LinkedIn has become one of the premier social networks for generating B2B leads and networking among professionals. As social media matures, each leading network is sort of finding its niche on the Internet. LinkedIn has emerged as the place to go for advancing one’s career as well as generating high quality leads.
There is no standard for training yourself on using LinkedIn and the best LinkedIn training often comes from following those who are already successful at using it.
Here are some tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn.
Complete Your Profile
That might seem like a no-brainer but you would be surprised how many people leave things out or just don’t finish their whole profile. Make sure you write a good description of who you are and include keywords that you want to be found for.
Add any accomplishments you have and be sure to add all of your skills. Try and get at least 2 recommendations from other people as well as endorsements for the skills you do have. The more you can fill out your profile, the more you will show up in related searches.
Be Active and Helpful
Whether you’re trying to generate leads or just get more exposure for your own profile, staying active and being helpful is a two-pronged approach that can deliver results.
Staying active is the first part of the approach and it’s pretty straight forward. Basically you should always be doing something on the platform.
That means commenting on others posts, liking others posts, sharing others posts, sharing content of your own, joining groups, sharing content in groups, and connecting with other individuals. Set aside ten to fifteen minutes every day and do something on LinkedIn.
The second part is being helpful. This part of the strategy is a little trickier because you really have to search for people that are looking for help and it has to be related to what you want to be known for.
The best way to do this is to join groups that are related to your professional expertise or interests. Then look for people posting questions on those groups and chime in to help them. These comments show up in the main feed of people connected with you and can get you more exposure not to mention make you look like an authority in your niche.
Message People After Connecting
If you connect with people on LinkedIn and they accept, reach out to them through the messaging application and introduce yourself. This doesn’t have to be spam or a sales follow up. If you do have a motive, don’t push it on people.
Just thank them for connecting and get a conversation going about a shared interest. Maybe they work in a similar field or maybe they have gone to the same school as you. Develop report with your connections.
If you can develop report with your connections in the beginning, the more receptive they will be to your messaging when you do have something you want to get them signed up for or sell them.
Getting the Best LinkedIn Training
One of the best strategies for any kind of learning is to follow the people who are already doing it well. Search for strategies on marketing with LinkedIn and take note of the people who wrote them. Then follow those people on LinkedIn or other social media and watch how they operate.
Maybe even reach out to those folks and ask them for a few of their best tips on how to generate leads or grow connections using LinkedIn. The important part is to avoid reinventing the wheel. There are already successful people out there that you can learn from.