Make Your LinkedIn Strategies Count

LinkedIn strategies? Do you really need to think all that much about social media?

While Facebook and Twitter may be seen as the place to share pictures of your dog and your opinions on the Olympics, LinkedIn is the one social media platform that lets business owners play with other business owners.

It’s kind of like a playground for entrepreneurs! So before you miss your turn on the swing set, take a few notes on LinkedIn strategies and user behaviors that will make your profile unforgettable.

We get it: you’re a business owner who has other things to do than poke around on another social media website. But when you know the right Linkedin Strategies to put in place, you’ll soon realize that new leads await.

Before you implement any LinkedIn strategies, it’s best to understand the behavior of the typical user. Let’s answer this question…

What exactly are people doing on LinkedIn?

Users have a certain mode of operation when they spend time on LinkedIn. And if nothing else, LinkedIn functions like no other social media platform. Here’s just a handful of examples of the behaviors Linkedin users don’t have.

• LinkedIn users don’t click through vacation pictures and videos that friends post.

• LinkedIn users don’t care about your relationship status or pictures of your lunch.

• LinkedIn users don’t share 140 characters of what’s on their mind.

• LinkedIn users don’t want to watch another video of a red panda playing in the snow. (Even though those videos are ridiculously cute).

• LinkedIn users don’t apply vintage filters to snapshots of their pets or their toes in the sand.

So LinkedIn is not Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. LinkedIn doesn’t brand itself as the “fun” brand of social media. But that means entrepreneurs stand at a greater advantage, because the average LinkenIn browser is on a mission.

While a handful of people see LinkedIn as a one-stop job search tool, the platform actually works better as a marketing tool than anything else. With the SEO capabilities alone, there’s more than enough reason to maximize your presence.

So what does the average browser actually care about finding? Here are just a few affirmative behavioral patterns.

• LinkedIn users do search your profile to find out more about you before they decide to work with you.

• LinkedIn users do care about the relevant content you offer.

• LinkedIn users do want to know more about your credentials, publications, and experience.

• LinkedIn users do go there to get questions answered by experts.

• LinkedIn users do use search engines on the website that function much like Google does.

So with user behavior in mind, how do you make your profile a magnet for new business?

1. Don’t forget: the LinkedIn search engine works like Google.

Not only will Google publicize your profile page if you set your profile public, but the internal search engine shares many similarities with the “Big G”. In other words, SEO matters big time in this social media realm.

So take the time to optimize your profile for greater visibility. It’s not that you have to call in an SEO expert. Instead, use keywords that are relevant to your market and provide quality links that lead to compelling content.

2. Your summary space is valuable real estate.

Leave the boilerplate messaging at the door. Empty verbiage makes any almost any reader turn up their noses and click the back button faster than you can say “boring.”

Specifically, eliminate phrases such as “team player”, “results-focused”, and “goal-oriented.” Because verbiage such as that comes straight out of a resume template on Microsoft Word, and your page visitors won’t get any concrete value.

Our suggestion: make your profile summary human. Completely human. Answer one question honestly and vividly, and your summary will become more effective…

Why did you go in to business in the first place?

You summary is your story, so make it good.

3. It’s not just a job title that matters.

Yes, LinkedIn is great for B2B marketers and entrepreneurs. But work isn’t everything. And no matter how awesome your products and services are, people still like doing business with other people.

Translation: a person who sells an apple with a little bruise on it will out-convert a lifeless robot that sells a fresh piece of fruit. Personality matters.

To make sure you don’t present yourself as all work and no play, include some of your interests and non-work experiences. Do you volunteer at a soup kitchen? Do you sing in a choir? Do you walk dogs at the humane society?

Put that info in your profile, and you’ll make a much bigger splash with page visitors.

Plus…

The more personal details you include, the easier it is for LinkedIn to make connections for you. (It actually works a lot like Facebook in that way.)

4. Headlines. Headlines. Headlines. Headlines. Headlines. Headlines.

Full disclosure: your headline shouldn’t be flashy as if it appeared on a sales page. On LinkedIn, your headline describes you before someone looks at your profile. So make sure your headline does its job accurately.

Include your title and business name. It’s important.

For social media strategies that keep selling, check out our Life after Launch Services!