[00:00:00] Mel: Hello friends, and welcome back to another short and snappy episode of Less Chatter, More Matter, The Communications Podcast. I'm your host, Mel Loy, and I'm coming to you from the lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people here in Meanjin, Brisbane. Today's episode is another Topic in 10, our series of short episodes that we're doing over the New Year period based on your questions and your ideas.

[00:00:23] Mel: And today's question is, How do I get more engagement on LinkedIn? Which is a great question, but we could take this a couple of ways and there's only so much I can cover in 10 minutes because you could be asking about your own profile or maybe it's a company profile that you look after. So given that I'm going to share some top tips that in most cases will cover both, but I do want to say upfront, it can be a slow burn.

[00:00:50] Mel: In most cases, it will take a while to build that engaged following, but it's really worth doing, particularly if you own or operate a small business, you're a consultant or a [00:01:00] freelancer, or even if you're advocating for something. So let's get into it. Tip number one, make sure your profile is the best it can be.

[00:01:10] Mel: So what do I mean by that? There's a few things. Number one, have an up to date and clear photo of yourself. Do not use an avatar. People trust real people, not cartoons. The second thing is make sure your profile description is really clear about the value you or your company adds to the reader. If it's a boring description that just talks about how good you are or how good your business is, or just the tasks that you perform, it doesn't tell the audience what you can do for them.

[00:01:41] Mel: So in your profile description, include some key words LinkedIn is really highly indexed in Google search results, so when thinking about keywords to include in your profile, think about what would people Google if they were trying to find someone like you or a business that does what you do.[00:02:00]

[00:02:00] Mel: So the keywords that you think of may not be what others use. So for example, maybe you call yourself a strategic wordsmith or a content magician, but it's likely people are searching for copywriter or digital marketer, for example. So use the words that they're going to search for. And also use a quality banner image as well, because when it's blank, it looks like you just can't be bothered, but it also kind of looks like it might be a fake profile.

[00:02:27] Mel: So make sure that you've got a banner image on there as well. And firstly, people stalk people and businesses on LinkedIn. No point denying it. We all do it. So you want to make sure that when people are stalking you or your business, that you're making a really good first impression.

[00:02:42] Mel: And in just a matter of seconds, they will make a judgment about you and also try and understand what it is you do and the value you add. If you're trying to attract clients as a speaker or a workshop facilitator, for example, people need to be able to see you because you're going to be the face of [00:03:00] that workshop, for example, and they need to be able to get an idea of what you offer.

[00:03:05] Mel: So if they can't get that, there is a really good chance they will click away and move on to somebody else. And secondly, as I mentioned, an up to date quality profile is really great for search engine optimization. So that's tip one. Tip number two, after you've got your profile right, it's time to move on to posting valuable content, not salesy content.

[00:03:28] Mel: A lot of people I speak to, particularly new consultants and freelancers, they worry about posting on LinkedIn because they feel really awkward about it. Maybe that's you as well. Do you feel like you have to sell yourself or market yourself and does that make you really uncomfortable? A couple of things on that.

[00:03:44] Mel: Firstly, if you don't sell yourself, who will? But secondly, there is a misconception about what content on LinkedIn should look like. Nobody likes salesy content. That's a given. And people simply won't follow you or your business. If that is [00:04:00] all you ever post, you need to post content that not only attracts people, but keeps them engaged.

[00:04:06] Mel: And you can only do that and then build a bigger audience. And that content has to add value to your audience. So think about what you could teach them, for example. And when you do that, when you're sharing that expertise, you market yourself. You don't actually have to say, hire me. You're already showcasing what you can do.

[00:04:25] Mel: So let's say you run a recruitment business. If all you ever posted was job ads. Nobody would follow you, especially if you're recruiting for different types of roles in industry. So instead, some of the topics you could post about could be five top tips on getting your resume right. Three questions you should ask every candidate in an interview, how to write a job advertisement that attracts the right recruiters.

[00:04:50] Mel: So you get the idea. There's so much there. And none of it says, hire me to recruit people for you. What it does is let people know you've got a [00:05:00] whole lot of experience, experience and expertise. And so you are somebody to talk to about recruitment. Now I recommend coming up with three content pillars to help you work out a bunch of topics you could post about.

[00:05:11] Mel: And remember, you don't always have to come up with new content. As I said, you can simply just share an article or post something somebody else has written with your own thoughts.

[00:05:21] Mel: And if you're really stuck, get AI to help. Put in a prompt like... I'm coming up with ideas for LinkedIn posts. I work as a consultant in the media and PR sector. I want to share tips as well as ideas and fun facts about the sector. Give me 30 topic ideas.

[00:05:38] Mel: Just see what comes back. One last thing on content. Your first line is the most important thing you will write. If that first line doesn't draw people in, you've lost them. So really spend some time on that line. Now to tip three, which is related to the content tip, and that is work with the algorithm to help boost your [00:06:00] content. Look, there's heaps to it. It changes all the time as well, which is really frustrating, but here's a few things that seem to remain fairly consistent across their LinkedIn algorithm.

[00:06:10] Mel: And the first is hashtags. Only use three maximum of five. And the reason for that is because any more than five hashtags and your content will be demoted in other people's feeds because LinkedIn actually considers that spam or low quality content. Secondly, use short paragraphs, one to two sentences maximum each.

[00:06:34] Mel: LinkedIn favours those short, snappy pieces of content because they know that people are more likely to engage with it. Thirdly, use images, even if it's just something basic you've whipped up on Canva. Posts with images tend to do really well, but interestingly, since LinkedIn introduced video shorts, these have started getting more engagement.

[00:06:56] Mel: So if, uh, you haven't quite dabbled in the video yet, give it a shot. [00:07:00] Next avoid using outside URLs if you can. So what I mean by that is you've written a post and in the post is a link to another website. LinkedIn does not like it when you direct people away from their platform. Now that's not always possible, but you could consider using the LinkedIn article functionality instead, or another workaround is to post your links in the comment, which sometimes also then forces people to engage in the comments, which then helps boost your visibility.

[00:07:29] Mel: Now, similarly LinkedIn doesn't like it when you schedule posts using an outside scheduler, like Hootsuite or Buffer, for example. So if you can schedule all your posts directly in LinkedIn, the sixth one of these tips is only post once a day. So if you must post a second piece of content, make sure there's at least a few hours between the posts. And finally, tagging others, it is great to tag others because then it's likely they'll interact with your content, which will boost your visibility. [00:08:00] But if you tag too many people, again, LinkedIn thinks that you're making spam and it will deprioritise your content. So limit how many people you tag in your posts.

[00:08:10] Mel: Okay. Tip number four, engage with others. There's a few ways you can do this as an individual or as a brand. Firstly, where possible respond to every comment a person leaves. And secondly, engage with other people's posts. So react to them, add a comment, even share your own thoughts, if appropriate. LinkedIn will very quickly hide people from your feed if you're not interacting with them regularly. So it could mean that you lose sight of valuable content, but also LinkedIn loves brands and profiles who engage with others.

[00:08:41] Mel: And that's good for you. And another point on engagement, connect with people, but don't just hit the follow button. If there's an option to connect, do that, but make sure you leave a note about why you want to connect with them, because that boosts the chances of the person accepting your connection. And [00:09:00] it proves you're not a robot.

[00:09:02] Mel: All right. The final and most important tip, tip number five. Be consistent. I cannot stress this enough. If you are only popping up on LinkedIn once in a blue moon, then people will forget about you and your content will be demoted in their feed. Also, if people go to your profile and can't see any recent content, not a great look, particularly if it's a business profile, but when you are consistent, you will be more likely to show up regularly for people. And when that happens, you get more engagement, which helps you show up more regularly for people.

[00:09:33] Mel: And so the cycle continues. Now again, LinkedIn likes regular posters, so keep doing that. Consistency of posting valuable content is the crux of growth on LinkedIn. And this is where the magic happens. But as I said at the top of the episode, it is a slow burn in most cases, especially if you are a new brand, but it's worth it. One of the questions I get Is about how often should I post? I would say [00:10:00] at a minimum post two to three times a week to keep that algorithm ticking along nicely.

[00:10:05] Mel: So I will spend a few hours, maybe on a Sunday, once a month, just writing up a bunch of stuff, scheduling it in. So It's all done and I don't have to worry about it. All right. So that was your topic in 10 for this week.

[00:10:16] Mel: Just to recap those five top tips for growing your LinkedIn following, ah, make sure your profile is up to date. Post valuable content, work with the algorithm, engage with others and be consistent. All right. Next week, we'll be back with another topic in 10 and that will be our last one for January because then we're back into February and back into regular episodes.

[00:10:39] Mel: So if you've got any ideas though, please send them through. Happy to have a chat in the meantime, keep doing amazing things and bye for now.