Of all the social media networks, LinkedIn is the place where you can build relationships with professional contacts, site selectors, and industry executives. Besides hitting “like” on an article or sending a new connection request, what should you be doing on LinkedIn that could move the needle professionally or for your organization?
First things first: get ready to be seen!
Economic development is a “people business” – people want to know who they’re working with (or could be working with). Research has shown that a complete LinkedIn profile will get you 21x more profile views and 36x more messages. That’s reason enough to dust off your profile and update it.
Tip #1: Make sure your professional profile is updated and ready to be seen.
A professional headshot goes far on your LinkedIn page and so does a background image on your profile, which could be your company’s logo. When it comes to the content on your profile, think of it as telling a story about yourself and sharing pertinent details about your work history or company history. Send those requests to past clients or supervisors and ask them to write “Recommendations” for you on your page, which is a great way to showcase the work you do.
Additionally, your organization should have its own page where regular content and news can be shared. Make sure that the messaging about your organization is consistent across all team members’ personal profiles.
Tip #2: Share content on your page.
Don’t be shy about sharing content, especially from your organization. Repurpose your organization’s blog posts on your own LinkedIn page, and tag contacts who would find value in it.
LinkedIn is a place where you can position yourself as a thought leader through having an opinion! (Read our article on why thought leadership matters for economic developers here.) Share articles that align with what you stand for and add value to it. Be a part of the conversations you find meaningful.
And if you’re ready to build a bigger following on LinkedIn (on your page or your organization’s page), the LinkedIn newsletter feature is a great option for that. Other users can subscribe to your newsletter, and then they’ll get notified each time your “LinkedIn newsletter” is ready. You can subscribe to PPR Strategies’s new LinkedIn newsletter by clicking here! And if you’d like some help repurposing some of your content into a LinkedIn newsletter, send us a message here to set up a free 15-minute consultation.
Tip #3: Make it easy for yourself to check LinkedIn daily or weekly.
There are simple ways to make it easy for yourself to check LinkedIn daily or weekly: You can make LinkedIn your homepage. You can download the app to your phone and check it while waiting for an appointment or taking a coffee break. You can set a reminder on your calendar to take 15 minutes to check LinkedIn.
By taking regular, consistent steps like these, you can get noticed and build new relationships that bring great value to both you and your organization.
We’ve got more LinkedIn tips for you in our new guide, Social Media Strategies for Economic Development Organizations in 2022-2023. Download it here!
Reimagining Places With You,
The PPR Strategies Team
