This week is all about learning how to use LinkedIn to successfully build your network and promote your services...

LinkedIn is quickly emerging as a leader in social media marketing, particularly if you have a creative business offering business to business products or services. 

• LinkedIn was founded in 2002 and currently has over 740 million users in over 200 countries and regions, 40% of those users use it on a daily basis. (Kinsta.com)

• 45% of LinkedIn users are in upper-management. These are your decision-makers. The people you want to be influencing. (Forbes, 2019).

• Of 500 million users, just 3 million users share content weekly. With only a fraction of users sharing content, this equals more opportunity for your content to be seen. (OmniCoreAgency, 2019).

• LinkedIn is an especially good source for discovering leads. Hubspot found that LinkedIn is 277% more effective at generating leads than Facebook and Twitter. (Hubspot)

• That number increases for B2B marketers, who report that 80% of their social media leads come from LinkedIn, with 40% seeing LinkedIn as their most effective channel for driving high quality leads.

Optimising Your LinkedIn Profile

To use LinkedIn successfully it’s important to optimise your LinkedIn profile, below are some pointers to help you get started:

• Profile Photo - make sure your photo is clear and represents you in the best way possible. If possible add a professional photo, this will get a user 14 times more views than other types of profile picture  (Kinsta.com) 

• Cover Image - consider changing your cover image from the default LinkedIn cover image. It is valuable space that can be used as a visual representation of who you are and what you do. For creatives in particular this is an opportunity to showcase your work and skills.

• Contact details - sounds basic, but make sure your contact details are up to date, including your website

• Headline - make sure you have a headline in place and that it is engaging and speaks to the audience you are looking to connect with. The headline is a short line of text that describes who you are and what you do. It is only 120 characters so you have to be concise and clear.

• Summary - in this section of your profile you can share more information about yourself and your work. It’s important to keep it professional, but also show some personality. You can also add photos and images of your work.

• Current and Past Experience - this is the most detailed aspect of your profile. However you don’t need to have every single job listed. Only include relevant positions and experience. But do make sure you include your current position. You can also add photos and images to each position.

• Education - the Education section provides a great opportunity to further “network” digitally. For each institution that you add, you are automatically linked to the network of that institution. This allows people to find you more easily across the social network.

• Skills and Endorsements - make sure the skills you have listed are relevant and up to date. Once you have established these reach out to suitable people in your network and ask them to endorse you. Try and list at least five relevant skills, as doing so increases the chance that your profile will be discovered and someone will message you by more than 31 times what you would get if you didn’t.

• Recommendations - see if there is anyone in your network that you have worked for or with in the past that you can approach for a recommendation

• Interests - this is the last section of your profile and another opportunity to be added to networks of shared interests and opportunities.

• Keywords - check that the keywords you want to get found for are featured in your profile

• Visuals - consider including visuals on your page. Just make sure they represent you and what you want to be known for at first glance.

• Groups - groups can be a great way to network and build connections, try and find some relevant groups you can join and get involved with.

• Connections - see if you are connected to the right people. Look through your contact list and past colleagues and/or clients and see if there are any you can reach out to to join your network.

• Blog post - if you have identified LinkedIn as an important promotional tool for your business it's worth considering blogging on LinkedIn to build your network and reputation.

• Images - including photos when you post increases the comment  by 98 percent.

• Video - consider using video content, 59% of executives said given a choice between and written content they would choose to consume it via video.

INDUSTRY EXPERT LINKEDIN VIDEOS

This exercise will help you review and assess your current LinkedIn profile, so you can make changes to improve it.

week 24 book

This week’s book inspiration is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Eckhart Tolle's message is simple: living in the now is the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. And while this message may not seem stunningly original or fresh, Tolle's clear writing, supportive voice and enthusiasm make this an excellent manual for anyone who's ever wondered what exactly "living in the now" means.

Tolle packs a lot of information and inspirational ideas into The Power of Now. (Topics include the source of Chi, enlightened relationships, creative use of the mind, impermanence and the cycle of life.)

WEEK 24 PODCAST

This week’s podcast inspiration is The Ten Percent Podcast hosted by Dan Harris. Dan Harris is a fidgety, skeptical ABC newsman who had a panic attack live on Good Morning America, which led him to something he always thought was ridiculous: meditation. He wrote the bestselling book, "10% Happier," started an app -- "10% Happier: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics" -- and now, in this podcast, Dan talks with smart people about whether there's anything beyond 10%. Basically, here's what this podcast is obsessed with: Can you be an ambitious person and still strive for enlightenment (whatever that means)? New episodes every Wednesday morning.