If you’re not already one of the 33% of professionals in the world with a LinkedIn profile, Donna Serdula, author of LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies, has some advice.
When engagement is the most important social media metric, business owners go to LinkedIn to get it done. Not just for their business, but their individual professional network, too.
LinkedIn is playing a really big role in the business landscape. You need to jump on.
SOAR to LinkedIn Success
Serdula’s SOAR method teaches professionals of all levels how to leverage the app for professional branding, network building, researching and getting found.
Serdula recently joined us for a webinar in which she explained her 4-point method and gave how-to lessons in the app.
Strategize
Many business owners jump into their LinkedIn profile without a clear vision, Serdula says. If you don’t have a plan, you’ll just wander aimlessly. Luckily, she provided the important questions to help chart the right course for you.
- What is your goal? What do you want to accomplish on LinkedIn?
- Who is the target audience? What do they look like? What’s their career status? What issues do they face?
- What are your keywords? What words or phrases are people using to find you?
- Who are you? What’s your story? How do you want to present yourself?
Your answers shape your entire strategy, so be truthful and get granular to narrow down exactly what you should be doing. That information flows right into the second stage of the strategy: Optimize.
Optimize
During the From Profile to Profit Webinar, Serdula took attendees step-by-step through maximizing their profiles, listing off high visibility features to optimize.
If you think of LinkedIn as an online resume, it’s time to reimagine it, Serdula says. You should tailor your profile to express a desire to connect and grow with other professionals.
Your LinkedIn profile should tell a story about who you are and what you do, she adds. It should also be future-oriented and contain keywords that are organically mixed into the content.
Amplify
Once your LinkedIn profile is perfectly curated, you want to amplify your brand and message with a strong network. Simply visit other LinkedIn profiles and click “connect” or “follow.”
Connecting with someone is an easy way to expand your network, Serdula explains. Connect with friends, alumni, mentors, employers, clients and anyone you have a relationship with during your professional journey.
I want you to think about your LinkedIn network as an active address book. And an empty address book is useless.
Relate
Serdula’s key to relating is to be active. Posting on your feed and engaging with others is how you relate with your audience and other professionals on LinkedIn. And, of course, practice the other points of SOAR while you do it.
Posting every day isn’t a reality for many business owners. Serdula notes that LinkedIn posts have a longer shelf life and recommends committing to posting once per week.
Connecting on LinkedIn
Expanding your digital address book by the dozens or even hundreds from one connection almost feels criminal, but it’s what makes LinkedIn a secret weapon for small businesses.
Watch Donna Serdula’s Thryv webinar for details on how to use the SOAR system as your networking superpower and land profitable opportunities.
