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Success means a lot more than just collecting degrees. To advance your Shopify brand or personal brand, you need to grow a social following of other professionals in your field. Contacts and connections can often open doors where simple merit cannot.
And while Instagram and Facebook are the platforms of choice for socialising, professionals have flocked to LinkedIn for decades.
What is LinkedIn?
Used by employees and recruiters alike, LinkedIn is a social media platform that allows you to build a portfolio, interact and connect. You can use LinkedIn to increase your visibility and develop a personal brand.
What are influencers on LinkedIn?
Once a year LinkedIn puts out a list called Top Voices which lists top influencers based on high engagement on the platform. And if you want to make your way up the ranks there are certain things you must do to improve your profile.
10 steps to establish yourself as an influencer on LinkedIn
1. Build trust
Establishing trust can be hard, especially online where it is so easy to deceive. But, it is the cornerstone of success in the work field. Employers browsing your page should get an air of competence and credibility.
Post thoughtfully and strategically. When editing your page ask yourself “will this add value to my profile”? Carefully organised relevant information will attract an audience and build trust. Add references and degrees to establish credibility.
2. Individuality
Set yourself apart from other people. You need to draw people to your profile without sacrificing credibility. So you can’t post showy or controversial posts. To express individuality in a useful manner, think about what the employer wants from you and what you have to offer. Attractively curate this information through articles, posts, videos, and slide deck. Keep switching it up to avoid monotony. Do not clutter or overshare.
3. Invest and engage
If all your content is surface-level people will realise it and refuse to engage. To truly become an influencer you need to invest in your own interests, and explore and monetize them. Your commitment and passion will come through and you will amass a following. Today, people don’t just want aesthetic content. They want to be entertained, inspired and engaged.
Similarly, you also need to engage with people who contact you. If you’re getting a large volume of messages you may not be able to respond to everybody. But you should respond to at least 50 percent of correspondence. You should also comment underneath other people’s posts and share content from creators you like to increase engagement.
4. Fresh content
The only way to consistently engage and grow your following is by sharing fresh content regularly. This is easier said than done. With work and other daily commitments, most people don’t have the mental energy to continually create fresh content. Luckily there are tools to help you with this.
The first is DrumUp, a searching tool that scans the internet for content related to your field. You can use this to get inspiration for articles and posts. And personalise this information to fit your audience. Another useful app is Storify which finds recent news stories relevant to the industry. This allows you to stay on top of developments and updates in your career.
5. Long-form content
Most people stick to posts in the 350-500 word range. To set yourself apart and show your expertise in your field you should write at least a few 800-1000 word posts. Make sure all your content is well-structured and well-researched. Do not repeat yourself or use the information without fact-checking it.
6. Regular content
Posting regular content is key. Utilize the time you have to do this. So, if you only have a limited amount of time it is better if you write smaller posts daily. Posting a 1500 word article once a month is a poor strategy and will not win you any points. This is a mistake new bloggers often make.
Moreover, you do not own your profile on LinkedIn. So all your content is subject to the platform’s working. If they delete your page or deactivate your account all your content will be lost. To avoid this you should keep a separate blog where you post all of your original content. And only use LinkedIn as an additional platform to share your content and boost your blog traffic.
7. Offer services
The best way to draw people in is by offering free services. Free consultations, products, and giveaways can help build a brand and spread the word. You can spend hours planning marketing and brand image, but nothing beats good word of mouth. Just don’t go overboard with this strategy. You can’t keep giving away free products all the time. Remember, this strategy is for drawing people in, not for keeping them there. That is what your content is for.
8. Don’t waste words
Some people mistakenly believe that constantly inundating their viewers with content is the way to stay relevant. They are wrong. Do not waste words. Never spam your audience. You want to create a good impression by putting across a specific self-image. If you have too much content on your page, they won’t be able to find anything. You want to keep your page clean and draw the eye directly to the content that best represents you.
9. Innovative approach
LinkedIn offers a lot of options for content display. And you shouldn’t just stick to one format. Try breaking up your articles or blog posts with short videos and clips. Video attracts more viewers and keeps their attention longer.
10. Never duplicate content
You may think people won’t notice but they will. And honestly, the risk is not worth it. Even if one person notices one portion of one article that’s lifted your credibility goes down the drain.
And in the job market, your credibility often matters more than your skill set. Build a reputation as a thief and plagiarist and you’ll find it difficult to get hired again.
So, join LinkedIn today and start sharing content on the biggest professional online platform. Post regular, entertaining content and join the ranks of LinkedIn influencers.
Chris Riviera
I’ve been an online entrepreneur since 2010, starting with IT freelance jobs on oDesk, then doing consulting for bigger companies and now having my own agency since 2014. Neat-Revenue.com is where I’m keeping track of all my knowledge and experience in the digital marketing space.
