6. POST AND ENGAGE REGULARLY

Maybe you should also engage a LinkedIn coach that can help you get the full value out of the platform.

IN SHORT:

Optimise you LinkedIn profile so it is valuable to your potential customers. If you don’t know how to do it, then read Melonie Dodaro’s book and engage a LinkedIn coach.

Now that you have valuable content to share and a LinkedIn customer-oriented profile the time has come to become active, to build awareness and attract attention.

Allow me to repeat the warning!

Do not spread noise and propaganda!

Noise and propaganda account for over ninety per cent of the content on social media. LinkedIn is filled with nonsense and company- and product-centric material that doesn’t bring any business value to the reader.

Companies announce that they have hired a new sales manager, have closed a funding round, are running a partner event, promote a newsletter, announce a free webinar, calling applications for a job or some other “look at me, I’m awesome” posts.

Check your LinkedIn home feed, and you will find that most of the content is organic or paid-for noise and propaganda.

Your strategy should not rely on noise and propaganda.

Building a reputation as an international thought leader or an industry authority requires that you stop mistaking yelling for selling.

Refrain from promoting your company and your products the same way most other companies and people do. Stop yelling that you have great products, healthy values, awesome people, lovely customers, brilliant business partners and generous investors.

Instead, you should focus on discussing the problems and opportunities that your customers face.

Unless what you do is relevant for hundreds of millions of people on LinkedIn, then you shouldn’t rely on showing up in their home feeds. You are competing with cat videos, celebrities, and self-appointed social media experts. You don’t stand a chance of getting the attention of your key audience this way.

You should start posting regularly, say once or twice a day, but don’t expect to get many likes and comments. The key objective is to go for quality over quantity. There is no value in getting thousands of likes and comments if none of them are from your ideal customers.

There are tools such as Buffer and Hootsuite that can help you schedule your posts.

You should also use tagging. Tagging people will increase the relevant reach of your post but use it only when appropriate.

By the way, you don’t always have to only post your own content. Posting content of other experts in your industry and tagging them will help build and promote your reputation and will create more invitations to connect.

And finally: remember hashtags! If you don’t know what that is or how it works, then search the term and learn about it. Never post anything without a hashtag. Don’t overdo them. Two to three hashtags are ideal.

IN SHORT:

Post and engage daily but stay clear of propaganda.