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It’s amazing. For years advisors wanted to be professionally active on LinkedIn. Firms said no. Then firms did a 180, saying we want everyone to establish a LinkedIn presence. You invite people to connect. Maybe they accept. Maybe they don’t. What do you need to do to get taken seriously on LinkedIn?
- Post a photo. Everything seems to get tracked. Mirro.com (1) reports you get “14x more visits and 36 times more chances to receive a message with a professional headshot” on your profile page. You firm has likely arranged for you to have one.
- All Star Status. It’s sort of an award for completing your profile page correctly. Lets consider this like table stakes in a poker game.
- 500+ connections. Your number of connections is listed on your profile page. Under 500 shows as the actual number. More is listed as 500+. Getting across that threshold helps establish you as someone putting effort into building your network.
- Activity. If the wording reads: “Everything they have posted for the past 90 days” and that section is blank, this means the person hasn’t posted or commented for at least three months. It might as well say: “I don’t visit often.”
- Shared connections. When another person checks you out, these are the people you theoretically know in common. It provides a comfort level when someone is deciding if they will accept your invitation.
- Mutual Groups. Ideally you have joined a few that are aligned to your interests or target markets. If someone sees you both belong to the same group, they see a potential interest or connection.
- Put thought into your invitations. You can send out blanket invitations. Before the DNC rules, you could also try cold calling from the phone book. Both are anonymous. I customize the invitations I send. I use their name. I reference their job or where they work. I include my rationale for why they should accept.
- Thank them for connecting. When people accept my invitations, I send a personalized message thanking them. I explain “What happens next”. If I will be sending one article link a month, I tell them. I also provide An opt out: “Please let me know if I ever send too much.” Few people do. Dropping me as a connection is what happens instead, although thankfully, that’s pretty rare.
- Understanding green dots. When you look at a person’s profile page, you might see a solid green dot near their photo. This means they online now. A green dot with a circle in the middle means they are on the mobile app.
- Respond to messages reasonably promptly. You don’t need to respond that minute. I catch up on all my messages first thing in the morning. Then I don’t respond to new messages until the next morning. It shows you are attentive.
- Learn about your SSI. It’s your Social Selling index. It’s a tool in Sales Navigator. Do an internet search for “LinkedIn SSI”. (There must be other pats, but that’s how I get there. Your score is free. You get two major numbers: Your industry rank and your network rank. The screen tells you how you got that score and how to improve it.
You want to be considered a “player” when people check you out. These tips should help you get there.
Related: The Surprising Answer to “Do Your Friends Trust You”