LinkedIn is twenty years old. Twenty! But it’s only been the last few years that it’s really started to come into its own. For years, it stagnated as a CV site, and none of us kept our CVs on there up to date. Then came the ‘brag’ era (mainly sports car pictures), closely followed by the ‘humble brag’ era. It was no wonder so many of us were put off using it for so long. But a few years ago, as Twitter started to fall and the cost of getting your posts to appear on Instagram and Facebook sky-rocketed, people started to realise, what if I showed up on LinkedIn and was myself? What if I offered help and support and gave my knowledge generously? What if I found my people on there? What if I was just… human? And the LinkedIn tide started to turn rapidly.
It’s the golden age of LinkedIn
Unless you’re willing to pay for sponsored posts or you’re really embracing TikTok and Reels, LinkedIn is the best social channel to get your organic (no budget required) content seen. It’s where people are expecting to do business, and it’s where the highest budgets are. And for all of its 1 billion users, a very small percentage of people post great content regularly, so it’s still easy to stand out and be in LinkedIn’s top 1% to generate leads, referrals and other opportunities.
You can make a big difference quickly
Make your profile eye-catching and drive people to it with different types of engaging posts and comments. Show up with a content plan and know who you want to connect with and why. Find your tone of voice and relevant content pillars, and don’t be afraid to show your personality. Learn a few tips and tricks about how to get LinkedIn’s algorithm to love you. Put yourself out there and you will reap LinkedIn's benefits quickly.
Don’t be weird
Try to imagine LinkedIn as an in-person networking event. You won’t get anywhere by lurking in the corner watching, but equally, you won’t get anywhere if you walk up to random people and broadcast some stats or a sales pitch about your business. Make yourself known, be friendly, and remember that people do business with people they like, and business is based on reciprocity.
Now is the time to get involved
It’s time to tie LinkedIn with the rest of your marketing strategy and use the platform at its peak to grow your connections and client base while opportunities for growth, engagement, and organic impressions are high.
Join Sophie Cross for a fun and engaging half-day workshop, ‘LinkedIn For Humans’ to give you the confidence to start getting great results with LinkedIn.