Council Post: The Four Biggest Mistakes You’re Making On LinkedIn

I’m a LinkedIn Coach & Personal Branding Strategist helping professionals leverage LinkedIn to drive the results that matter most to them.

LinkedIn should be an essential part of every business, especially as the world’s largest professional networking platform with more than 690 million members. However, it can be tricky to navigate if you’re not familiar with it, which means a lot of mistakes are made. Here are four mistakes that you’re making on LinkedIn and how you can fix each one.

1. Treating Your Profile Like A Resume

Unless you’re a job seeker, you don’t want your profile to look like a resume. Of course, people need to know what you do and how you do it, but it’s also important to show them the things that make you who you are.

On a platform of millions, why would someone stop and explore your profile? Take some time to think about this question.

People are much more likely to hear what you have to say if they feel like they know you. So when creating your profile, make sure to answer these questions:

• Why should others do business with you?

• How can you help?

• What makes you relatable?

• Who are you as a person?

Adding personal components to your profile position you to build more meaningful relationships and make it easier for people to approach you.

2. Sales Pitching Immediately Upon Connecting

It’s happened to all of us at least once on LinkedIn. You receive a connection request, decide to accept and then bam! Five seconds later, here comes the dreaded sales pitch.

Would you go up to a random person without shaking their hand and say, “Hello, I’m Lacey, and this is what I do. Are you interested in buying my services?” Of course not. This also applies to LinkedIn. You must build rapport, trust and relationships. 

We are all on LinkedIn to promote ourselves and our businesses and the platform is full of so much opportunity. But, you must remember that before people buy from you, they want to know who you are and if they can trust you.

So instead, focus on building the “know, like, trust” factor and then thoughtfully plug in what you do, when appropriate. (Here’s a hint: It’s not 5 minutes after first connecting.)

3. Not Creating Content

Not taking advantage of publishing content on LinkedIn is one of the biggest mistakes you can make on the platform. Content can build your brand, and sharing your expertise can build a relationship with your audience and ensure your brand is top of mind to the people who matter. Why would anyone want to miss out on that? 

According to LinkedIn, people who post weekly experience twice the lift in engagement with their content. Let’s think about that for a minute. With just one post a week, you can double your engagement with your target audience. Imagine what you could do if you posted daily.

Tips for creating a successful content strategy include:

• Ask questions that start a dialogue with your audience.

• Create content that answers a question or solves a problem.

• Give people an insight into who you are by sharing your stories.

• Realize that attention spans are low (about 8 seconds), so it’s imperative that you keep your content engaging and easy to read.

4. Not Engaging With Others On The Platform

The most important aspect of building a house is the foundation. Without it, nothing else can be constructed. This also applies to LinkedIn. Think of engaging with others as the foundation of LinkedIn. Without it, nothing else can be constructed.

No matter what your goal is for LinkedIn, engaging with others can give you great results. Engaging means commenting on other people’s content and thoughtfully responding to comments on your own content. LinkedIn, like marketing, really comes down to how well you can build relationships. Spending time in the feed, liking, commenting and sharing valuable insights is the heartbeat of any successful LinkedIn strategy.

Engaging on LinkedIn is a quick and easy way to:

• Support other people and build meaningful connections

• Help your profile stand out and gain more visibility

• Reach the people who are looking for your skills

However, when I tell people the importance of engaging with others on the platform, most are concerned with how they’ll find the time. My answer to this is you don’t need to find the time. You make the time.

Attention has shifted to LinkedIn; therefore, some of your business priorities need to change. Without customers, you don’t survive, right? Well, this is where the customers are. So when you know that, you’ll make the time. Even a small amount of time engaging with others on LinkedIn a day can make a big impact on your business.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is one of the most effective ways to build your brand, form meaningful business relationships, connect with potential buyers and generate revenue for your business. To rise above the crowd and outpace your competition, it’s essential to understand the things that are going to make your time on the platform the most impactful. It’s not just having a great profile, it’s not just content and it’s not just engaging. It’s a well-planned mixture of all that LinkedIn has to offer that enables you to put your brand in a position to succeed.

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