Woking Means Business 2022 – Allen & Keith’s LinkedIn Cheat Sheet

If you didn't make it to Keith and Allen's Ultimate LinkedIn Seminar at the Show, check out this LinkedIn Cheat Sheet for a tiny tincture of what went on... 

Q1 What do I need to do before I even start to use LinkedIn?
Know who your customers are, and where they hang out. You can’t market to everyone with the same message. Describe your customer in a maximum of 3 short sentences, and create a full Customer Avatar for each customer segment you are serving.
Q2 What’s the purpose of my LinkedIn Profile?
To provide content that speaks to your customers – it’s ABOUT you, but not FOR you.
There’s much more to LinkedIn than a good Profile – such as post types, newsletters, events, LinkedIn Live, Groups, Business Pages...
Q3 I have all that ready– now what do I do with it?
It’s all about getting your prospects to engage with your content, YOU and YOUR BUSINESS
by putting stuff out there. Post at least weekly, run events, comment on others’ content – and make it a two-way street. You’ll get very little out of it if you don’t engage and speak to people on LinkedIn.
Q4 What’s the single most important aspect of LinkedIn?
Connections - and, to a lesser extent, Followers - without them, you have an empty room.
So should you accept every connection request? That depends on your L:inkedIn Strategy (you do have one, right?) So, is it a numbers game? Yes and no. Fewer than 500 Connections makes it looks like you are a newbie, or not not serious on the platform. But always put quality before quantity.
Q5 OK - so how do I find people to connect with?
A great profile and good content will attract them to you, so you’ll get connection requests.
Connect with all your existing customers and prospects, suppliers and potential collaborators.
Use Search - it’s a powerful tool – and always connect with people that you network with.
Q6 I have a Profile and a network - but why should I post content?
If you are active on the platform, you can demonstrate your expertise, which in turn can
generate leads. Always follow them up (check who’s viewed your Profile and download your Connections regularly).
Q7 What’s Creator Mode all about?
Most profiles on LinkedIn are passive or inactive, and LinkedIn introduced Creator Mode to encourage users to put out content. Your Profile is re-ordered and your default button becomes Follow instead of Connect. In return you get early access to new features and more opportunities to get your message across, such as LinkedIn Live and Newsletters
Q8 I put my content out there - then what?
Engagement! Interact with the people that like and comment on your stuff. Follow or connect with your prospects and engage with them via comments so they’re more likely to accept your Connection request.
It’s all part of Social Selling – warm leads instead of cold calls... sharing and helping, not hard selling!
Q9 How do I get the sale?
Not by connecting and immediately pitching! Get the engagement right and over time you will see buying signals. When you do, take the conversation off LinkedIn to a face-to-face meeting - in person, on Zoom or even on the good old phone.

Allen Ruddock and Keith Grover will always respond to your questions about LinkedIn –please Connect with us, and just ask!