Lost your LinkedIn momentum – or don’t know where to start? Here’s what to do.

If you’re one of the people who have tried and abandoned LinkedIn, have an account but claim you don’t have time to engage with it, or simply don’t know where to start – this is for you.

More than 900 million people use LinkedIn and 40% of its active users log in every day – but its strength isn’t in quantity, but in the quality of engagement. This is what makes it the leading platform for lead generation. Any business person, in a B2B arena, should understand its power and be in a position to maximise it.

As part of its specialist B2B offering, Hampshire-based PR consultancy Polymedia runs practical, hands-on courses to get the most from the platform. All shapes and sizes of business benefit from the workshops – from start-ups to large teams, and from recruiters and sales teams to lawyers and financiers.

Mostly, LinkedIn success is about discipline and habit, so gaining momentum is always the hardest part. Here are some basic tips from Polymedia to get you started – or restarted!

Have a purpose

In any communications activity, we always start with ‘Why?’  What are we doing this for? In the case of LinkedIn, it’s probably to grow our networks, demonstrate our understanding of the sectors and clients we want to work with, and show that we are engaging, helpful and approachable people.

Whatever you do from here, whenever you post, comment or interact, ask yourself whether it fits with the “Why”. If the answer to the why doesn’t work, don’t do it!

Who do you want to talk with (not to or at)?

These are the people who are important to you – they might be potential clients, talent that you’d like to work with, your industry experts, or a host of other stakeholders. These are your target audiences. Then ask what do you want to talk with them about?

You will probably want to demonstrate knowledge and experience to foster trust alongside being approachable. It’s about opening a dialogue that is meaningful for your business – and theirs.

These are your messages and should be the “bible” for the conversations you have and the posts you create.

Get the basics in place

Go to your profile and look at it with your audiences and messages in mind. Have them in your head as you challenge every section of your profile. They want to relate to you, to be comfortable speaking with you, to be reassured about your professionalism, credibility and approachability.

Look at your competitors and clients and others in your niche – who do you think your audiences would warm to – and why. Then tweak your profile accordingly.

• Your profile picture. Don’t choose the profile photo you like because it makes you look slim, or the one from 10 years ago. What are your audiences looking for in you? It doesn’t have to be formal – just professional and engaging.
• Job title. Does it adequately describe what you do? It could be your official role, or you may prefer to go down the descriptive route. Just make sure it’s easy to understand at a glance who you are, what you do, and who for.
• The banner This is the background image your profile picture sits on top of. Check it’s appropriate and update it if you need to.
• About section This is your shop window. Many people who view your profile will only get as far as this, so it’s important to make it work for you. Keep it simple – what you do, who for, and perhaps some good examples. Remember, it’s not a full CV, and later sections are a better place to list your full experience. Speaking of which…
• Experience Review this section carefully. If you’ve had several roles at your organisation or elsewhere, it’s sometimes a good idea to consolidate them into one entry. Also think about jobs you had early in your career and whether they are still relevant – no need to list the paper round!
• Skill Quiz Under Skills and Endorsements you’ll see an opportunity to “Take skill quiz”. Skills will show on your profile, and let LinkedIn know more about you, which helps its algorithm decide how you’re found in search and who your posts appear to. Worth doing if you can – it doesn’t take long!
• Interests Under “Interests” you’ll see networks and Groups you belong to. Check they’re all still relevant and remove any that aren’t. We’ll talk about adding Groups later.

Then just do it!

You know what you know! Be real, be yourself – establish your own tone of voice. Post, share and comment with the parameters of the messages you’ve decided upon.

Once you’ve got going, keep it up. You don’t need to be logged in all the time, but do give yourself time to regularly check in and engage.

LinkedIn has a desktop site and a mobile app. We recommend the desktop app to get you started, and then the mobile app to use day-to-day if you prefer – at your desk, on the train, in the bath – whenever suits you best!

These are the basics, and you’re rolling, then is the time to make your LinkedIn presence more sophisticated. The platform provides a host of opportunities which many businesses fail to tap ion to effectively – including paid-for ads, recruitment services, the opportunity to download white papers, regular newsletters and more.

Training from Polymedia can help you get started on LinkedIn, or, if you’re an active user, get more from the platform to generate leads for your business. Workshops are practical and friendly, run individually or on a team-wide basis, in person, at your offices or ours, or online.

www.polymediapr.co.uk