You’ve made a great investment in yourself and career by creating your LinkedIn profile, but now it’s time to maximize your brand’s potential and put your platform to work. In order to get the most out of the LinkedIn experience you want to position yourself as an engaged professional who is open to network, excited about knowledge and ready to help facilitate the flow of ideas and conversation.

 

The key is ‘positioning’ - positioning yourself and your brand for your next best opportunity, connection and experience. Let’s take a look at some quick and actionable strategies you can implement immediately and grow your LinkedIn presence today.

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Use Common Interests to Expand Your Network and Connect with People You Don't Know

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It’s okay to connect with people you don’t know. That’s what LinkedIn is for - to help facilitate the formation of new relationships which is a key element of any growing and thriving society. LinkedIn allows you to tap into an (almost) infinite network of people, information and resources that are ready to support your goals and ideas. It's about taking the time to progressively curate your LinkedIn ecosystem.

 

Use LinkedIn to help propel your career and ideas to the next level. If you are passionate about a particular subject matter, there are literally millions of others with similar interests. If a particular workplace issue bothers you, there are literally millions who share in your goal to discuss strategies and solutions. If you lack resources in reaching a particular goal, again, there are literally millions of others with a heart for service and giving ready to help you.

 

Whether freshman student or seasoned professional, there are individuals from every education level and business discipline who are a LinkedIn message away from being your next best connection.

 

Develop Your Thoughts and Ideas with In-Depth Analysis and Opinion to Perform with Confidence

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Think of yourself as a performer (of any kind) and your LinkedIn platform as a stage where each of your posts represent one of your performances. Do you want that performance to be over before it's started and not very well rehearsed? Or do you want a headlining performance where the crowd is screaming for an encore? Think of your LinkedIn posts this way where you want to elaborate on your thoughts and ideas and develop well thought out communications that speak to the heart of your interests and goals.

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Whatever the delivery method used in your posts, be sure your message is clear, your audience is targeted and you communicate with confidence. That's how you put on a great 'performance.' It's about connecting with people in an authentic and passionate way that incorporates both your professional talents and your personal character as well.

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Incorporate Visually Stimulating and Thought-Provoking Graphics into Your Posts for Attention

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The absolute best feature of LinkedIn is its millions of users. The absolute worst feature (figuratively speaking) of LinkedIn is its millions of users. That's because with so many users comes with it an equal amount of posts. With only a finite amount of time in a day that means you are 'fighting' for attention each time you post something. 

 

Using virtually stimulating and thought-provoking graphics is one of the best ways to prepare your posts for battle. COVID-19 has caused a sharp increase in the flow of activity on LinkedIn; however, the more you nurture and cultivate your LinkedIn garden the easier it will be to connect with the people that matter to your goals and interests. 

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Leverage Your Attitude to Determine Your Altitude

 

Let's be honest. Many of us have a coworker (or two) who is incredibly smart but equally as annoying to have on a team assignment. While the potential for his/her value may be tremendous, the effort it takes to digest both the value and the poor attitude is oftentimes too much to handle. The same is true for your LinkedIn posts. No matter the topic of your posts always stay positive.

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Cultivate your LinkedIn posts with the 'glass half full' mentality where your audience does not begin to see a laundry list of complaints, sorrows and ranting. Don't allow negativity and bitterness to take root in your LinkedIn garden. Cultivate positivity, kindness and professionalism.

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Save the Big Words and Industry Jargon for Your Clients and Coworkers

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It's time to impress a prospective client and show all the services and value you and your team has to offer. It's time to facilitate a training session at work on a recent accounting pronouncement. In both of these scenarios it would be appropriate to dust off your copy of Webster's Dictionary and pull out your big words. It's not the same with LinkedIn.

 

While your connections may be a roster of executives, senior managers and other very well educated individuals at every level of business, LinkedIn is a place for a more relaxed tone and choice of words. It's a place to be yourself and communicate in a more universal way where both high school student and Fortune 500 CEO can digest and obtain value from the same post.

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Cultivating your LinkedIn garden is not an overnight process. In fact, nurturing your LinkedIn platform is a continuous process that never ends as business and communications continue to evolve. The rewards and benefits of a steadfast dedication to building authentic relationships however are worth more than gold itself.