2. Be nourishing and positive
Your social and online presence is much more important than your resume these days. And everything you post remains findable. Just for that reason, be very aware of what you post, because it becomes part of your online identity. A tip is to only share nourishing content: choose fun, lessons, tips and recommendations. Always leave negativity behind.
3. Be truly present where you profile yourself
Social media is a two-way street. It is therefore only logical that you are actively present on the platform you choose to profile yourself on. The time when we were only reachable by email or telephone is long gone. Yes, it takes time to answer your private messages or respond to posts, but the moment you go online, you choose to do so.
Private messages are also where great conversations happen, so don’t just leave it to an assistant. LinkedIn is one of the best platforms to do social selling and let the customers come to you. So make sure you’re there. No excuses.
4. Use LinkedIn optimally: go searching!
Most LinkedIn users only send. At best, they think about their posts and respond to their own contributions. But there is so much more that can be done. Think about social selling. Also engage in private conversations based on responses and make sure that you actively seek out potential customers. Your network is probably nowhere as qualitative and large as on LinkedIn, so make use of it and learn to search and make contact.
5. 4-1-1 rule: the balance between value giving and commercialism
In sharing commercial and non-commercial content, it is always about balance. First, you provide value, information that is relevant to your network. Do you do that consistently? Then you can also ask for things and make offers. That is the law of reciprocity. That balance is quite important, because nobody likes 'spammers'.
If you really find it difficult, use the 4-1-1 rule. Share value and knowledge 4 times, then place one commercial post from your company or yourself where you ask or offer something and then share a more personal post about yourself, so people get to know you better. That way you can never go wrong.
6. Free content: give away as much as you can!
Giving away content is one of the best things to do and to receive, because you offer value and are therefore important to the other. As a trainer, speaker, entrepreneur or professional you have so much to give. Much more than you think. Therefore you do not have to be afraid to give away a lot.
Why? The pros far outweigh the cons. No one remembers everything you share anyway, and the audience that sees that post is also constantly changing. So you don’t have to worry about someone putting the whole puzzle together without you. Think of a concert of your favorite artist. If you can go there, it doesn’t matter that you already know the music.
7. Extra tricks to get people to stop scrolling
There are many tips that you can incorporate not only in spoken language, but also in written language – so on LinkedIn. We have little time and attention fragmented, so it is important that you give value when you demand attention. A good way to attract attention to your message is to use 'pre-pumping' and direct commands.
Pre-pumping means that you are drawing attention to the sentence that comes after. For example:
'I'm going to share a really cool tool that I use often…'
'The crux is in the following…'
'I'm not really allowed to share this...'
'What many people don't know…'
'What really surprised me…'
'Pay close attention!'
This way you ensure that people are extra attentive and that your message that follows sticks job function email database better. After all, that is what you want: that people do something with your message, leave it or never forget it. Commands help just as well with this, because commands ensure attention and action. Of course, this only works if you then really offer value. If nothing of value comes after this pre-bumper? Then people will quickly drop out.
8. Photos: do or don't?
People are visually oriented, so yes, a picture can help, because a picture enters our brain 60,000 times faster than text. It is very important that it is a picture that adds value. So never use stock photos and invest in a good image bank and place a picture that really fits your post. Otherwise it will only work counterproductive.
A form of content that is still used far too little, but in our opinion has the future on LinkedIn, is video . You can really make a difference with that. In that context: always choose what suits you. Do you like writing and don't like cameras? Then choose a written post or an article. Do you prefer talking? Then don't blog, but try a spoken video.