Using LinkedIn to build community and attract clients

LinkedIn is a tool for building community and attracting your soulmate clients.

Jose shares how he’s using LinkedIn to support others and attract clients.

Jose Miguel Longo is a life and career coach helping millennials and beyond achieve meaningful and successful careers. He is also the director of career services for SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Jose is a strategic leader with over ten years of experience in health and human services, talent management, career development, coaching, and counseling.

He believes everyone has a God-given talent and is passionate about helping people discover theirs. To top it off, he is a fellow Goldendoodle lover.

In the early 2000’s LinkedIn was a professional networking platform, but over the years it has evolved into a mega platform where you can network and build relationships that are sustainable. The year 2020 has become the year of online networking.

LinkedIn is a place to harness your profile and brand that you are building along with engaging with people in groups. Some groups have hundreds of people that you are able to connect with.

Building an Online Presence

LinkedIn is a great platform to build relationships and become the authority in your area of expertise.

The LinkedIn Profile

Customize your specific LinkedIn URL. The URL is sharable. Customize it to your name or business.

The headline is the most important piece. Put the juicy keywords associated with your brand and business in the headline because they are searchable.

Your profile picture on LinkedIn should be a professional headshot. A professional headshot will help you stand out. Also, use the banner space to describe and showcase your business.

In other words, your LinkedIn profile is like your resume on steroids. It is the resume that never sleeps. You can get connections and people will find you while you are sleeping, even when you aren’t engaging.

Recommendations, Endorsements, and Features

They become a powerful way to showcase your expertise and that you are an authority in your space. It is free PR. Having all of these things help you with visibility, but they may not be the reason for the connection.

When building your network, connect with those you know, or already have a relationship with. Ask them to endorse you or recommend you.

Keep in mind they are value-added, but not a requirement. However, they are great to show that you provide value and are an expert in your area of expertise.

Posting and Engagement

Engagement is the way that you will build your network and drive traffic to your website. It is important to post every day. Post your content daily and spend time engaging in groups.

When creating content, think about what you are using the platform for. You can do the same thing on LinkedIn that you would do on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. LinkedIn isn’t just a blog, it’s a platform built for networking.

Post a post or article at least once a week and engage at least 3 to 4 times per week.

Hashtags

LinkedIn followed Twitter on the hashtag bandwagon. Hashtags will determine who sees your content. Use hashtags that tell the story of your content.

Connecting and Growing Your Network

Don’t just hit connect and walk away. The key is to build relationships therefore it is important to take the time to write a comment and explain why you want to connect with them. People are very protective of their network and don’t have time to accept hundreds of requests a week. Therefore, it is very important to personalize requests to connect for higher odds the person will connect with you.

Keep in mind that you want connections that are meaningful. Quality connections are more powerful than just a large quantity of connections.

LinkedIn Posts versus LinkedIn Articles

Articles are longer and have more significant content. Repurposing blog posts in articles is a way to use evergreen content.

Posts are shorter and meant to be quick reads or updates.

The LinkedIn Profile Photo

You should have a professional photo or at a minimum, a really good selfie.

It is so very important because people judge us by what is online. We live in a digital world and you must showcase yourself and help others identify you.

If you are using LinkedIn to find a job or have clients hire you, you must have a professional photo. Be professional. The profile photo is your first impression and your introduction to the online world. Having an updated professional headshot helps build the know, like, and trust profile.

Don’t bother having a LinkedIn profile if you aren’t going to have an updated professional headshot.