I didn’t always have a strong LinkedIn network or presence. Just like everyone else, I had to start from scratch.
And for a long time I didn’t do much on LinkedIn besides accept connections and occasionally like others’ posts.
I was in awe of those who were confident enough to post their own insights.
I dipped my toes into using LinkedIn by first building a strong profile and a wide, strategic network.
First I made a connections plan and thought about who I could connect with from college and graduate school as well as my past jobs and volunteer positions.
(When it comes to LinkedIn, having more connections will raise the likelihood that your posts will be seen by more people so more is better.)
Then I focused on increasing my interaction on the platform, first liking, sharing and commenting on my network’s posts.
When I became more comfortable and confident, I started creating posts using content pillars.
That included sharing articles that were useful to my network, using Twitter to help me. I thought of myself as a news aggregator, bringing important information to my network.
I was able to differentiate myself by adding a few lines of text with each article explaining why it was important for someone to read. That is such a key step to build in as part of your social strategy.
You can’t just share an article without any introductory text.
I reached my full LinkedIn potential when I began to create my own content, providing my network with helpful tips and insights, as well as sharing personal stories.
I found at the post that did the best for those when I shared a story and practical advice.
I learned quickly to never sound boastful or post anything that was too me-centric.
I paid attention to when my connections were on LinkedIn so that they would be most likely to see my posts.
I responded to each comment, which helped to build relationships and increased engagement on my posts.
I refined my content based on how well each post did. I started to use images for each post to help stop the scroll.
And most importantly, I had confidence in what I was posting.
I didn’t become discouraged if a post had a low number of likes, instead I refined my LinkedIn strategy based upon the performance of each post.
I also knew that the number of likes and comments on my posts didn’t tell the full story when it came to engagement because many people use social media in listen-only mode.
The moral of this is that if I can do it so can you! And I’ll show you how.
Learn more about some of these strategies at my last webinar of the year this Tuesday, December 21. I’ll teach you how to create a strong LinkedIn profile which is the foundation of LinkedIn success.
It’s never too late or early to start using LinkedIn. You have to start somewhere.