Four key pillars to building your business on LinkedIn

Welcome! I am delighted that we are going to be able to write, read and subscribe to newsletters here on LinkedIn. It is one more tool you can use to help you build your business and brand on the platform.

Today I would like to share the four key pillars I teach my clients to put in place that will really cement their presence on the platform. Ready?

1 A good solid LinkedIn Profile.

Your profile is your foundation - all your activity on LinkedIn that follows, should lead someone back to read your profile and find out about you and what you do.

Key things to include:

• your headline - what do you do, who do you help, what will catch someone's eye?
• an up-to-date profile photo (so we recognise you!)
• an About Section that tells your reader how you can help them
• Experience section - make sure the focus is heavy on the skills you want to be known for now and reduce down 'old' roles that don't apply to your current business
• updated Skills section
• start asking clients for recommendations

When did you last update your profile? Maybe today is the day!

Quick Tip - use the background cover photo on your profile to highlight what you want to be known for - if you have an event coming up, switch the image to promote the event and then switch back after.

2 Who is in your network?

The second pillar is SO important. Do you connect with anybody and everybody? What if you only connected with people you actually wanted to network with?

When I am teaching workshops, I often liken this to going to your industry conference. If your business is coaching women entrepreneurs, would you attend a networking event or conference for plastic manufacturing?

Surround yourself with the following if you can:

• potential clients
• potential collaborators
• people you are interested in (isn't it much easier to engage with people when you are genuinely interested in what they have to say?)

Feel free to remove people from your network who are spamming your newsfeed or always trying to sell you stuff. This is your permission.

Quick Tip - if someone connects with you without a message, and they seem like an ideal client, send them a short welcome message and ask about their business. Next time they post something on LinkedIn, comment on it. Keep yourself top of mind.

3. Your Content

Once you have a good solid profile and you are starting to build a network you want to interact with, it is time to have something to say!

I love helping clients plan out their content for LinkedIn. Rather than rocking up and saying whatever is on your mind (and yes, I do that sometimes too... aren't we all human?), it is a good idea, if you are using LinkedIn to build your brand and business, to plan out what topics you are going to talk about.

Think of the common questions you get asked about in your business.

Can you write posts, create videos, share articles that explain how your product or service works?

I love asking my network for input into blogs and podcasts for example. Then when the finished article is published, my network have an invested interest in seeing what is created. You will see the senior team at LinkedIn do this as well - the weekly Creator roundup features at least 5 creators from LinkedIn and what they are sharing.

The important thing is to START sharing your thought leadership and talking about business with your network. (If you need your hand holding, get in touch x)

Quick Tip: Why not mix in some 'awareness days' - did you know that Small Business Saturday is coming up? 4th December in the UK and 27th November in the US. If your business is supporting women, are you ready to promote International Women's Day in March? You can find these awareness days with a quick search online. Choose the ones relevant to you and your business.

4. Your Messaging Strategy

When I say messaging, I mean sending private messages to your network.

It all starts when you connect with someone - please send a message to say why you are connecting. This opens up a one-to-one conversation between you and your connection.

It is not an exaggeration to say that 90% of my leads on LinkedIn come via private messaging. From them to me. I rarely offer my services to someone without having a 'buying signal'. This could be a line such as - I'd like to hear more about your services (nice and easy to interpret) or - I am just starting on LinkedIn and finding my feet.

Use your judgement - does it make sense to direct someone to read more on your website? Can you share an article or video you have created that answers their question? Often I am able to help someone out by pointing them to my YouTube channel. Other times, they ask me can we have a chat.

Quick Tip: use your messaging wisely - you can send an interesting/relevant article to someone you are building a relationship with or simply send a catch up message when you see their most recent post. This can restart a conversation and lead to business conversations.

All of these four pillars work together in conjunction. Think of them as a three-legged stool. Your profile is the seat, and it needs ALL three legs to help it stand up firm.

With most people on LinkedIn simply scrolling and 'lurking' (what a word 😨), it is relatively easy to get yourself more visibility simply by applying the suggestions above.

If you have enjoyed this initial newsletter, then do subscribe and feel free to share it with your network - give yourself something to talk about 🤩. For more in-depth 'how to' detail on using LinkedIn, please visit www.louisebrogan.com