I find LinkedIn a bit boring

I’m not going to lie, for some time I’ve found LinkedIn a bit boring. It’s also not the first time I’ve said that (see my other blogs).

But last month, I had a change of heart after chatting with my sister in-law.

She and I share a passion for helping businesses. She specialises in Change Management, is a published author, business mentor and consultant for many well-known New Zealand organisations. We were chatting about LinkedIn the other day when she casually mentioned she has over 7,500 LinkedIn followers! Naturally, I had to check out her profile.

Here’s what I learned:

• Be upfront about about what you offer by including a brief statement or strapline in your profile header. This should be your most important key benefit (single minded proposition). If you're not sure what this is have a look at your FAQs or your point of difference.

• Include images of any accolades in your profile header to add credibility.

• Ensure your profile header imagery is consistent with your other brand collateral and social media profiles, to build brand recognition.

• Know your tone of voice. Keep it real. Apply this consistently across all marketing channels.

• Your posts should focus on sharing experiences, be entertaining or provide new information while making the reader feel understood.

• People like snippets of information. Direct readers to your website for the full story if the post is longer than a few sentences. Do this by putting a link in the first comment (social media platforms want you stay put on their platform so penalise posts that include links).

• A premium company page will enable you to add a call to action button to your profile and see who is visiting your page and engage with them using InMail. It also builds your credibility by displaying testimonials at the top of the page. It does cost $120 per month (first month is free) so is not for everyone but is worth checking out.

• Sales Navigator is the next step up from a premium page. It enables you to use detailed filters to find leads and get alerts on new posts, roles etc. You also get all the features of the premium company page.

  I’m definitely stepping up my game this year. Feel free to follow me and hold me to account.

  For those that are interested, my sister in-law is also a talented musician having studied at Massey University, New Zealand Conservatory of Music, Victoria University and Oberlin Conservatory. You can check out her LinkedIn profile here.