Most early adopters of social media, meaning those who started five to ten years ago or more and stayed with it, have realized significant increases in their revenue, visibility, brand position, and marketing success.
Those who joined the game much later sometimes struggle to achieve success. But even those late to the party can drive revenue by consistently and actively participating on LinkedIn over time. It does not have to be just a pipe dream if you are willing to commit to consistently engaging on the most interactive levels. It takes time and work but it is also an inexpensive, essentially free opportunity to engage and prosper.
We have clients who have achieved great success despite only engaging on LinkedIn for the past 18 months to two years. These individuals consistently create original thought leadership content and make comments on their clients, prospects, and referral sources’ posts and articles. What does it take to achieve a significant return on the investment of your time? Well, you decide what level of engagement you want to participate in from the following options.
Small Engagement Strategies
Let’s start with this fact: Forbes reports that 67% of all individuals will check out someone’s Profile page on LinkedIn before going to their website bio. Learning how to optimize your Profile page is imperative even for some-time users on LinkedIn.
To successfully optimize a Profile, a user must complete most or all of the various sections on their Profile page. It is not enough to just have your headshot on the page with a short, but non-distinctive, headline right below your photo. In that top section, be certain you have added your website link and completed the Contact information. Why make it difficult for someone to reach out to you?
In the About section be certain to share information that helps viewers understand what you do, as well as why and how you do it. Have you shared how you are distinct from others in the same space as you? Consider including a brief testimonial in that section.
Create at least three articles by clicking on the Write Article words when you are going to post on your Home page. Each article post should contain an interesting image and offer clarity about your services. Share thought leadership about what you do; give cogent tips so viewers understand the value of what you might add.
Post at least once every two weeks. And scroll down on your Home feed several times weekly so you can engage with your connections’ posts. It’s free marketing. These contacts now know you are thinking of them.
Medium Engagement Requires a Bit More
If you want to up your success somewhat, consider posting at least weekly and be certain your posts are 80% thought leadership. The other 20% can be reposts of external articles, and/or self-promotional posts such as you speaking at an event or getting an award.
Engage the Search Bar at the very top of the page several times weekly typing in the names of the coveted connections with whom you want to increase your visibility and engagement. Go to their Profile page or Company page and click on Posts. Make thoughtful comments on their posts that show you read the posts and understand their messaging. Simply posting comments such as, “Great post” does not pack the same punch.
Consider posting short-30-second videos periodically to share important information in your voice and brand position. Videos tend to get a lot of engagement.
Be certain the Cover image behind your photo on your Profile page has an interesting and distinctive image that reinforces your brand and what your company does. Leaving it blank tells the world you’re not that interested in carving out a clear and meaningful position on LinkedIn.
Large Return on Your LinkedIn Investment
Looking to start to knock the ball out of the park? Do you want to significantly increase your engagement and ROI on LinkedIn? Those who want to drive revenue need to commit to spending 15 to 20 minutes on LinkedIn at least four times weekly.
Start by reviewing your Profile page. Have you provided enough information to make it clear and easy for a viewer to completely understand what you do and what your brand stands for? Engage several of the advanced functions such as the Features section. This allows you to highlight your favorite posts and articles so that a viewer on your Profile page can instantly get your distinction and brand value proposition. Click on the “bell” on your most important connection’s Profile pages so you will be notified when they post. This allows you to comment and engage in their posts. You can find out how to engage the bell function here.
Start to monitor your engagement more frequently. Are you tagging professionals who might be interested in what you sharing? Three to five tags per post are ideal. Avoid tagging everyone that was in that large meeting with you. LinkedIn is not fond of that maneuver. Add appropriate hashtags which reinforce what you do and how you do it.
Create strong thought leadership posts once or twice each week. Make most of your posts original content which teaches or shares what you do. Within an hour of a new post, return to it and make a comment on everyone’s comments. Click several emoji responses. The more engagement you receive on your posts the more LinkedIn will tend to push your posts up towards the top. You should gradually start to see your engagement increase on your posts. Consider using tags and hashtags in the body of your posts as well. You can even include a quote from an industry colleague with whom you want to reinforce your relationship.
It takes time and consistency to obtain a bigger and more profitable ROI from LinkedIn. It’s a long-end game and can take months to years to come to fruition. But it doesn’t take a lot of time once you get into the groove of this type of posting and engagement. Don’t be surprised if you start to see positive benefits including increased revenue, getting asked to speak at events, or getting asked to set up meetings with potential clients and referral sources.