Steve is an engineer and currently unemployed due to the up and down cycles of the oil & gas industry. Steve reached out to me with a great question: “Is LinkedIn just about sending people connection requests?”
A great question!
In my honest opinion, LinkedIn is THE most undervalued social media platform currently. It’s definitely SO much more than sending connection requests.
In reality networking (simply talking to people) is how most people find their next job, next promotion, next sale or next client. Most importantly, networking is ALL about conversations with another human.
Yes, I said conversations!
Having a genuine conversation with a person or persons either face to face, on the internet, via email or even on the phone are all types of networking.
So, Steve, YES LinkedIn is way more than just sending people connection requests. However, the underlying question is… “what do I do once I make the connections?” OR better yet, “how can I attract connections that are interested in me and what I do?”
Let’s dive into the 3 steps to “market yourself” on LinkedIn (and Create Engagement):
In order to get the notice of others, you must first notice others.
1)ACTION STEP > once a day for 5 days find 10 people (industry or job relevant to you) and comment (of value with at least 4 words or more) on one of their posts (yes also asking a great question would be double awesome). Pick 10 different people each day for 5 days.
2)ACTION STEP > Find 3 relevant hashtags to your industry or job, then pick 10 posts that used 1 of those hashtags to leave a comment of value. PRO TIP: a comment with at least 4 words or more (yes also leaving a great question would be awesome) gets more visibility by others. Do this everyday for 5 days straight.
3)ACTION STEP > Write a post of your own for 5 days straight that gives value, educates your network on your knowledge and experience. End each post with a CALL TO ACTION like a question or ask for feedback of some kind.
Examples:
- “3 things I would tell my college self about being a reservoir engineer”
- “The hardest day in my work history”
- “why i became an executive assistant”.
PRO TIP: always include an image to give your post value in the LinkedIn algorithm. This helps people know what to do with your post.
Try the above 3 ACTION STEPS for 5 straight days. Don’t spend all day and overthink the posts. Remember keep it SIMPLE. The hardest part is actually getting started, SIMPLY START.
EXTRA TIP: please, please, please respond to each and every comment left on your posts, and even better if you can keep that conversation going. BUT, do not stress about the # of likes and comments, just keep posting and showing up to push for conversations.
I want to serve you well, so if there’s something you want more of feel free to reach out to me here in the comments or send me a private message on Instagram or Linkedin or simply respond on this post.
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SANDY ADAMS 