LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful tool when used correctly, regularly and with an open mind.
However, it can take a lot of effort and a carefully planned strategy for any and all activity you conduct on LinkedIn to have a positive impact.
If you’ve been liking and commenting on your connections’ posts on LinkedIn for some time and even being daring enough to post your own updates, such as the latest press releases for your organisation, or a photo of the event you've attended, you might feel exasperated if LinkedIn isn’t “working” to bring in new leads and develop relationships.
However, this might be because although you’re engaging your audience - great stuff! - you’re not putting enough strategic effort into your LinkedIn communications plan, meaning you’re not effectively set up to engage and nurture prospects.
Share relevant curated content
Don’t just worry about posting your own updates - it’s OK (and encouraged) to share content from others that’s relevant to what you do and suitable for the audience you’ve built on LinkedIn.
Of course, you shouldn’t just share an article without reading it or leaving your own spin on it as a comment, but it doesn’t need much more effort than that. If you spot an article that is well-written, timely and would be seen as a beneficial contribution to your LinkedIn audience then share it, with a succinct comment about the article’s value - voila, job done!
Recommend a group post
It’s nice to be nice and if you see a post that would be worthy of your audience’s attention, you should it within your LinkedIn Group if you are part of one. This helps to build your authority within your Group’s niche - you’re sharing content from various sources that is of high quality and is engaging for this specific audience.
Customise your messaging
An easy way to ensure your InMail messages and LinkedIn comments are well-received is to tailor each message to its receiver. Don’t send blanket intro messages to cold prospects, if you’re hoping to start a relationship with the hope of nurturing them for business. Include:
- A warm intro and relevant reason for connecting
- A brief explanation of who you are and the company you own/work for
- At least 1 reason why building a professional relationship would be mutually beneficial
- Potentially highlighting a suggested meet-up at a networking event you both attend, or recommending a blog post topic for their site, etc - a hook that you should expect a response from
