In this edition of my newsletter I'm going to share with you 5 tips you can start doing right now that will put you ahead of the crowd in 2023 on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn changed a LOT in 2022. Here are just a few of the changes:
- The algorithm cut the reach of posts dramatically across the board, particularly video posts. This seems to have tied in with the introduction of Creator Mode and the push to have more creators producing regular content on LinkedIn.
- Pinned comments on posts. This enables you to add something to a post, like a link for example and ensure that it stays at the top of the list no matter what. This is currently in beta, so you may not have it yet. I don't either!
- Carousel posts. Don't confuse these with document posts (which most people call carousel posts). They're different. Carousel posts allow you to upload multiple media types in a single post and run them seamlessly as a kind of automated video or slideshow. Again, this is in beta so you may not have it yet.
- Notifications for people you follow. If you love someone's content and don't want to miss any of it, once you follow them you can click the 🔔 just below the background photo, next to the LinkedIn logo to receive a notification whenever they post something new. You can also tell your followers to ring your bell so they get notified when you post.
- 'About this profile' option. This appears at the bottom of the list when you click on 'More' option when viewing someone's profile. It tells you when someone joined LinkedIn, when their contact info was last updated, when the profile photo was last updated and whether or not they are verified either by phone number or business email address (so you can tell if it's a real person or not).
I'll create a more comprehensive and detailed list of the changes and how to take advantage of them in an upcoming article. 😉
If you want to use LinkedIn in 2023 to help you grow your business, you'd better know about the new features and how to use them. But more importantly you'd better get the fundamentals right first or no amount of activity on LinkedIn will produce results.
OK, on to those 5 things...
1. Set up your profile for your ideal client.
You may be thinking this one is obvious. You'd be amazed at how many folks either don't understand this or get it wrong.
You need to understand many things about your ideal clients and almost know them better than they know themselves. This means:
- knowing who your niche is.
- understanding what their problems are.
- understanding the outcome of solving those problems.
If you know all that, you're most of the way there. Not all the way though.
You also need to understand how people behave when they're surfing the internet, including when they come across your profile on LinkedIn.
In a nutshell, they don't use their thinking brains. They're on autopilot. When you understand this, you can create your profile in such a way that it cuts through all the noise and kicks them out of autopilot mode!
Read this article if you want to know how to do this.
2. Become a true creator.
This one is key. LinkedIn introduced Creator Mode and the Creator Hub in 2021 and pushed it hard in 2022.
If you're not in Creator Mode and you're not posting every day on LinkedIn you may have noticed the overall reach of your posts has declined.
This is because LinkedIn is pushing hard to become a top content platform. They are encouraging more people to create engaging content and rewarding them by giving more visibility to their posts.
I use the 'hub and spoke' content method that I learnt from Justin Welsh (one of my favourite creators) and put my own spin on it.
It involves creating one piece of long-form content (hub) per week, either a LinkedIn article, a blog article (like this one) or even a video that takes the viewer no more than 10 minutes to consume.
Then from that one piece of content I create numerous short-form pieces (spokes) to be used as posts that point back to the hub. The hub always has a call-to-action to get people to take the next step with me.
This enables me to post every day without too much effort. And, it's more effective at getting people to go on a journey with me.
This has proved very effective for me in 2022. The idea is that you capture people with short, punchy but powerful posts in their newsfeed when they're on autopilot. They may not click through to one of your hubs the first few times but if your posts give value and they like you, the chances are they will eventually click through.
Once they arrive at your hub, as long as it delivers value and they read to the end you get the chance to add the CTA that has them take a bigger step with you and voila - the journey has begun!
Click here if you'd like to know more about Creator Mode and how to get started with it.
3. Don't connect and run. Build relationships.
Do you have a strategy for growing and nurturing your network? If you're serious about LinkedIn as a growth tool for your business, you need one!
Most strategies out there involve sending annoying messages and trying to sell out of the gate. Or worse. they use automation to send generic messages.
Those strategies may have worked a couple of years ago, but people have wised up to this in 2022/2023. And so has LinkedIn. And they are on the warpath for anybody using automation.
My advice is never, ever use automation with LinkedIn - ever! If you get caught out you're at risk of losing your account. And the folks on the receiving end are most likely wise to what you're doing also. This means you get off on the wrong foot with people, hence decreasing the value of your network.
Instead, spend a little time reading people's profiles and genuinely connecting around things that resonate with you, or common interests you may have, etc.
Build rapport, be curious about people and try to help them as much as possible before ever discussing your services with them.
People are craving authentic connection and they're tired of being sold to. Serve them instead and the relationship will be way more rewarding emotionally and in some cases, financially too.
4. Research your audience.
In point #1 I talked about understanding the problems and the outcomes of solving those problems for your niche.
Well, this is how you acquire that knowledge, by using LinkedIn to research them. There are ~850 million LinkedIn users. If you've chosen your niche well you'll probably have a million or less people in your target audience.
Start reaching out to them and ask them if they'd be willing to help you with some research. If they agree ask them 2 questions:
- What's your biggest problem (in relation to your offer)?
- Supposing you could solve that problem, what would the outcome be?
Ask as many people as you possible can and copy and paste their words somewhere so you can analyse them later.
If you get at least 30 responses you'll start to see commonalities and frequently used words. Take those and make them the cornerstone of all your marketing messages. In fact, use them for you content, landing pages and pretty much anything you put out into the world regarding your business.
I promise you, if you do this well you'll see incredible results.
5. Engage with other LinkedIn members.
You should be engaging with two types of people:
- Your potential clients
- Influencers and creators that are ahead of you
Engaging with your potential clients is pretty obvious. Like and comment on their posts. Wish them happy birthday and congratulate them on their new positions when you get notified. Endorse them for skills and just be supportive of whatever they're doing on LinkedIn.
For influencers and creators, make a list of the top 5 people that are:
- Ahead of you
- In your industry
- Someone you admire
- Someone you want to learn from
Then interact with their content every day by adding value to their posts.
It will help you:
- Get more visibility
- Build relationships
- Grow your following
- Increase your authority
This is an incredibly valuable thing to do. LinkedIn is a community. Be a part of it!
