3 Tips To Maximize Your LinkedIn Presence
I love LinkedIn so much that I decided to discuss it again in #TheGroundFloor. This blog is a continuation from a past blog from December 2019, “LinkedIn Should Be Your Best Friend”.
When talking about my professional life and what helped me get my start, I often credit much of my current success to my advisor from my time as a student at Ohio University, Dr. Andy Kreutzer (Doc K). Doc K was my mentor as a college student who guided me to the Dean’s List, graduation and a job, but most importantly he introduced me to LinkedIn and how to network. I am so thankful to have started building my LinkedIn presence almost 10 years ago.
My network is so important to me. Every time I meet someone new, I usually look them up on LinkedIn to learn more about them. I search to see what mutual connections we have and who knows, maybe we will need each other in the future for something.
I believe LinkedIn is the most under-utilized social media tool we have in our society. Besides health and family, your professional network is the most valuable asset you have.
There are many ways to be successful on LinkedIn & maximize your presence. There is no scientific data to guarantee your success, only personal experience and analytical data which can provide guidance. Here are my top 3 tips to maximize your LinkedIn presence.
1. Keep It Updated
If you want to be successful on any social media platform, your presence is a present. You must be active and aware of relevant conversations. Specifically what is important on LinkedIn is to keep your personal page up to date. I recommend spending time at the beginning of each quarter to audit your page, update your roles, experiences and more. If you recently worked with a new client or found a mentor, request a recommendation from them on your page. Make sure that your profile picture is up to date & that your cover photo is relevant. It is easy to tell if a page is updated or out of date. Don’t be the latter.
2. Connecting Is Critical
Keeping an updated profile is crucial, but it is not the only necessity for LinkedIn. You need to connect with others. Start out with your family, friends, family friends, classmates or colleagues and grow from there. As I have grown my presence on LinkedIn, I have made a targeted effort to connect with either people who are in relevant industries or have mutual connections if I don’t know them personally. Sadly, there is A LOT of spam on LinkedIn and many individuals who copy & paste the same message on LinkedIn in hopes to close a sale, provide you financial advice or attempt to get you on a phone call for some sort of sales pitch. These people are not all bad, BUT you need to be selective to make sure your connections are relevant to you. Making sure you connect with the right people will open the gates for you to grow your presence & maximize your potential.
3. ENGAGE!
Think about this for a minute. If all I did every day was post about myself, only highlighting my personal success or selling you something, day after day, what would you do? Would you still want to follow me? Add in the fact that I only try to sell myself without ever “liking” your posts or commenting on anything you do. Would you want to be connected with me? Would I seem like a trustworthy friend, or would I seem like I am a spam account?
The key on LinkedIn is to find a healthy balance between your own posts, which should ultimately provide value to your followers & connections. Sure, it’s ok to throw in a self-promotional post or sales items every so often if that is the nature of your business, but if you aren’t providing real VALUE to your community, you’re wasting your time. Interact with other posts by liking & commenting. Start a conversation in the comments. Join various groups that are relevant to you and provide value that will make people not only want to connect with you, but who will TRUST you. Before you know it, you’ll build your own community.
To those who do not use LinkedIn or are not active on your profile — If you are a high school senior or above, I would strongly recommend creating your profile and start connecting with your friends, teachers, coaches, your parents friends, part-time bosses and more. Start listing your accomplishments, honors and awards and detail them. Most important - KEEP YOUR PAGE UPDATED! One of my biggest turn-offs when I have assisted in hiring for different roles in the past is when I have gone to search someone on LinkedIn, only to find a page without a profile picture and limited, outdated information. If you are going to take the time to create an account, put some effort in. Whether you think it is worth your time or not, I can promise you that employers search this platform and I have seen many who have personally benefited from their activity on LinkedIn. If you have any questions on how to improve or create your profile, contact me and I will help you!
To those who I am connected with and those who are already active on LinkedIn and “get it” — I hope our connection continues and I would love to grab some (virtual) coffee at any point. Message me! I am always intrigued to hear everyone's story about how they got to where they are. Maybe you could be an asset to me and vice-versa. Give this post a like and comment with your thoughts & experiences on LinkedIn (feel free to share it as well!). Let’s chat.
Whether you have come across this blog thanks to algorithms, it was shared by a friend of yours or you have no idea how you got here but you’ve been compelled to read through this post in its entirety, send me a message and connect with me. I would highly value your connection and would love to learn more about you.
Social media gets A LOT of negative publicity and that is fair. The internet can unfortunately be a dark, scary place. On the flip side, the internet could hold the key to your future employment, friendships, relationships and more. Step up your LinkedIn game now and thank me later. You don’t know who you’ll connect with and how they could shape your life. The world is much smaller than you think. You never know.
- Andrew