Let’s talk about LinkedIn—and not just having and setting up a LinkedIn profile, but actually attracting referrals and leads through LinkedIn.
1. Get a professional headshot.
I’m talking about your LinkedIn personal profile here—you need a professional headshot. I recommend Fred with FredShots (fredshots.com), but even if you don’t use him, please use a professional. You don’t want to just have a selfie on LinkedIn, or a picture of you with your buddies or spouse. It needs to be a professional headshot that portrays the image you want for people to take you seriously. This is your first impression!
2. Be active in groups.
Join LinkedIn groups that you can be active in. Now, you don’t want to join groups that are solely the industry you’re in. If you’re a realtor, you don’t want to join realtor groups and only talk to other realtors. If you’re a realtor in McKinney, it would make sense for you to join a local group that allows all different types of industries. Or you might join a mortgage professionals group, if possible. But you want to network with all kinds of different people who can help you.
3. Engage!
Make sure you post, but don’t post only about yourself and your business. You want to like other peoples’ posts that you agree with, and comment on other people’s posts. They’re going to get a notification that you liked their status update, or that you commented, and that makes you both feel good. And when you do that, you’re on their radar. They’ll go and check out your profile, and if they need your services, they’ll refer you or contact you. So definitely engage with other people on LinkedIn.
4. Post helpful content.
You don’t want to make your posts all about you. You want to post valuable content. Whatever industry you’re in, just think about how you can help your audience. For instance, if you sell printers and copiers, you can share content about copier maintenance or how often to change out the toner, etc. If you’ve followed my blog for awhile you know I’m all about leading with value first!
And this is the most important tip for LinkedIn:
5. Personalize your requests.
When you send a LinkedIn request to connect with someone, you want to personalize the request. You don’t just want to send the generic LinkedIn message. Take the time to customize it. You might say something like, “I noticed from your profile that (blah blah blah), I think I’d be able to help you (blah blah blah), so I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn.” Give them the “selfish” reason for why they’d want to connect with you. By personalizing the message you’ll stand out from the other hundreds of anonymous requests that we all get each day, and they’ll actually accept your invitation.
I hope these tips help. Obviously, you need to do these things on a consistent basis. Make it a point to do these things a few times a week, or every day if you can. This will help you see some traction and get some referrals on LinkedIn.