You’ve done a ton of work so far – let’s take a moment to celebrate. Woohoo!
Now let’s talk about a few strategies to help you continue to make the most out of LinkedIn, even if you don’t need to overhaul your entire profile.
One of the easiest ways you can stay on people’s radars is by updating your status.
As a writer, I always try to share my latest projects (and make a habit of adding them to my publications at the same time).
You can do the same any time you complete a new project (as long as it’s not confidential).
You can also get very creative with your status updates: some people like to tell stories that help showcase how they think about their work.
Take a photo that shows you working with a client or that shows off the end result.
If you like to make videos, you can create short video previews of your blog posts or share what you’ve been working on lately.
Decide on a schedule you feel comfortable with – update once a week, a few times a week, or every weekday.
It’s okay if you miss a bit here and there, but the idea is to try to keep a steady stream of content so you’re on people’s minds.
It can be easy to focus on the technology and forget that at its heart, social media is all about helping you connect with other people.
Here are a few of my tips for how to go about this:
Don’t be shy about connecting with people, as long as there is some sort of actual connection.
For example, if I’ve met someone at a conference or event or we’ve collaborated via email, I’ll send them an invitation to connect.
Always personalize it and mention how you know them.
Personally, I don’t recommend sending invitations to someone if you’ve never interacted with them at all.
I don’t tend to accept this type of request unless the person has a compelling reason that they’ve explained.
Don’t just use LinkedIn as a platform for blasting out your content.
Share interesting content that you find from various sources, especially if it’s something you know your clients or potential clients would find useful.
Spend some time looking through your feed. Like and comment on other people’s posts.
If someone is looking for help with something, share their post with your network.
Fun fact: We ended up hiring an intern at one of my previous companies because I shared the job posting with my network, my friend shared it with her network, and my friend’s brother-in-law ended up seeing the post and getting the job!
Like any community, it’s not just about taking – it’s about giving and taking, so try to adopt the mindset of how you can be helpful and contribute to your community.
Extra credit: Commit to a regular schedule of getting social. For example, decide you’ll spend 20 minutes a week on these types of activities.
