LinkedIn for Influencers: The beginners guide
Oh, LinkedIn, the less glamorous of the social media sisters. Often neglected, misunderstood and downright underplayed, LinkedIn is the dark horse channel that’s worth your time. Often considered “just” a B2B space, it’s clear that LinkedIn isn’t the go-to for content creators who prefer more consumer-friendly and visual mediums.
But here’s the trick…with over 30 million companies present across 200 countries…and counting, it’s clear to see its value in expanding your network in a more niched network. So how do you use LinkedIn as an influencer? Here’s the first installment of our Guide: LinkedIn for Influencers…
Prospect
Growing your own leads and actioning them is imperative to building your monetizable network. Often a particular business function will reach out to content creators directly (perhaps in PR or Influencer marketing) however there are limitations here. Often people whose task is to connect with influencers are KPI driven and with budgetary constraints meaning that the strategic scope of work isn’t as easy to negotiate. If you’re seeking a strategic partnership, you should opt in to seek out the strategic partner specifically. Use the search functionality to find execs at your top-billed companies whom you feel would be a good match to connect with and discuss projects.
Build Awareness
LinkedIn Marketing adds a layer of professionalism to your brand which is wise as you look to grow your business. It’s an opportunity to frame your multi-channel content holistically with a defined goal and declare your strengths. Cherry-pick your best content and add these to your page as links. Think of this as a portfolio. Spruce up your bio to tap into the keywords you feel an exec would value in B2B work. Last but not least: seek endorsements from connections who you’ve worked with in the past. consider this as testimonials for your brand partnerships all in one place. This also works a treat to expand your reach to like-minded executives. Giving an endorsement often sends a notification to that respective endorser’s network of most likely, similar titled individuals in similar industries. This helps to drive awareness to other brands in one go.
Post, Post, Post
Make sure to keep your posting cadence regular. As wit all social channels, there is an algorithm you need to master, all of which focus on frequent activity. LinkedIn is no different. Share the ins and outs of your business. Behind the student of shoots. Snapshots of graphics you’ve created. Snippets of brand partnerships to promote your work to other brands. And of course, share external content as well. Make sure it’s succinct, thought proving and either share/comment-worthy. Last but not least, use your hashtags – trust us, they work on LinkedIn. We won’t go into the specifics (this time) but check out this 2020 guide on LinkedIn boost the exposure of your posts.
Build Links
Create thought-provoking pieces that reflect the themes of your content on-site. Paraphrase your preexisting copy and post this on your LinkedIn blog with links to your website for further copy. Need some help on how to create content on the channel, then check out the LinkedIn content guide. Share this in LinkedIn groups to expand your reach further and drive referrals to your site. Make sure you’re providing value and not overly selling the opportunity to work with you. Demonstrating your content prowess is a much more successful way of getting leads then only asking your network to contact you for work.
Source Talent
Building a team is often the asked about and yet one fo the most difficult endeavours for influencers which we work with. In particular, it’s finding the right kinds of candidates, with relevant experience in an easy to use searchable environment. LinkedIn is an amazing source of talent, so long as you know what to search for and how to use it. We suggest focussing on the skills you need – something to which you can use to finetune your talent search. Another tip is to join as many like-minded LinkedIn networking groups -these are great not only for sharing ideas and finding great external content to leverage but also a cesspool of talent to begin collaborating with or even bring on board.
We’ll be adding more content to our LinkedIn Guide for our influencers – so keep your eye’s peeled. But for now, if want some further sage advice on how to use LinkedIn? Check out our friends at Pepper Your Talk’s content on how to use LinkedIn.
