Understanding this will help you build a profile that is worth following/connecting with. To make things a little easier, we’ve collected the main reasons people follow/connect with profiles on LinkedIn. 

Inspiration

Even on LinkedIn, people will seek an escape. This escape could come from good news stories, motivational quotes or positive personal news. As long as it’s coming from your profile, it’s a good reason for people to connect with you.

However, your purpose on LinkedIn isn’t to be an inspirational page. That’s why it’s a good idea to include industry news and your own stories as part of your content. You are providing a positive feeling for your network while still keeping things relevant.

Entertainment

It’s easy for social media content to come across as flat. We’ve already covered how personal stories and anecdotes can be a source of inspiration for your network but they can also double up as entertainment – it all depends on the story and how you’re telling it.

Not every single post you share should be about your offer and even when it is, that doesn’t mean it has to be boring and jargon-filled. Every post you share should take your audience on a journey in some way. This is what will keep them entertained and more likely to follow/connect so they don’t miss out!

Education

After entertainment, education is probably the most common reason people will follow/connect with a profile – especially when the thing you are educating them on is a pain they may not even be aware they have. 

Tutorials, how-tos and walkthroughs are all great examples of educational content you can share. Not only are you giving people a solid reason to add you to their network but you’re demonstrating your expertise in a practical, tangible way. A bonus of this content is that it’s the kind people usually like to share on their own profiles, increasing the reach of your profile.

Become more than a connection in their network

The content you post should be a mixture of inspirational, entertaining and educational content. Focusing too much on one over the other risks your audience becoming confused when you suddenly switch to promoting your offer.

Keeping your prospects at the focus of everything you do on LinkedIn will prevent this from happening, no matter what type of connection you are aiming to make with them. If you’re struggling to find the balance that will build your network with the right people, get in touch with the PINAKL team.

The post Why should people connect with you on LinkedIn? appeared first on PINAKL.

Comments on your posts prove to LinkedIn that you’re a profile people want to interact with, making it much more likely that your content will be boosted and reach more feeds. 

How do you encourage these post boosting comments?

Add extra context to your post

If there is one thing you take away from this article, it should be: comments are content too. The comments you leave (on your own posts as well as others) are another chance for you to pop up in someone’s feed. 

For your own posts, you can achieve this by adding extra context. For some posts, this context can be a link to an article, blog or event – whatever is relevant to the topic of your post. Since LinkedIn wants people to stay on the platform as long as possible, it’s less likely to push out posts with external links. Adding the link to the comments section is a good way to get around this.

Alternatively, you can add bonus CTAs or thoughts as their own comments underneath your posts. Not only does this get the conversation started but it lets you keep the main post simple and encourages those who want to learn more to do so in the comments section.

Build rapport with your audience

Even the most well crafted post can still feel like it’s talking at your audience when you should be talking to them. For people to really connect with what you’re saying and who you are, you need to be engaging with them in the comments section.

No matter how badly your prospects may need your service, they still might not be open to a stranger sending them a DM. The comments section is where you can build this familiar report before any DMs are sent.

This will also be your chance to establish credibility. You can sympathise with people’s experiences or challenge their perspectives. Whichever path you take, the comments you share should be backed up by your knowledge and experience.

Stay visible on LinkedIn

It’s not only the comments of your posts that you should be focusing on. To increase your reach and become a familiar face, you need to be utilising the comments section under your prospects’ posts too. Regularly commenting like this will increase the chances of your profile being seen by your ideal prospects.

You should be applying everything covered in this article. Don’t comment just for the sake of it. This could be your one chance to make an impression on your prospects – the kind of impression that makes them open to one-to-one conversation. 

Commenting on LinkedIn like this might seem like a consuming task but the PINAKL team can lend a hand. We’ll help you stick to a consistent LinkedIn strategy that puts you in front of your ideal prospects.

The post Stop ignoring the comments section of your posts appeared first on PINAKL.

However, LinkedIn DMs are an important part of the social selling process. They’re the final step between you and that sale. So, you need to know what gets you past this step and onto the sales call. It all begins, unsurprisingly, at the beginning, with the first DM you send your prospect.

Don’t pitch-slap your prospects

Forget DMs for a second, forget LinkedIn and think about the last event you went to. How did you approach people at these events? Did you walk over, business card first and launch into a pitch? Probably not. And, if you did, how did that work out for you? The most you’ll get from approaching someone like this is polite humouring, but all the time you’re talking, they’re thinking about how to get away.

On LinkedIn, they don’t have to humour you, they can simply not respond. If you know that approaching people this way in person doesn’t work then you already understand how LinkedIn DMs work the same way. You can’t send a pitch as a first message. 

Start a DM conversation the same way you would any conversation

Ice-breakers exist for a reason, they’re not just for team-building days in the office. So, even if you’re not the most social person, you can find common ground to build a conversation on. The best part is, it’s easier to do on LinkedIn than it is in person. Your prospects’ content and profiles will be filled with information you can use to start a conversation.

Instead of introducing yourself and explaining what you do, introduce yourself and ask what they do. Yes, it really can be that simple. However you decide to start the conversation with your prospect, make sure they are the focus. Use a recent post they shared, a comment they left or an update from their profile as a starting point.

Even the most limited LinkedIn profile will have something you can use to start a conversation with your prospect. Eventually, the conversation will start to move towards their pains, your reason for seeking them out but that still isn’t an invitation to start pitching. Ask open-ended questions, learn more about their pain and you’ll naturally move towards booking in a sales call.

Nurture your network

LinkedIn DMs shouldn’t be the first contact you have with a prospect, not even after connecting with them. There’s nothing more jarring (and off-putting) when you accept a connection request and are instantly pinged with a message. Connect with them, explore their profile, engage with their content and find your conversation starting point.

Connect, nurture, message. That’s the key formula to starting successful conversations with your prospects. Don’t have the time to build these connections? The PINAKL team can find and nurture these connections for you, priming your prospects so they’re ready for the sale.

The post How do I start a conversation with a prospect? appeared first on PINAKL.

However, throwing down a “great post” or “thanks for posting” in someone’s comments is almost worse than not commenting at all. These kinds of comments don’t add any value to that post nor do they demonstrate your expertise. But, you also don’t want to hijack someone’s post by spilling out a pitch paragraph.

You need to understand why commenting on LinkedIn is just as important as the content you post and DMs you send.

Comments are content too

While you don’t want to be droning on and on, the comments section is a great place to add even more value to either your own post or someone else’s. The three main things you’re going to get from commenting on a post are:

• Rapport: Consistently commenting on your prospect’s posts or starting conversations on your own, breaks down the barriers a screen can build. Some people might be reluctant to reach out to you directly at first so you can make that first contact in a more approach space.
• Attention: The comments you leave on other people’s posts will be a reflection of you, that’s why comments like “great post” are pretty pointless. What does that tell your prospects about you? Absolutely nothing! You either need to be asking questions that invite further conversation or sharing your own insight.
• Credibility: Commenting isn’t about winning friends on LinkedIn, it’s about winning prospects. So, don’t be afraid to share challenging thought-provoking comments based on your own experience. You’re not inviting controversy, you’re offering a different perspective. But, you need to be able to back that perspective up to build your credibility.

 All the things that you’re trying to build with your content can also be accomplished by commenting, doubling your results without necessarily doubling your efforts.

Comments keep you visible

You won’t be able to individually nurture every connection in your network. But, you can remain a valuable connection to them through the comments you post. Even if you’ve never had a direct conversation through DMs, you’ll still be someone they appreciate having in their network when you pop up on their feed. 

When you realise just how valuable commenting on LinkedIn is, it can seem a little daunting to start doing it. The PINAKL team can help you establish this presence on LinkedIn and maintain it while you get on with running your business.

The post How do comments build your network? appeared first on PINAKL.

This paradox happens when you’re confident posting about your offer or talking about your expertise at an event but calm up when you’re one-on-one with a prospect. It’s one of the many reasons big businesses have sales teams but – unless you’re fortunate enough to be bringing a sales background to your business – you don’t have this luxury to hide behind.

This same fear can transfer over to building your network on LinkedIn. Even just the thought of your face appearing directly in someone’s ‘My Network’ tab, along with a connection message that will be their first (and potentially only) impression of you, is not a pleasant thought.

So, distract yourself from that thought by connecting with a clear purpose.

Who are you connecting with?

Rejection isn’t going to help your fears of sending out connection requests, so reduce the chances of it. Consider who you are attempting to add to your network, are they someone who is likely to benefit from what you have to offer? Sometimes, people will accept connection requests for the sake of building up their networks but this is not helpful to either you or them.

More than likely, if your profile or content doesn’t seem relevant to them, they will ignore your request.

Why are you connecting with them?

Why you’re sending someone a connection request will link back to your purpose for being on LinkedIn in the first place. Some people you might want to connect with to add their skills or expertise to your feed. However, most likely, you want to connect with potential prospects in the hopes of converting them to a sale. 

Keep connecting with a purpose in mind. Knowing that you will be benefitting from this connection (from either gaining or giving) will push you to keep sending out those requests.

Prove you’re a connection worth adding to their network

Building a strong network isn’t only about how many connection requests you send a day. The acceptance rate (and strength of your network) will depend on what else you’re doing on the platform. Your profile, the content you’re posting, the other content you’re interacting with – all of this will have an impact on if people decide to join your network.

Worried your LinkedIn profile might not be saying the right things to potential connections? The PINAKL team can help you build a profile that draws prospects in before you’ve even sent a request.

The post How do you build a strong network on LinkedIn? appeared first on PINAKL.

Pretty much every social media app boasts numbers by showing follower counts on profiles and engagement metrics on posts. It’s easy enough to get caught up in this numbers game and lose sight of the real reason you joined LinkedIn in the first place – to find and connect with your prospects. 

Maybe you think it will make your account look more “important” or “trustworthy” if you have a high follower or connection number. That’s why you accept any and all connection requests that land in your ‘My Network’ tab. Sure, you’ve filtered out a few random ones here or there but, mostly, you’re just happy that your profile is being seen.

But, is it being seen by the right people?

How many people should you connect with on LinkedIn per day?

There’s nothing wrong with having a large network. That’s not what you should be taking away from this. Growing your network to a big number just for the sake of it is the problem here. Ideally, you want to be adding 50 new connections to your network every week – so, that’s around 10-15 connections per day. These connections will be a mixture of requests sent to you and ones you send out yourself.

The same process you use to send out connection requests can also be used to decide which ones are worth accepting. The best way to find these connections (without wasting hours of your time) is to use Sales Navigator.

How do you gradually build your LinkedIn network?

Even if you’ve never used Sales Navigator before and have no idea what you’re doing, you can still benefit from it. Sales Nav will use your current connections, who you’re already searching for and companies you follow to create weekly recommended lead lists. See now why connecting with just anyone can be a problem? 

If your network is already filled with connections just for the sake of it, you’ll get more of the same confusion from Sales Nav. However, you can reverse this by creating your own lists – manually inputting headcount, countries, job titles, etc. to refine your search. 

Use this same checklist to review the connection requests being sent to you. Do they work in your target industry? Does their job role indicate they’re a decision-maker within their business? Sticking to this method (whether you’re sending out connections or accepting them) will ensure you’re building your network with purpose.

Feel like you’ve already overfilled your network or have no idea how to get started? The PINAKL team is here to help.

The post Should you accept every LinkedIn connection request? appeared first on PINAKL.