LinkedIn is the number one platform for any business owners, particularly for B2B marketers.
For one, LinkedIn is NOT your average social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. People who engage in LinkedIn are dead serious for business; yes, those CEOs, CMOs and CFOs who aim for more leads, sales and revenue.
Let me guess, you want LinkedIn to work exactly like in Facebook and Twitter. Sadly, you’re far from reaching the ultimate goal. You may feel that it is extremely hard to get others to engage with you on LinkedIn.
So, what’s wrong? More importantly, what can you do right now to improve your LinkedIn marketing strategy?
Behold, here are the top 6 LinkedIn marketing tips for 2015 (and beyond).
Sorry guys, I can’t help but to share this as I get this question all the time!
You: Reginald, why are you constantly sharing odd-numbers tips?
Me: Why would I share the top 100 tips to be marvelous when you only need 6? 🙂
6 Effective Tips To Spice Up Your LinkedIn Marketing
1. Stop sharing your content. Engage is the key!
LinkedIn isn’t entirely about you; it is all about the community, group and expertise. The biggest mistake done by many marketers is that they are constantly sharing their content and creating an ‘overly promotional’ state.
LinkedIn is built based on engagement and this means that you need to get out of your comfort zone to engage with others.
Important takeaway: LinkedIn is all about networking (imagine going to a local party to network and not finding an ideal life partner).
2. More (focused) engagement
Engagement isn’t enough. You need to engage with particular groups, share ideas and prove to be an important member in the discussion.
Have you heard about thought leadership?
According to ThoughtLeadershipLab.com, Thought leaders are the informed opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise. They are trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas; turn ideas into reality, and know and show how to replicate their success.
So, this means that YOU need to become a valuable party in the discussion (by sharing your opinion and honest debates).
Important takeaway: To excel in any LinkedIn groups, always focus to provide value instead of self-promotional.
3. Taking the time to recommend others
What goes around, comes around.
If you need more connection fast, submitting recommendations to others within your connection (read more about recommendations here) is a superb way.
But creating a good recommendation is hard to pull it though. The key points would be:
- Be honest
- Mindful
- Sharing related information only
Important takeaway: Don’t hope a return when you do. In most cases, I get back several business referrals and created several awesome friends!
4. A (small and simple) welcome message goes a long way
Did you take the time to reach out to your new followers on LinkedIn?
Let’s face it, we are (always) either short of time or just too busy with God knows what. And this means that you ain’t have time to send a welcome message.
Here’s the bummer. You, me and everyone on Earth has equal 86,400 seconds. Trust me, you-have-time.
Take a moment to thank your new LinkedIn followers. Trust me, they would be super excited to receive your message.
Here’s a quick sample of a welcome message:
Hi (name),
(Your name) here! It’s a huge pleasure to connect with you on LinkedIn and yes, I’m feeling blessed! I am extremely active in (industry name) niche and would love to share ideas with you.
Can’t wait to get connected with you further and have an awesome day!
(Your name)
Important takeaway: Avoid the long essay form when sending a welcome message. Make it short and straight to the point. Most importantly, show your enthusiasm towards the new connection!
5. Visual marketing works like charm on LinkedIn
According to Hubspot, well-planned images on your blog posts and profile pages could easily generate over 94% increase in page views, and that is massive!
If you are thinking of LinkedIn posts, I’m not there yet. I’m talking about your profile page.
When creating a profile on LinkedIn, you have the ability to embed multiple forms of media such as SlideShares, images and videos.
Upload and share the latest testimonials from your clients, or a quick introduction of what you and your business are doing. The sky is practically the only limit you have.
Important takeaway: Sharing multiple forms of media on LinkedIn is extremely powerful if done correctly. This means that you need to share only relevant ones that fit your professionalism.
6. LinkedIn marketing need to be fun and compelling
- LinkedIn is a place for business (hint: B2B)
- Everyone talks about business on LinkedIn
- Most people share boring images on Linked
I get it. LinkedIn is ‘pretty’ boring, right?
I remember the first time using LinkedIn which was a few years back. I hit the close button under a record breaking 3 minutes (maybe lesser).
While professionalism is important on LinkedIn, it is important to be fun as well. Whatever you do (from publishing an update to engaging in a group discussion), always remember to share something interesting and compelling.
Yes, whatever you do, make sure there’s a touch of fun in it.
Important takeaway: Compelling-ness helps to attract your potential connections on LinkedIn while fun ensures they ‘stay-tune’ for more!
Over to you
Now tell me (and Adi – the guy behind HotInSocialMedia.com), what is the one tip you have for LinkedIn marketing? Leave a comment below and can’t wait to discuss further!
See also: Tips on Getting the Most Out of Your LinkedIn Profile
