What does your LinkedIn profile say about you?
LinkedIn is not only a tool for you to showcase yourself, but more importantly, how others can find you. Of course, LinkedIn has its own search function, but remember LinkedIn is also connected to Google Search. Want to be found by people outside of LinkedIn? You’ve got to do a better job within LinkedIn.
It’s a game changer, and I can’t tell you the amount of business I’ve picked up over the years because people have found me by way of Google Search, which has taken them to my LinkedIn profile.
There are plenty of ways to enhance your presence on LinkedIn. I’ve got 10 easy things you can do right now.
The information in this post comes from an amazing course I just put out in collaboration with the brilliant LinkedIn experts, Brynne Tillman and Bill McCormick. Check it out at The Sales Hunter University.
1. Online connections become online conversations.
I want to have a lot of connections. It’s a big, broad playing field out there. But there are certain people in particular that I want to connect with. My goal is to interact with them a little bit in their posts as well as in my posts, message them, and then have an online conversation, a Zoom call, a Teams meeting, or even a phone call with them.
Social media is just that, social. We don’t click and then pitch. We click, create the relationship, and then we look to see where it goes from there.
2. Your ‘About Section’ is about them, not you.
This is not the place that you showcase, “Hey, I made the President’s Award….Hey, I’m a great negotiator.” Do you think customers want to hear that? No, probably not.
Instead, use the ‘About Section’ to share insights or information that is going to help them, and gain their interest so they’re thinking, “I want to connect with this person.”
3. Update your contact information.
When I say contact information, I mean your email. Many of you are probably using an AOL email or an MSN or who knows what community college email from way back when. If you want people to reach out to you, put your email out there. Don’t be gun-shy on this, please.
Remember, if you’re in sales, don’t you want people reaching out to you? Of course you do! So in your contact information, make sure you put a real email that people can actually reach you at, as well as a phone number.
Common concerns with this range from, “Oh, I don’t want to be bugged,” or, “I don’t want to put my company’s email, because what happens if I switch companies?” That’s why I recommend you put out a Gmail or another email that travels with you.
4. Optimize your banner.
You go to your profile, and above your picture, (and please, have a decent picture) what does your banner say? If you check my LinkedIn profile, you’re going to notice that I’m constantly changing it, because remember, this is a billboard.
If you were putting a billboard on Interstate 95, would you leave it blank? Certainly not, because hundreds of thousands of people are seeing it every day. You would put some prominent, promotional copy up there to draw attention to you. That’s what that banner space is. Use it wisely.
5. Make it a habit.
LinkedIn is not something you go to every three to four weeks. However, it doesn’t have to be daily. Some of you can’t afford to be out there daily, I get it.
Try two to three times a week, or even up to five times a week, but be consistent.
Being consistent is going to get you into more conversations, meaning more traction, and therefore getting more people looking at your profile. In turn, it’s going to raise your total awareness and how people see you.
Mark October 13th at 3 PM EST on your calendar for a pop-up webinar all about more LinkedIn selling tips and strategies.
6. Engage with a question.
When you make a comment, engage with a question. When you make a post, engage with a question. Invite people to converse with you.
When you invite people to comment, share their opinion, or answer a question, you promote conversations. This is what LinkedIn is all about, it’s a networking event where conversations occur.
What’s more, LinkedIn likes conversations. When they see you engaging and getting a response, they will begin pushing your content out to more people, increasing your exposure.
7. Give, give, and give even more value.
Sometimes people say, “Well, I don’t want to share too much information.”
I disagree. Keep giving, then give some more. You’re developing your reputation, and when we are seen as people who give and give and give, it’s amazing how people say, “Hey, can you help me?”
This is one of the reasons I do videos and blogs like this, or why I do daily LinkedIn videos. I put out so much content because I’m constantly giving, giving, giving. There is a return for what you deliver.
Read more about how to bring more value.
8. Comment, share, and personalize.
This isn’t only about you. Comment on other people’s posts. Share other people’s posts. If somebody puts up a good post and you liked it, go ahead and share it. Share it with your followers. Personalize it. Add a comment about it to your post. Give each shared post a little bit of life.
You’re contributing to the ecosystem of the networking environment.
9. Follow experts.
Who are the experts in your industry? Maybe you can’t connect with them as a first-level connection, but you can certainly follow them.
You are known by the company you keep, so you want to make sure you’re keeping great company.
10. Give and get recommendations.
Recommendations are great, but do them with integrity. Make sure they’re meaningful. Don’t just throw recommendations out, or ask people who don’t know you.
When I give recommendations, I ensure that they’re meaningful and I expect the same from the recommendations that I get. This helps raise your credibility.
Learn so much more about this topic from the new Mastering LinkedIn for Business course, LIVE at The Sales Hunter University. It is available now, and it is mind-blowing. Brynne Tillman, Bill McCormick and myself worked for several months to put this together.
We have even more wisdom and tips to share with you. Find the complete course here.
Set your calendar for October 13th at 3:00 p.m. EST You won’t want to miss this pop-up webinar on Creating Authentic Social Selling Conversations with Brynne, Bill, and myself. Plus, LinkedIn will be a big topic of conversation. Spots are limited! Sign up now.
If you’re hungry for more sales knowledge and strategies, The Sales Hunter University is your all-you-can-eat buffet. I put out Masterclasses every month, but there’s a wealth of information you can access through three membership levels. For more information (and I mean a lot of it), click here.
Copyright 2021, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
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