Building Your LinkedInfluence
If you had asked me about LinkedIn just a year ago, I would have rolled my eyes and laughed.
LinkedIn? You mean the site where you go to look for jobs, post about your promotions and forget about for months on end?
OOPS. I was wrong. And if you’re ignoring it now, you’re wrong, too.
#1: What is LinkedIn?
- Social network geared toward professionals and professional development
- A showcase for your personal profile, your professional brands, private groups and more
- According to the company itself, LinkedIn has 830 million members in more than 200 countries
Reid Hoffman – who is also one of my favorite creators and thought leaders to follow – created LinkedIn back in 2002 and launched it in 2003.
So one fun fact… I graduated college in 2002. So it wasn’t available as a job hunting website when I was doing a LOT of job hunting.
I dug into my LinkedIn history and it turns out, I signed up for my account in October of 2006. But from 2006 to 2020, I did almost NOTHING on the platform.
In 2020, I made a few posts…largely because I was playing a more active role in talent recruitment and hiring people at the time, when I was working in-house as a senior leader for a wellness company…but even then, I would say my “strategy” was to post and ghost.
More on that later.
#2: What is the benefit of being on LinkedIn as an active user?
- Networking and good conversations
- Lead generation and sales
- Speaking opportunities
- Recruiting/headhunting/job searching
#3: Who is LinkedIn a good fit for?
My glib answer is “anyone who’s seeking personal and professional development and growth” but that’s probably not super helpful. Today’s LinkedIn is a great fit for some obvious roles, like:
- Founders and CEOs
- HR, VPs of Talent, recruiters
- LinkedIn copywriters
- Professional speakers
But the people I’m most excited to see and connect with right now are much more diverse in their work and their approach:
- Digital course creators
- Coaches and consultants
- Online business managers
- Podcast producers
- Newsletter publishers
And much, much more.
#4 What kind of content works on LinkedIn?
Here’s the REAL reason this is my favorite platform right now – it rewards longer-form, text-heavy content and photos and videos are much less important for your growth and engagement. The most successful content on LinkedIn has nothing to do with dancing and pointing and lip syncing – although truly NO shade to that because I don’t care if it’s cringe or tacky, I honestly do love creating some of that content for other platforms…
…instead, it’s about thoughtful, provocative, inspirational, aspirational STORYTELLING and engagement not only on your own content, but on content published by other people.
I started my online creator journey as a blogger and I LOVED writing those long, juicy posts. It’s why I still publish a newsletter and why I love mapping out my podcast episodes.
Longform, for me, is always more fun and exciting than short-form hooks and quick calls to action.
On LinkedIn, I feel much less pressure to create something visually appealing and instead, I get to use words to communicate.
Do I still post videos and photos? Sure, if it advances my point. But I don’t do it just to do it.
#5 How can you get started on LinkedIn and actually get results?
OK, shameless plug time. I love this platform so much – and I find that so few people in my circles actually use and know how to use it – that I’ve created a brand new “LinkedInfluence Challenge”. You can learn more at https://risingtidetalents.com/linkedinfluencewaitlist!
I created this challenge as a 30-day roadmap…one that I wish I’d had when I came to LinkedIn with a laser focus in early 2022. I benefited from learning from other LinkedInfluencers and taking part in other programs and courses, of course, and I’ve learned even more by just jumping in myself!
But this challenge is, I hope, a simple and effective and yes even FUN way to start posting and engaging on LinkedIn. I would be thrilled to support you and cheer you on.
So, be sure to find me on LinkedIn – just search my name, Katy Widrick or find my direct link at rising tide talents dot com – and head to https://risingtidetalents.com/linkedinfluencewaitlist to get involved with my 30-day LinkedIn challenge!