Deleting my LinkedIn account!

Someone recently said to me “I’m deleting my LinkedIn account”, when I asked why they said, “because I think it’s a waste of time”.  This is what people generally say who aren’t active on LinkedIn.  If you haven’t updated your personal profile in a very long time and don’t want to leverage LinkedIn to help grow your business then yes, delete your account – go straight to your settings and click “close account”.

So, lets’ turn this question on its head.  Think, “what’s in it for me – how can I use LinkedIn in a proactive way?”

Here’s my top tips for starters:

• Upload a professional-looking profile picture

• Add a background image (normally in relation to your company’s brand)

• Make your professional headline more than just a job title – think of your 30-second elevator pitch!

• Turn your summary into your story – who, why, where, when and goals for the future

• Grow your network – connect with people you know and those you meet out networking

• List all your skills

Here’s my top tips that you may not know:

• Edit your public profile URL – if it’s currently your name and a long set of numbers then you can change this which also makes it easier for people to find you.  I use my URL on my business cards, email footers and any other marketing material.

• Showcase your expertise by attaching copies of any certificates to your profile, we should shout about our expertise, it might be the difference between winning that new contract or winning your new job!

• Ask for recommendations (testimonials) from people you have worked with, such as clients, contractors and members of your team – ask others to tell the world how good you are at your job!

• Writing articles to Publisher is a great way to improve your thought leadership position, establishing yourself as the expert in your field, which and will increase your credibility and visibility.  As with any content marketing plan, consistently write a new article, say, one per month (to start with).  However, if something in your industry suddenly became a hot topic of conversation, writing an article will help you position yourself in that topic.

• Use LinkedIn to generate leads through LinkedIn Lead Generation forms.  Companies looking to advertise on LinkedIn can collect quality leads using forms that are pre-filled with LinkedIn profile data and when a member clicks on the call-to-action button on a LinkedIn ad with an attached Lead Gen Form, the form is automatically filled with their contact and profile information.  For more information click here

• Use LinkedIn Search to search as part of your lead generation strategy.  Look for those who are in your target audience.  For example, if I wanted to run a search for an ideal client, the search would look a little like: “Facilities Manager” > “Education” > “Manchester”, you can specify these search terms in the fields provided.  Remember to always tailor your reason as to why you want to connect.  Download one of my free fact sheets here.

Summary

Still want to consider deleting your account?  Think again!  There’s so much to LinkedIn and I hope this blog has been useful, given you a great insight and opportunity to consider some of the less obvious features of LinkedIn, which when understood can take your efforts to a whole different level, including the search capability, which is a free resource within LinkedIn.

Should you need any further assistance please don’t hesitate to get in touch, whether that’s for a bespoke LinkedIn workshop or ongoing, outsourced social media marketing support, to help ensure that your brand stays on top in 2019.

By Ann Davies, Director

Exploring LinkedIn Pages

LinkedIn Pages are often overlooked so let’s explore how your employees can be more engaged and help support your marketing team. LinkedIn Pages are a platform where employees have an opportunity to share the latest news and achievements of your company and to show how much they are engaged.  Pages is also a place to highlight what day to day life is like at your company, whether you’re recruiting or offering potential clients a sense of what it’s like to do business.  This will not only show what dedicated employees your company has but it will also support your culture at the same time.  Use your Page to establish yourselves as leaders in your industry and build brand awareness.

There’s also LinkedIn Elevate, which is a paid-for product that helps companies find content for their employees to then share on the platform. Whatever your company’s aims, it’s important that everyone in your company helps to support the awareness of your brand on Pages by helping to share the news.

However, if you do not have a company Page, LinkedIn’s ‘how to’ instructions are here.

Here’s how you can support your company’s LinkedIn Page efforts from just 10 minutes a week:

• Actively engage and reply to Page updates, by:
  • Following your company’s Page
  • Liking an update
  • Commenting on an update if you feel appropriate (include your own point of view on an interesting update or statistic)
  • Sharing and commenting on an update to your connections (again, including your own point of view on an interesting update or statistic)
• Above all, ask yourself: What will my connection take away from the content I am sharing?  What will help them to click to read more?

Each month your marketing team will be looking at your LinkedIn Pages’ key metrics, and they’ll be looking for analytics such as:

• Page followers
• Post clicks
• Engagement
• Comments

Remember, from just 10 minutes a week your employees can support your Page and that’s great news for all involved!

I have a complimentary factsheet with lots of tips and ideas to support your LinkedIn marketing plan.  If you’d like a copy, please contact me.

Should you need any further assistance please don’t hesitate to get in touch, whether that’s for a bespoke LinkedIn workshop or ongoing, outsourced social media marketing support, to help ensure that your brand stays on top in 2019.

By Ann Davies, Director

Image courtesy of LinkedIn