About 60% of businesses and individuals who are on LinkedIn report finding quality leads and making sales through contacts they have made there, and 77% of buyers say they are more likely to purchase from a company whose CEO uses LinkedIn.
Your Profile is Your Primary Tool – Not Your Interactions
Unlike other social media channels where you need to be consistently present to make an impact, the primary key to success on LinkedIn is the quality of your profile. Professionals at all levels should invest the time to set up a high quality profile which is more than just a resume. We do business with people, not organisations, and your LinkedIn profile can now include video footage, photos, and audio clips which help visitors get a sense of who you are as well as what you do. In addition, it provides a place to display your achievements and interests and to introduce yourself to people who are searching for people with your particular skills.
Setting up a LinkedIn profile does demand some time and energy spent cataloguing your history, achievements, interests and passions as well as writing outlines of the duties you’ve fulfilled, but the key area is the Background Summary, where you can clearly state who you are, what you care about, and how you help people achieve their goals. Some people feel uncomfortable writing about themselves, or really don’t have the time, so one of the services I offer is writing LinkedIn profiles, but you really can do this yourself.
Your background summary is really just a slightly expanded and formalised version of your elevator pitch. Like an elevator pitch the LinkedIn background summary is designed to immediately attract the interest and attention of prospective clients or people who would be interested in engaging with you, tell them who you are and the kinds of things you do, and let them know how to contact you. Even if you prefer people to contact you outside of LinkedIn it still provides prospects with a way of learning more about you and your values and directing them to your personal or business website.
Beyond Your Linked In Profile
Your Profile is the primary tool, but Linked In also provides many other ways of getting greater traction for yourself and your business. Some other ways in which you can gain attention and attract clients on LinkedIn include joining – and actively participating – in groups related to your own industry, or industries you work with. This is a great place to be helpful and add value to the conversation by posting and sharing relevant news and making connections.
Unlike Twitter, where you need to be constantly present, most LinkedIn users don’t want a stream of clutter, so keep your input relevant and focus on adding value to others rather than asking for things. LinkedIn is definitely not the place to sell directly, but it is invaluable for creating a chain of contacts which can lead organically to the people and opportunities you are looking for.
Taking part in these activities is helpful if you want to make the most of LinkedIn, but simply creating a strong LinkedIn profile is a key that opens many doors for your business.
Linked In Training
If you’d like to learn more about getting the greatest value from Linked In Bert Verdonk and Mike Clark from Really LinkedIn, in partnership with Ant Gaddie of Green Ant Marketing are running a 6-part Online Training starting in August 2013. Bert and Mike are the only LinkedIn accredited organisation the world and this is the course used by LinkedIn itself for training.
To learn more or to register just click here. If you use my affiliate code Hilton Copywriting, you will receive a $60 discount.