You Must Have An Optimized Profile
The first thing is to make sure that your profile is optimized. What I love about LinkedIn is when Microsoft bought them out several years ago, the embedded SEO on all our profiles so they are more searchable, visible, and able to be connected with. It would be best to have specific keywords on your profile to appear in the searches for those individuals you seek to communicate with.
This is something that I understood: if I wanted more speaking engagements, client acquisitions, and podcast interviews, I had to have those keywords fluttered throughout my profile. Need some help? Check out my LinkedIn Profile Optimizer.
Define Your Client/Business Avatar
The second thing you should do is define your client or business avatar. In other words, the person you are most likely to want to engage with, the person you are most likely to network with, or the person most likely to purchase your services.
This is something that I learned very early on. When you are super specific with the network you are building, it raises your chances of closing more sales to grow your business using LinkedIn. Make sure you only connect with those who could genuinely benefit from your offer and those who can introduce you to your ideal client avatar.
You Need to Message Contacts Correctly
The third thing you should focus on is how to message a contact properly. For those reading this, I am sure you can relate to me when I say that I have been victimized by many people sending me unwarranted messages on LinkedIn that are 18 paragraphs long drunk-a-logs trying to sell me. That will not get me on a phone call or a Zoom meeting with you.
I found that there is a strategic and best way to message someone on LinkedIn. This took me years of crafting and perfecting messages that are getting back the responses I wanted to build my business.
When sending a message, make sure that you craft your letter by stating the person’s name first. Make it a relaxed, straightforward opening line such as, “Hey Chris. It’s great to be connected to you”.
The next thing that you want to do is bridge the gap between the other person and yourself
Stating the connecting point of why you should connect without trying to sell them. Here is an example. “I noticed that we had similar backgrounds in xyz industry, and it would be great to hop on a call to learn more about what we are both doing and how we can best support one another here on LinkedIn.”
The final thing you should do is end your message with a call to action.
Always remember that questions lead to answers, and statements lead to nowhere. I would say, “Is there a best day, time and number to reach you on so we can connect?”
Utilize Automated Notification Messages
The fourth thing you should focus on within LinkedIn is using the automated notification messages you were provided each day to reengage with all the connections you have not spoken to in a while. The great thing about LinkedIn is just that. The platform truly wants you to continue building meaningful and genuine business relationships with people on the forum.
Use these automated messages given to you every single day in the notification section of the platform to your advantage. You don’t have to get fancy.
I found that the more of these messages I sent out daily, the more reengaged conversations I would create. This truly makes more leads than you have time. Which, my friends, is always a good problem to have.
Provide Valuable Content
The fifth and final thing you must do to grow your business using LinkedIn is to provide relevant, educational, and informative content. The best content practice you should initiate in your business is providing three pieces of weekly content. This does not matter if it’s a post, article, or video.
Your network is looking to engage with you and learn from you at the very same time. This is something that I learned over the years: the more that I give to my audience, the more they give back to me.