EPISODE 77 OF THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS PODCAST: WHAT'S WORKING ON LINKEDIN RIGHT NOW
Sonya:
Let's face it. LinkedIn is the least sexy social media platform out there. In fact, it has the lowest session time per use compared to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and, of course, TikTok, the most addictive of them. All that doesn't mean it's not effective though. You just need to know how to use it properly. In this episode, I break down a clear LinkedIn strategy for you to implement. Welcome to the Boom Your Biz Podcast. A podcast for the movers, the shakers, and even bigger action takers in business. I'm your host, Sonya McIntyre-Reid, and each week I'll be exploring the question of, what really makes businesses and organizations thrive? I'm on a mission to educate, empower, and inspire business owners and myself along the way.
Sonya:
I've had a lot of questions lately about LinkedIn and how to use it best. Let's start with what you can actually achieve with LinkedIn. Note that in this episode I'm talking about the free version of LinkedIn, not the premium versions. That is a whole different kettle of fish. First of all, I recommend if you're a small to medium business that you don't bother posting on your company page on LinkedIn. Instead, have a page sitting there so no one else copies it or steals the name, but focus on your efforts on the posts on your personal page. So what I mean by this is not sharing content from your business page onto your personal account, not going the other way and sharing your personal page posts onto the business page, just keep them separate. Once the business page is set up, just leave it. Just let it sit there.
Sonya:
Microsoft purchased LinkedIn in 2012 and honestly they've only put effort into the personal side of things and the job hiring. In fact, company pages get an average engagement of 0.3%. It's pretty crappy, and for this reason I recommend you focus on the personal account. Okay, so now that's out of the way you need to ask what your goal is on LinkedIn. Nine times out of 10 you're going to turn around and say to me, "Sonya, I want to land more business to business clients." Cool. So let's look at how you can leverage LinkedIn to do that in ways that potentially you have not thought about. First of all, I feel like you need to be looking at LinkedIn as a way to establish yourself as the expert in your niche. You're going to find a lot of people in your industry are going to connect with you.
Sonya:
I know that this can be discouraging because you'd rather your ideal clients be making that connection rather than those in the same industry. I want you to change up your thinking though. When you do post on LinkedIn about something industry specific, it's likely to be those who are in your industry that are engaging with it. This then pushes out into a wider network of people and you'd be surprised at how often you can go mini-viral on LinkedIn as a result. When you have a niche and you're the go-to person in your industry for, say, bakeries that are looking to franchise, I know this is a totally random example, but hear me out for a second, say there's someone else in your industry but they have a much more general offering, they'll work with anyone, you are then opening yourself up there to build relationships with people that may act as a referral network for you. And as we all know, referrals and word of mouth are still the highest converting leads you can get.
Sonya:
Taking this route can be a slow burn, but you will find that it is going to be the best fuel growth and brand reputation in the long run. So what kind of things should you be posting on LinkedIn? Well, it's interesting because I always go and do some research before I write each of these episodes, and I keep seeing a recurring theme of articles talking about video content on LinkedIn. You want to know something though? With our clients, we aren't actually finding video to be getting the most traction right now. Maybe that comes down to the creative and messaging, but we're finding a simple non-staged picture of the business owner and a post about their achievements or a case study works great. Having a strong opinion on something also works really well. You could also educate people about something. This tends to draw in people from the industry and some great conversations and debates can be had in the comments section of your post.
Sonya:
Don't be discouraged though if there is some big Nerdo coming in trying to disagree with whatever you've said. Approach it as a discussion and understand that the more engagement you get on the post, the more people will see it. Remain professional at all times and don't get caught up in emotion. I've seen many a business owner have a [inaudible 00:04:43] in the comments of their posts when someone has disagreed with them and it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth for anyone coming across that argument happening. Posts on LinkedIn have a lot more longevity than other platforms. So here is the ideal posting schedule that I'm seeing work for our clients right now. Keep in mind with this. It is really about the quality of the post. Don't post for posting sake, please. I recommend two to three feed posts on LinkedIn a week from your personal page and two articles per month. Articles can be case studies, your thoughts on something in the industry, you can even repurpose your website blog if you have one. The aim with this is to establish yourself as an expert.
Sonya:
Let's talk about connections. I want you to sit down and work out two to three career titles or industries that are ideal customers or potential referral networks. For example, if you're a conveyancer, I'd be seeking out local real estate agents. If you're a web developer, you might look to connect with advertising agencies that don't offer web development services. And if you're a web developer that specializes in building e-commerce websites, then I would connect with e-commerce owners or business coaches. My third tip to you for LinkedIn is to actually build genuine relationships with these people. Start engaging with their content. Shoot them a message saying you've loved their latest article. Don't be spammy. Don't be salesy. We all hate getting those sales pitches out of the blue on LinkedIn, and honestly, I get about five a day right now, and I immediately disconnect from that person. If you are looking to do some sales outreach on LinkedIn, there is a method of doing it that can work.
Sonya:
I recommend you go and listen to one of my earliest episodes way back in 2019 titled Generating Leads For Service-Based Businesses with [Aaron Witnish 00:06:43]. Aaron is a long-standing mentor of mine and has built his agency purely offering LinkedIn outreach with clients, and he is incredible at it. Another feature to leverage is the endorsements and recommendations. Give people recommendations and ask for them in return. This doesn't have to be your clients by the way. This can be others from your industry. And finally, I feel like this goes without saying, but make sure your profile is optimized. Have a fantastic profile pic. Really nail out your job title and description as this is the first thing people see. And, guys, make sure you have a work history in there. There is nothing that really diminishes trust in someone than when you go onto their profile, they don't have a picture, they don't have a job history on there. And you just think, is this a spam account? Who are you?
Sonya:
So, to sum up, focus on your personal LinkedIn, not the business page. Look at LinkedIn as a networking opportunity. There are so many things that can come out of building your network online from referral partnerships, getting asked to be a guest speaker, and being seen as the industry leader. Post twice per week on the feed and two articles a month. Make sure this is high quality content. Connect with the right audience and build genuine connections with them by engaging on their content and starting non-salesy conversations. Give endorsements and recommendations and ask them in return. And finally, make sure your profile is optimized. There is no quick fix when it comes to any social media platform. It does take time and energy, but you've got to make sure that you're investing that time and energy into the right things on LinkedIn. I hope this helps, guys. Until next time.