Are you using LinkedIn to its full potential? Most of us aren’t, but the platform offers a wealth of opportunities for small business owners. We recently hosted a fab online breakfast event with LinkedIn expert, Louise Brogan and she has kindly shared her knowledge here. Thanks so much Louise!
Why you’re not winning business on LinkedIn and what you can do about it
We’ve been helping clients to get genuine engagement that leads to business on LinkedIn for over 3-4 years and we’ve seen some amazing success along the way. Although every business is unique, we’ve noticed that there are a few common reasons most people don’t believe they can win business on LinkedIn.
In this article, I’ve broken down the reasons you aren’t getting the results you want on LinkedIn and also, what you can do to.
#1 You don’t have a step-by-step plan
When it comes to content for LinkedIn you need to have a plan. If you don’t know what you’re doing ahead of time, it’s difficult to stick to it and get the results you need.
Creating your own step-by-step plan will also help you ahead of time making it easier for you to know what to post and when.
Who are you trying to attract
What are your core messages?
Can you split your key themes into topics e.g.
Life Coach Ideas
● Why should you hire a life coach
● What can a life coach do for you
● How do you work with a life coach ● Share some client success stories
Top Tip – your audience don’t particularly want to hear why becoming a life coach has changed YOUR life – they want you to help them with their issues.
What you can do to fix this?
Spend some time creating a content plan for LinkedIn. Pin it up on your wall or use an app to keep your plan easily accessible. Try to stick to it as much as possible to keep you on the right track. Here at LB HQ, we love using Asana to
#2 You’re following the wrong advice
When it comes to using LinkedIn for lead generation there’s a lot of rubbish advice out there. Things like participating in engagement pods or people telling you not to bother sending a message when you connect with someone. I don’t blame you if you’re following this advice as it’s generally peddled by ‘experts’ or ‘gurus.’ But if you do follow it, you will struggle to see results.
What can you do to fix this?
Stop using engagement pods. Start connecting with people you want to connect with – potential clients, possible collaborators and people you find interesting. This makes commenting and engaging on their posts much easier.
Create a messaging strategy that works for you and your ideal clients – do not spam your network
See Point #2 about creating useful content for your network
#3 You’ve been sharing the same content on LinkedIn as your other platforms
LinkedIn IS different. Who you connect with, what you post and when, all plays a part. If you currently work with a social media management team who are posting the exact same thing onto all of your platforms, you will be getting few responses on LinkedIn, if any.
What can you start to do differently?
Rather than broadcasting out to your network, consider a reset. Why not start conversations with your contacts? What
do you want to be known for? What does your potential client want to know about?
Write down a list of the frequently asked questions you get about your product or service. If you aren’t sure what those are, then ask your LinkedIn network.
#4 You have not built a network of value.
LinkedIn is a relationship based social media network. Once you have an optimised profile, with a headline that gets you noticed, it is time to start strategically engaging with the people you want to network with.
Think of this like an in-person networking event.
Let’s imagine you are off to an annual industry event. Are you going just for the beer?
Or are you going to make connections and catch up with existing clients and collaborators?
Who is going to be there? What are your goals for the event? Treat LinkedIn the same way.
Choose your time to spend on LinkedIn wisely. Share content that is valuable to your network and start conversations. Respond to other people’s post in a way that gets you noticed
for your business expertise. Of course, catch up for (virtual) coffee with old friends, but this is not on Facebook – change your time online to use LinkedIn for LEADS and business.
#5 You aren’t engaging with other people’s content
One of the easiest ways to build your business on LInkedIn, is to comment on other people’s content. Be strategic about this. Comment on posts you think your ideal client may be reading – with a good headline and profile, you will attract those people over to view your profile and this does lead to conenctions and conversations.
A lot of people create their LinkedIn accounts, and then either become overwhelmed with the thought of posting something, or post content and don’t engage with other people.
Draw up a list of clients, potential clients and people your clients will follow – try to comment or engage with posts 2-3 times per week. This will add up and you will start to get noticed.
Check out our free content on www.youtube.com/c/linkedinwithlouise
