you or your organisation to move towards more success on LinkedIn just get in touch.

23 January 2023

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