LinkedIn is a networker’s dream – an easy way to learn about, and reach out to, millions of business people and thousands of employers. When you do it right, you can use LinkedIn just like you would use a face-to-face network. If there’s a business deal you’re trying to land, LinkedIn can tell you who you already know is already in the company. If you don’t know anyone who works there, LinkedIn will let you know who you know that does.
Below are some ideas on how to maximize LinkedIn to your network’s advantage.
Update Your LinkedIn Status Frequently and Consistently
Only a third of LinkedIn members visit the site on a daily basis. Another one-third of members visit the network several times in a week, according to a surveys.If you want to prove if this is true, the next time you visit LinkedIn, pay attention to who shows up frequently in your home feed.These individuals are getting more visibility because they are more active on LinkedIn. You can too as long as you commit to staying active on the network. This is powerful yet subtle way to build familiarity with your network connections.
If you make the commitment to being more active on LinkedIn, you can make a real influence on your network. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Staying active takes time and dedication, but the payoff of having face time on someone’s home feed can be a helpful tool in developing new relationships and business opportunities.
Have a Strategy for When to be Active on LinkedIn
LinkedIn receives the most traffic in the afternoon, meaning, members are more likely to use the website at the end of the day. This may differ depending on where you live and what industry you work in. To engage more frequently with your network, focus your LinkedIn activities during the times when you have the best chance to be seen.
You may want to experiment with this. Mix up your strategy throughout a month and record your results. List how many new connections and engagement opportunities you created during each week based on the time of your participation.
Always Aim to Share Relevant Material
What you share on LinkedIn does matter. Having confidence in your activities and being active on LinkedIn will define you as a trusted authority within your industry and target markets. As an authority, it is important for you to share news, articles and insights that are relevant to your connections. Doing so will attract and grow the right audience for you.Keep in mind that when you share something that is worthy of being shared, members of your extended network can see it and share it as well. As other members see and share your content, your visibility is significantly increased because you are exposed to their connections.
Start ALinkedIn Group
If your company is large enough and/or has sufficient reach within the LinkedIn community, developing a company group in addition to a company page can help generate interest and direct an additional flow of interaction. Larger business that can seem intimidating and hard to contact would benefit by having a social media specialist interact with potential customers within the group – to further boost your business network.
Boost Engagement with Connections
If you’re dumping your blog posts onto LinkedIn as a status update or into LinkedIn Groups, you won’t get very far. It is key to try and achieve engagement with your connections, which you can do by asking questions and participating on other member’s posts. While it is encouraged that you share your content it is more important to be considerate of your connections. Position your posts in such a way that can potentially create dialogue and get your connections can engage with you.