LinkedIn is a powerful social media platform for professionals and a great way to make connections, find jobs, and build your business. But like most things, if you’re not using it correctly, you’re not getting the most out of it. In our recent webinar, we were excited to have LinkedIn expert Adam Houlahan share his tips for using the platform effectively.
And you know us, we couldn’t just keep it to ourselves! So get ready to get the scoop on the new features and LinkedIn secrets Adam shared.
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Check out some snippets below!
Drive traffic to your website from your LinkedIn profile
Yes! You heard it here first! The latest update to LinkedIn is digital marketing gold! You can now input your website address and drive traffic directly from LinkedIn to your website. The link will display in your profile section above the fold, and your potential clients will see it without scrolling.
If this feature is activated already, it’s a no-brainer to use it to send your audience to a landing page or offer on your website. This is typically a great opportunity to get the user’s email address in exchange for a high-quality, free offer that provides value. Having their email address means you can contact them outside of LinkedIn and give them more exposure to your business.
Just one quick thing! LinkedIn is still rolling it out to all of its users. If you don’t see it yet, don’t worry! It will be available to you soon. Keep checking back because it’s on its way.
How to add your website to your LinkedIn profile:
- Go to your profile information on LinkedIn and select the pencil icon to edit your general information.
2. Then scroll down to the bottom of that section, where you can just pop it in and save the changes.
Drive traffic to your website from the ‘Featured’ section on LinkedIn
The ‘Featured’ section on LinkedIn is another excellent way of getting people off your profile and into your business ecosystem. Which makes it quite the irresistible feature! Many people don’t use it as it’s not activated by default, but it’s a real game changer because you can add many digital assets like:
- Links to blog posts on your website
- Links to newsletters
- Links to articles
- Media
Even though you may feel eager to add loads of your digital assets in this section, it can make your profile look cluttered. Three is the maximum recommended number you should add, and be sure to link to targeted landing pages that will capture potential clients’ information to add to your database. This will help move them from LinkedIn to your site in an ethical way.
How to add the ‘Featured’ section to your LinkedIn profile
- Select the ‘Add profile section’ in your portfolio.
2. Next, under ‘Recommended, select ‘Add featured’.
3. Finally, select the ‘+’ icon, and you’ll see a drop-down menu with the options to select posts, articles, links, and media. When adding media, use well-formatted pictures that carry your message consistently.
Don’t let the pop-up LinkedIn shows scare your users away
Here at Five by Five we use the Digital Strategy Scorecard where users can discover how their website is performing and where to make improvements.
Sometimes, LinkedIn will show a pop-up message when someone clicks a link that takes them away from LinkedIn. This often unnecessarily activates the user’s spidey senses, and they may become suspicious of the link and fail to click through.
There are two possible solutions to prevent this:
- Put your links in the places on LinkedIn where this doesn’t happen. The link in your profile we discussed first will work without any problems.
- You can send a message to your customers beforehand, warning them that they will get the message but assuring them that your site is safe. Just check in with your web team regularly to make sure they are monitoring it.
The golden rule on how to create content for LinkedIn: always provide value
Did you know the golden rule on how to create content for LinkedIn is that you should always provide value to your target audience? It will keep your audience engaged and LinkedIn’s algorithm happy!
The software LinkedIn uses is smart. It starts to understand what you are doing and who your market is over time. And as it understands more, it rewards you. You will gain more traction and momentum when it understands who you provide value to through good quality conversations with users on the platform and user recommendations.
Implement a winning LinkedIn strategy
A winning digital strategy is key to success in the online world as it helps you set clear, achievable goals. This is no different for LinkedIn. Here is the LinkedIn strategy Adam recommends that helped him to grow his monthly LinkedIn events to the biggest in the world.
- When creating content for LinkedIn, focus on building relationships with potential customers to develop connections. This way, they will feel valued and connected.
- Create informative and educational content that scratches an itch or fills in knowledge gaps for your audience. This way, people will trust and want to learn from you.
- Have a sales process that is separate from LinkedIn because people use LinkedIn to make new professional connections, not to buy things.
- Consistently share good quality, relevant content, and LinkedIn will reward you for it.
Link your website to your LinkedIn - many forget to do this!
One last handy tip is to check if your website has a link to your LinkedIn Profile or Business Page. LinkedIn is such a powerful tool, so it’s worth adding these to let visitors reach your profile or business page from your website.
So there you have it! We hope you enjoyed these exciting updates and LinkedIn tips from the LinkedIn master, Adam Houlahan.
And don’t forget, we offer a free Digital Strategy Scorecard so you can see how your website stacks up against the competition. Our team is always here for you if you have any questions or need help getting started.
And if you’re curious to know if you are using LinkedIn to its full potential, pair our scorecard with Adam Houlahan’s LinkedIn Productivity Assessment, and you have a winning combination!
We hope you found this post helpful and that you will not only delight in your newfound knowledge but put it into practice straight away! That’s it for now! Thanks for reading, and keep adding value to your clients!
