“LinkedIn is like a gym…you don’t have to work out on all of the equipment all the time.”
During our presentations and training sessions on our LinkedIn Success Blueprint we often use the analogy of comparing LinkedIn to the gymnasium and for good reasons – LinkedIn has many different ‘pieces of shiny equipment’, all vying for your attention and with persistent and focussed effort it is possible to ‘get in shape’ and achieve phenomenal results.
But what items should you work on and how much work do you have to put in to get real results?
You have be in it to win it
Like almost all areas of human endeavour, LinkedIn can only really deliver results if you are prepared to put in the work but this doesn’t mean that you have to spend endless hours and hours on punishing ‘work outs’ – we believe that it is possible to achieve success with a persistent and focussed effort.
If you go to the gym in January, you will see the people who have made a new start and invested in membership as a step toward their goals – many will be going for it and ‘hitting it hard’ – However, it is not easy to maintain enthusiasm when the going gets tough and how many of this bunch do you think will still be there in March?
For some people, simply the act of having the membership gives them comfort that they are moving forward – but as we know this is not enough. If we return to the LinkedIn gym, it is easy to understand that if you rarely engage with the platform, fail to perform basic relationship maintenance tasks and don’t share valuable content – you are unlikely to be happy with the results.
Getting in shape
In the LinkedIn Success Blueprint we provide insight on how to get your profile fit for purpose, looking great and in shape to show you off at your best. The process we outline for creating a winning profile is easily achievable for most people and could be done in a couple of hours. Also, once you get past any initial discomfort, you will find it gets easier!
If you look around the LinkedIn gym, you will soon find some “January people” with unfit profiles, who most probably have given up before they have had a chance of getting any success on the platform.
But I’m an allstar!
There is a potential trap that many fall into while starting out in the LinkedIn gym, during the creation of their profiles. The site mechanics during the sign-up/new account creation stages incentivise basic data entry with points toward you gaining “allstar” status. This has made many convinced that their profile is in shape – when it is often just a version of their CV online.
Success secrets
A successful profile is one which acts as a first-rate digital calling card, as a ‘convincer/reinforcer’ when you are looked up following an initial meeting. It also should immediately convey the value you offer to your target audiences and be keyword optimised for Google and LinkedIn searches.
However, having a phenomenal profile will not be enough to guarantee that you achieve the kind of results enjoyed by our clients.
In the next article in this series we will go further into the LinkedIn gym and show you what ‘gym’ equipment we use and when and will give details of a 20-minute workout that is proven to get great results.
