Tag: LinkedIn connections

LinkedIn is the cousin of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It is a social media network like the others, but is much different in how it helps you network. High followers, connections and engagement are the goals among all social media, however, because LinkedIn is solely a business and employment-oriented social media service, the strategy is different than the others.

There are 500 million professionals on LinkedIn, meaning you have millions of opportunities to network and get yourself and your business noticed. The two keys to running a successful LinkedIn page are to post consistent, engaging content and to strategically self-promote. Investing time, and potentially some money, into your LinkedIn account will give your business a networking advantage.

Organically improve your LinkedIn engagement with these five tricks:

1. Content is key

As with any social media site, the content you produce is vital to the success of the account. Sharing and reposting relevant industry articles is a good way to stay active, but the best way to differentiate your LinkedIn account and grow an active and engaged audience is to post unique content and offer your own expertise to answer your connections’ questions.

Original content, even if it’s just a short thought or a question for your connections to engage with, is a good way to start a conversation. It allows your connections to share their thoughts and opinions, which will naturally give your page exposure.

For quality content, pay attention to the questions and industry problems your connections share. Sharing your own blog post or writing a status update with a solution to the problem is arguably one of the best ways to promote engagement and gain more connections. Establish yourself on LinkedIn as an expert in your industry and you will see significant growth.

 2. Join relevant groups

LinkedIn has over one million active groups and as a user you can join up to 100 different groups. Joining an industry-related group is a sure way to raise your engagement levels as most members in groups are highly active on LinkedIn. Being a member of a group is an effective way to learn new marketing strategies, engage with others, gain new connections and create an actively engaged audience. Additionally, engaging with other group members’ posts will give you valuable insights into current industry news and trending topics.

 3. Personalize your account

Unlike Twitter or Instagram, personalizing your LinkedIn account doesn’t necessarily mean you should ditch the professionalism. If there’s any social network to maintain a professional page, it’s LinkedIn. However, there are some strategies you should implement into your strategy to put a personalized touch on your page.

• Post consistent status updates about your business. Include photos or visuals to gain more attention on the post.
• Send personalized (not spam) messages to connections. Whether it’s thanking them for the connection or a message to discuss a business endeavour, a personalized message helps to create memorable connections.
• Share your own blog posts. Tip: share only the intro of your blog post so your connections have to click through to your site to read the entire article.
• Share images, videos and infographics whenever possible.
• Post consistently and constantly. It’s estimated that if you post 20 times per month you will reach 60 per cent of your intended audience.

4. Always outsource and promote

You should always be self-promoting your accounts. Especially with LinkedIn, as it’s a professional social media network, promoting it along with your business is an easy way to gain more exposure. Add a link to your LinkedIn account on all of your other social media platforms, as well as on your website. However, perhaps the best technique, and one that isn’t used often, is to integrate your LinkedIn account into your email signature. This is a free way to self-promote the account and it will definitely open doors for more connections and higher engagement.

5. Experiment with sponsored posts

Increasing your engagement can be hard as expanding your reach beyond your current following is always a challenge. This is where LinkedIn’s sponsored posts come in. Sponsored posts are an opportunity for you to put money behind your post to ensure it is seen by the right people. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn users are online for insight on their industry, so members will be much more likely to engage with a sponsored business post. LinkedIn will ensure your post is seen by the right audience, which will naturally raise your engagement and give you new leads. LinkedIn’s analytics will also give you real-time information on how your post is doing, which will allow you to see just how effective a sponsored post can be for your page.

Learn more about how Mansfield can help improve your LinkedIn here.