Guy Kawasaki said, “LinkedIn is for pimping” in his book The Art of Social Media. And that is true. No other social media channel is so focused on helping users grow their businesses.
Here is how to leverage the unique features of LinkedIn to showcase your talents and get more business — without turning anyone off.
Offer Value
When you post on LinkedIn, make sure you’re not just talking about yourself. Talk about what you know. Share forecasts of your local mortgage market and add your analysis. Post an occasional testimonial from a happy borrower. Repost your blog posts as LinkedIn Pulse articles. Ask questions — or solicit questions for an “Ask Me Anything”– style post.
Know Your Audience
When you’re posting on LinkedIn, it is likely that potential borrowers are not your target audience. Instead, you’re more likely to connect with referral partners who can send business your way. When deciding what information to share, think about what they need to know. This will mean a different strategy than you use on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, but you will find much more long-term benefit from speaking to the right people on LinkedIn.
Make Yourself Easy to Find
Use your profile category to post the keywords and phrases that best describe what you do — and match what people look for. Obviously the phrase “mortgage broker” should be there, but also include the types of properties you specialize in, your local area, and other important criteria that will help you show up in the searches (and newsfeeds) of most potential borrowers and referral partners.
This is especially important for LinkedIn Company Pages — and yes, you should have a page for your business as well as a page for you. Make sure you choose keywords carefully when you’re describing what your business does. Include a call to action that will lead visitors back to your website.
Get Connected
The more connections you have on LinkedIn, the easier it is for people to find you. Be willing to accept connection requests from people who seem to be a good fit, even if you don’t have a personal relationship with them. And send requests to people you find that look like a good fit.
Be Personal
Use your bio to share enough of your personality that potential referral partners and borrowers will know the type of person they will be working with. Got a favorite sports team? Put it in there. Love a specific type of movie? Share that. Wish you could spend more time fishing, hiking, or doing another activity? Tell people about it. LinkedIn is about more than just business — so let them get to know the real you.
Say Thank You
When people interact with your posts and Pulse articles, thank them for their comments and post relevant follow-up comments. Don’t expect anything in return except more connections. Even if they don’t reply, you will be building up your reputation as someone open to feedback and conversation.
Now you’ve got the tools to make LinkedIn an effective business platform.