So you want to know how to make money on LinkedIn. Don’t we all?
You’re probably reading this blog because you’re currently not making money on LinkedIn and now that you’ve calmed down from your child-like strop (been there), you’re ready to find out why.
There are several reasons people fail to convert time on the platform into leads that matter. For this article, let’s focus on how you engage your audience. Or as the case may be, not engage your audience.
Yes, your LinkedIn profile is holding you back and killing your potential on the platform. But the good news is, you are one of millions of people making the same mistake.
The other good news is, I’m about to rock your world with this article and tell you exactly what you need to change.
Yes, your LinkedIn game sucks. Of course it does or you wouldn’t be reading this article. Or maybe it doesn’t suck, and you just wanted to confirm in your own mind that it does indeed… Not suck.
Either way, here are the three biggest reasons your LinkedIn game isn’t delivering you the results you crave, despite all your effort and hard work.
The platform has evolved a lot over the last few years. If you want to win business on LinkedIn, you need to do more than sling up a weekly post about your office dog, or worse still, your boring services.
It may seem counter-productive ‘NOT’ to talk about what you offer on a B2B platform. The truth is, that LinkedIn is not a sales platform primarily. Sure, people try to use it as one, with their automated copy-and-paste DMs that often go wrong and call people either ‘Dear’ or ‘Sue’ when their name is actually Kevin. But first and foremost, LinkedIn is an awareness and education platform, that if used correctly, becomes a hugely powerful sales tool.
To show you how to drive sales on LinkedIn for free, I first need to say something that will contradict that first statement.
Nothing in this world is really free.
But, if you are cash-poor and time-rich you can invest some of those spare hours into a social media strategy that costs nothing more than your willingness to test, fail, cry, and go again.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room because there is a rather large issue with sending LinkedIn DMs… Or so people believe.
On a recent call with a LinkedIn coaching client, her 16-year-old son (who was ear-wigging the convo) made it very clear what he thought of social media DMs. Not that he’d ever sent a LinkedIn DM in his life, or had to ever sell anything online.
In truth, his opinion was worthless but sadly, it is one that is mirrored by countless people in the world of social media and especially the Gen Z community that has developed a fear of real words and actual conversation.
“Sending LinkedIn DMs is spammy and no one reads them.”
Oh, how wrong you are my conversationally challenged compadre. You’re just listening to the wrong people, and seriously misunderstanding the purpose of carefully curated DMs
When you spend as much time on LinkedIn as we do, it’s easy to get brainwashed into thinking, “Why would I hire a LinkedIn coach”? Feeds are rife with creators going on the attack because in their little worlds, building an audience on LinkedIn is easy.
What said folk fail to mention when they are in full-on rant mode, are the countless hours each day they spent over a sustained period of time hacking the system, usually because they were unemployed or had no friends.
Not that I am in any way judging.
In reality, the reason only 1% of active LinkedIn members actually create anything, is because building a consistent, creative habit is extremely hard, especially when in the early months at least, ROI is difficult to measure.
Ok, so what are the differences between copywriting for social media vs website? Well, there are a few and sadly, many peeps are still making basic mistakes.
“But wait”, I hear you all ask. “Surely writing is writing and as long as the message is clear, it’s going to hit the spot, right?”
With that approach, my copy-crippled comrades, the only spot you’ll be hitting is the one on your forehead banging it against the wall when your social posts are only being liked by your nan, and your website copy leaves people more in the dark than before they started reading.
So let me take you through the differences.
Anyone can build a network based on what the cool kids are doing. I’ve known countless people jumping on trend after trend in an attempt to build a follower count. But in doing so, what are they becoming famous for? What is the perception going to be?
Building an engaged audience on LinkedIn is about relentless consistency, in a channel that says all the right things about you and your business. Think about this for a minute…
LinkedIn is a digital networking event. It is digital word of mouth on a grand scale. To get the best from the platform and build an engaged audience, you have to put in the work. Or, pay someone to do that for you.
The fact that you are even searching this on Google (other search engines are available I think) means that you probably need to improve your LinkedIn post engagement. Luckily for you, we have 5 things you need to make sure your content does if you are going to improve your LinkedIn post engagement.
Now I know there are lots of suggestions out there (I think becoming part of an engagement pod was one of them) but in our experience, these are the 5 things your content must do. Improving LinkedIn post engagement is not a quick and easy thing, and takes times and patience. But with some simple guidance and a lot of work from you, it can certainly be a reality to improve