I have to admit, when it comes to social media, LinkedIn is hands down my favorite platform for business. Tik Tok for personal but I have to say I absolutely love LinkedIn.
It wasn’t always like that though. When I first started on LinkedIn it was back when I was at the Beer Store and at that time it was more of an online resume. It was something that I could have an online profile with my education and job experience listed.
At that point I wasn’t looking to leave the Beer Store but thought it would be a good idea to have that “online resume†there just in case. After creating my profile, very poorly I might add, it just sat there and I never really had a use for LinkedIn at that time.
Fast forward to many years later and it’s become my favorite platform and I want to tell you why!
Yes LinkedIn is a social media platform but it’s so much more than that. It’s a powerhouse networking platform where you’re able to connect with others in your industry or in the industries of your dream 100.
For example, one of my dream industries is in craft beer. It’s no secret that I am a huge craft beer fan or as some might say, a beer snob but for me, LinkedIn is a great way for me to connect with brewery owners all over Ontario, Canada and even the world.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love Instagram, Twitter and Facebook but I love the personal touch that LinkedIn has and the ability to network.
With LinkedIn, before anything else, having an optimized profile is key. Making sure you have a professional profile picture that isn’t a selfie is one of the first things your potential connections will see. From there, having a great cover photo is a perfect way to grab some attention.
Something I see all too often is generic cover photos or no cover photos at all. Now don’t get me wrong, having one is a great start but having something on your cover photo that shows your audience who you are and what you do is a lot better!
Using a site like “remove background†is a perfect tool to crop you out of a photo to add to your cover photo and having a headline as well a couple bullets about what you do will go a long way in connecting with more people in your target audience.
Using a profile picture and an optimized cover photo along with a great headline is a perfect hook when people are scrolling as that’s the first thing they see and will be able to get to see who you are and what you’re about before even viewing your profile.
Now that you’ve started to optimize your profile, hook your potential connections to view your profile it’s time to tell them who you are with your “about†section. This is something you’ll want to start with using your elevator pitch, something you’ll write down that’s like someone asking what you do.
If I were to ask you right now, what it is you do, that one sentence is what you’ll start your “about sectionâ€â€ with and then fill out even more telling your potential connections who you are and what your wins are.
This is something many of us have a hard time doing, talking about our wins but it’s so very important to showcase those wins to help your potential connections, customers and clients know who you are!
From there start by filling out the rest of your profile and reach out to some of your friends that are in the industry you’re looking to target or reach out to leaders in your community that you know well. Ask them to write you a recommendation. This helps show how credible you are and will help new connections to get to know you better though someone else’s eyes.
Now all you have to do is publish, publish publish! Like I have said many times before, providing value to your audience is a great way for them to see you as an expert and the more value you give, the better off you are.
When it comes to publishing on LinkedIn, it’s very similar to Facebook or Instagram just on a different platform. With LinkedIn make sure you use a tool like Canva so you have the proper image size and with this platform, it’s good practice to add 1 to 2 hashtags to get your content a little more reach.
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