Sounds impossible right? With a few simple steps you can boost your LinkedIn success by simply doing a few minutes each day.
LinkedIn is a fantastic social media tool for business owners, it links you to networks that surround you, you can engage with some amazing people through groups and you can boost your online presence and findability by making just a few simple changes.
Start with first updating your LinkedIn profile to ensure that people know what you do straight away. Don’t waffle on your profile page, get straight to the point by letting them know what you do, how you do it and how they can get in touch.
Remember to add your blog and website pages to the top of your profile, as well as your Twitter details. These will add the ability for someone to instantly get in touch with you at the click of a button.
Use the apps and move them to the top! There are so many great ways to boost your profile using the apps. You can recommend your books to your readers, integrate your blog and even add an events calendar. Ensuring your target keywords are present in those book titles, blog posts and events, makes for a better density of mentions for your chosen key topic.
<h2>Now for the engagement with your potential JVs, referrers and, of course, your potential customers.</h2>
Use groups to your advantage – whether you join your local business group, an industry focused group or a support-based group you need to ensure that you are engaging with those people. They are there not only to push their own businesses but to know more about you, how they can help and potentially use you. If you don’t engage with them on a regular basis then they won’t do that. Simply going in and joining in on conversations or sparking discussions will help you be remembered.
If you are thinking of starting a group in LinkedIn think about a few key points:
- Who do you want to be part of it?
- Why are you starting this group? Are there any others like it?
- Are you prepared to put in the time to keep it going?
A group can be fantastic for your business recognition but you need to answer these questions before you start the process. Think outside the box, for example, if you sell shoes, create a “shoe-lovers” group – this would be targeting mainly fashionable people who (sorry guys!) are mainly women. Put in the description why you love shoes so much and post some links to shoes that you don’t have in your store. This shows that you are interested in engaging not selling. If you happen to sell your shoes (which of course you will!) then that’s a bonus!
Your invitations are the beginning of a fantastic new relationship – remember these people want to connect with you because you either know someone in their network, you have something they need or you have interested them in some way, so don’t miss this opportunity! Reply to their invitation with open-ended questions and spark a conversation. Check your invitations and inbox at least every other day to be able to reply quickly and stick in their minds.
Finally, use the questions and answers section. This is a great place to meet new connections and “become an expert”. If you answer enough questions in your chosen field you become featured in the answers section – this should be proof enough that you should be using this at least twice a week!
So, are you ready to take on LinkedIn with a bang? Remember, if you don’t give you won’t get, so use all the tools at your fingertips, and start building your network.
