Here are EIGHT things you can do right now to improve your LinkedIn marketing that will drive more visibility, increase engagement and build influence for more impact, credibility, and income going into the new year.
LinkedIn had more than 80 updates to the platform in 2022, with that said there are some basic and yet important steps every user can take to improve their LinkedIn marketing results beyond the newest features. If you master the basics of these 8 steps you will be well on your way ahead of most competitors.
#1 Update your profile
I know you hear this all the time, but do you know how many people treat their LinkedIn profile as one and done? At a very minimum, I suggest you make the following updates to your profile immediately.
Change your headline to something more compelling about what you do and who you help. Edit your About section refreshing what you want people to most know about you. Refresh your header banner to reflect your brand.
Record a LinkedIn video cover story welcoming new visitors with a 30-second video that appears behind your profile picture. You do this on the mobile app only, from the edit mode it walks you right through the steps. This truly sets you apart from your competitors.
Also take a look at your Featured section and update to add currents posts, links to a webpage or a document showcasing a product or service. These are large images at the top of your profile which are considered valuable real estate – be sure to use it!
Remember, first impressions matter! When someone looks at your profile, you have about three seconds, and they will make a decision to read on into your profile or move on to someone else.
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#2 Analyze your previous year’s efforts and figure out what worked and what did not.
Let the data guide your future decisions on content, engagement, connection requests, networking, and lead generation.
In terms of your content strategy, analyzing which of your posts get the most reactions got easier this year if you have Creator Mode turned on because you have access to better data for every post. There is also a great 3rd party tool called Shield App that measures data for you. I use this tool myself and can quickly evaluate the performance data of my posts.
The hashtags you use in your posts and those you follow should be reviewed for relevancy to your goals and the number of followers each hashtag has. I have seen a drop in certain hashtags I follow over the past few years, so I check them out a couple of times a year.
You might also create a list of hashtags your ideal clients are using and follow the conversations (also called social listening) from people using those hashtags.
For example, if you work within the #manufacturing industry and perhaps sell something to machine shops, you may search the word #machineshop and check out the posts for what others are talking about, also who is commenting on those posts.
This is a good time to evaluate the topics your industry and clients are using to stay on top of what is important to them. This gives you great details on what your posts should be about.
Think about leveraging LinkedIn’s newest features in a pull marketing campaign. These tools include – LinkedIn Newsletters, LinkedIn LIVE, LinkedIn Audio bringing the buyers to you for more relevant information.
#3 Clean up your network connections
Remove people who no longer serve your goals. Remember, your connections are those who see your activity & posts. You can start by searching your first-degree connections, and use filters to sort by city, state, or other demographics. Are these people still either your target audience, prospect or people you want to influence with your content?
Don’t be afraid to remove connections, they are not notified when you do, and work on inviting newer, relevant people to your network that align with your new or updated goals.
(You can export your connections into a spreadsheet and categorize them by client, prospect, referral)
#4 Re-engage your existing network
If you have neglected your connections, meaning you have been out of touch I recommend starting a reconnection campaign. Being connected to a strong network has clear advantages:
- Provides access to diverse skills and perspectives and facilitates introductions
- Builds social capital – improving the way we interact, collaborate, and influence
- Relationships lead to conversations & conversations lead to opportunities
- Exposure to people that simply enrich your life!
Research shows your biggest opportunities come from weak & dormant ties which are terms written by David Burkus, Author of ‘Friend of a Friend.” A great book if you haven’t read it.
He explains that WEAK TIES are people who tend to operate in different circles than you & thus offer different opportunities than you might have access to. DORMANT TIES are those people in your network you haven’t connected with in 2-3 years but were once considered as a strong connection.
I would start your reconnection campaign by messaging people in your network that you consider both weak and dormant ties and send a reconnection message with the goal of re-igniting the relationship. (Here is an example):
Hi {firstname},
I was looking through my connections recently and I noticed we have not been in touch for a while (or a long while – yikes!) which so often happens here on LinkedIn, so I thought I would drop in just to say hello!
Let me know if there is something new happening with you that you’d like me to know more about or how I might be helpful to you or your network.Until then, sending best wishes for health & success,
Your name
Your website and/or phone #
You want to remember you connected initially with key people for a reason, either re-engage them or remove them from your network. But it’s time to stop just collecting names and build a network that makes sense for your professional goal.
#5 Follow the influencers in your industry
Do you know who the leaders are in your industry that attracts your ideal customers? Are you following them and reading their content? If not, you want to ring the bell at the top of their profile, so you get a notification about when they post. Pay attention to the people in their network and also the people that comment on their posts – these are or could be the same people you want to connect with and influence.
Engage with their content by adding value to the conversation by adding your insights in the form of a comment. Also, think about commenting on what someone else has added to the conversation. This form of engagement will get you noticed by those already influencing your industry!
#6 Commit to consistency
When you are consistent weekly, you will improve your visibility and reach of your posts which results in positioning you top of mind with your network. This works very well because the percentage of people showing up on a regular basis is very small in comparison to the 870 million LinkedIn members. (Post 2x weekly, and comment on other people’s posts daily)
#7 Give & Request Recommendations
We live in an online world where social proof matters. Give first by offering a recommendation to a vendor, partner, collaborator, or co-worker. Let them know that a specific skill and service they have benefitted you.
Request a recommendation from a client right after completing work and you are still top of mind. Be specific with your request by asking them to write about what you did to help them with the solution they hired you for. Update your recommendations every year to stay relevant.
You can also ‘Endorse’ skills in the profiles of customers, vendors, colleagues, and co-workers. They will be notified of the endorsement.
Both giving recommendations and endorsing skills will keep you top of mind, so why not make the effort and help someone else, they won’t forget it!
#8 Make beneficial introductions
Remember, LinkedIn is for networking! Who do you know that someone in your network would benefit from knowing? In a conversation, I will often ask, “Is there anyone you know that I would benefit from knowing?” This way I train my best connections and clients to think of me and to who they could make an introduction.
Another suggestion is when you are closing out a client, as that person “Is there anyone else you know that would benefit from my services?” Happy clients are always happy to refer when they just received great results from you.
DID YOU FIND THIS HELPFUL?
How many of these eight steps will you take? Leave me a comment below with your experience with any of these tips or a burning question I can help you with.
