6 Steps for Growing Your Business Using LinkedIn
I’ll be the first one to say: I’m not super into social media.
I definitely like seeing friends and family updates, and I like being able to share things with more than one person at a time (particularly with photos), but most times I find social media overwhelming...even for business.
And look - there are a lot of ways to have a successful business, I’m sure without social media. But using the tools almost everyone is using online is, well, kind of important. Even though I sometimes find myself anxiety-ridden after spending too much time scrolling, social media can be fabulous for business both for networking and finding clients.
My *favorite* social media, if you can even call it that - in fact, let’s just say the least overwhelming social media (and one I don’t click on ads to buy random junk that’s adorable but I definitely don’t need) - is LinkedIn.
You might be surprised that more than 75% of Capturing Your Confidence clients come from LinkedIn! So when I say it’s helpful, I mean you can make connections AND money, which is kind of the ideal for business, right?
What is LinkedIn & How Does it Work?
LinkedIn is a social media platform meant for business and professional networking. Similar to Facebook, the posts are text-driven, although there are also interactive ways to connect with your audience, like polls.
As a user, you create a profile and posts. In your Home feed, you can see posts from people you follow and posts the people you’re connected to have interacted with. For instance, if you connect with a co-worker or friend, you can see posts they’ve liked, shared, or commented on even if you aren’t connected to the original poster. It’s a great way to meet new people and see posts from companies and professionals you admire.
The primary difference between LinkedIn and other social networking sites is the professional aspect. People typically use LinkedIn to:
Find jobs
Hire and/or recruit for their company
Grow their professional network
Meet people doing what they want to do
Contribute their expertiseLearn from others
The atmosphere is different from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok (and any others I may have missed). People are generally positive, share employment and education milestones, and ask for help to get jobs or clients or whatever professional advice they need. There are personal stories, but on the whole, they’re framed within the work and business environment - not for drama’s sake.
Why LinkedIn Works for Business
LinkedIn is a good place to grow professionally, but it’s also a pretty nifty business tool! For business owners, consultants, and freelancers, LinkedIn can help you find clients and grow your business without some of the busywork it takes on other forms of social media.
For starters, LinkedIn is more professional. There will always be people who want to interact with their professional network in unprofessional ways, but in general, people on LinkedIn are there to do business.
They expect to connect with people, potentially do some job recruiting, and learn about business topics like marketing and copywriting from their network. The goals and audience expectations are different from Facebook, even for businesses using Facebook for business.
Knowing the intention is to connect with people for business purposes, it feels less weird to connect with people you don’t know - especially when they’re doing something really cool you might also like to do. For instance, I love connecting with other writers and creative business owners because they offer a lot of interesting and creative ideas!
LinkedIn is a great place to learn what’s possible because there are others doing almost anything you can imagine. And, as long as you’re not connecting to someone and immediately selling to them in their DMs (don’t do this on ANY platform - it’s irritating!), people are usually happy to connect, which means it’s pretty simple to grow your network.
Probably the best thing about LinkedIn for business is that you can get your name and business in front of A LOT of people fairly easily because of how the connection network works. You have people you know and are “connected with” - like Facebook or Instagram “friends.” Easy peasy. Search for them, connect with them, and once they accept, they’re in your network!
The cool thing is that the more people you connect with, the more posts you see from outside of these connections. How it works is that your connection, say your work best friend, likes a post from someone she follows and/or is networked with. Because of your connection with your friend, you can see the posts she likes (or comments on). Because you can see the posts, you can interact with them as well, even if you’re not connected with the original poster.
This is a fantastic way to meet smart people you want to connect with! You get a preview of their content, and when you interact with it, they can also come and see your profile and content, depending on how you set up your privacy settings. It’s a low stakes, organic way to grow your network of professional contacts - with the added bonus that there’s not usually an expectation of “follow for follow” like there is on other sites, especially Facebook groups.
People on LinkedIn will connect with you and you can connect with them, but it’s not one of those things where you’ll see a ton of posts about “let’s all follow each other!”
6 Steps for Growing Your Business with LinkedIn
If you’re sold on LinkedIn (heck yeah!) as a less stressful way to grow your business, especially for you creatives, I’ve got good news for you: It’s not hard.
In fact, there’s really only 6 steps you need to take to start growing your LinkedIn presence (and therefore your business):
Make sure your profile is filled out all the way. Take the time to write a good headline, add a nice photo of yourself (NOT the bathroom selfie you took yesterday), and write an engaging bio. Remember, if you’re using LinkedIn for your business, you need to be clear about what it is you do and what you’re good at.
Make sure your work history is up to date. Fill in your recent job history to the best of your ability and showcase the skills you want people to know about. You don’t need to include every job you’ve ever had, or old jobs that aren’t relevant to what you’re doing or want to be doing. For instance, jobs you had in high school probably aren’t doing you any professional favors.
Make sure you have a business page for your business. This is important, although can be easily forgotten! Create a business page for your business and then in your Work History section, make sure that your “job” is tied to the business page. This will help you gain credibility - and show your future network and clients exactly what you offer.
Participate & comment thoughtfully. Think about what would happen if you walked into an interview and just sat there and said nothing. Or showed up at a work event and stood in the corner on your phone the whole time instead of interacting with others. It’s kind of a waste of time, right? That’s because you need to interact with people for networking to work. On LinkedIn that means commenting thoughtful and participating with your network. Get into real discussions and engage with people! Spend some time thinking about what your connections are posting - you never know who you might meet, or what clients might come of these kinds of interactions. (You’d be surprised by how often this actually happens!)
Post meaningful stuff & testimonials. When you make posts on LinkedIn, consider what’s relevant to your business and what people might want to know about your areas of expertise. For instance, tips and strategies for things that you’re really good at that other people aren’t. And when you do get awesome clients, share what they’re saying about you! There’s nothing more effective for drumming up business than a solid review or testimonial from someone who worked with you.
Tag people, even if you don’t really “know” them. When you start tagging people in your network, it can feel awkward. It can sometimes feel like “I don’t really know them, so will they really care?” Tagging people is a great way to interact with your network and meet new people, though. And honestly? If you’re tagging someone in a post that’s relevant to what they do, they’re likely to respond in some way or another. It’s a thoughtful interaction - not that you want to be picking 5 random people who won’t get value from what you’re saying - and often leads to good conversations.
My challenge to you is to get on LinkedIn (if you’re not already) & start using it for your business!
Are you on LinkedIn? How have you used LinkedIn for business? (If you want to connect, find me here). I’d love to hear about your experiences! Find me on social media or drop a comment below.
Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing - and business.