Episode Summary: In this episode of LinkedIn with Louise, host Louise Brogan delves into some fundamental yet often overlooked aspects of using LinkedIn for business. Aimed at B2B professionals, coaches, consultants, and anyone looking to enhance their presence on LinkedIn, Louise shares practical tips for building a robust network, managing privacy settings, and understanding profile visibility. Whether you’re new to LinkedIn or seeking to refine your strategy, this episode provides valuable insights to help you leverage LinkedIn more effectively for your business.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Building Your LinkedIn Network:

   • Importance of reaching 500+ connections.
   • How the display of connection numbers changes after reaching 500.
   • Examples of profiles showing connection and follower counts.

2. Profile Viewing Options:

   • Navigating LinkedIn’s settings to adjust profile viewing options.
   • Differences between anonymous and non-anonymous profile views.
   • How these settings impact your visibility when viewing other profiles.

3. Managing Email Visibility:

   • Adjusting settings to control who can see or download your email address.
   • Different visibility options: only me, first-degree connections, first and second-degree connections, anyone on LinkedIn.
   • Ensuring your email is not included in data exports.

4. Clarifying Anonymous Mode Misconceptions:

   • Explaining that commenting on posts remains visible even if your profile viewing option is set to anonymous.
   • The distinction between anonymous profile views and visible interactions.

Practical Steps:

• How to navigate LinkedIn’s settings and privacy options.
• Simple steps to increase your network size.
• Tips for making your profile more professional and approachable.

Offer:

• Invitation to reach out for personalized LinkedIn training sessions at www.louisebrogan.com/linkedinvip 
• Options available for one-on-one or team training to enhance your LinkedIn skills - book a call to discuss at www.louisebrogan.com/inquiry 

Additional Resources:

• Video tutorial on email visibility settings:  https://youtu.be/KOElmiKRx4Q
• Connect with Louise for tailored LinkedIn training sessions.

Do you want to write better for your LinkedIn audience? This is the episode for you. I’m joined by professional writer and LinkedIn writing coach, Lynnaire Johnston, to discuss writing for LinkedIn. From the dangers of using AI to write for you to Lynnaire’s personal tips for writing better, we dive into all things writing. It’s time to make personal connections on LinkedIn through the written word.

1. Start writing whatever’s on your mind, and you will eventually end up talking about what you want to talk about.
2. Use short, simple words and sentences.
3. Don’t use jargon or marketing terms.
4. Have one idea per paragraph and one main idea per post.
5. Have white space and multiple paragraphs.
6. Don’t use hashtags in your post; it is confusing.

Lynnaire is considered to be a top 20 international LinkedIn expert and works with clients globally to help them leverage the power of LinkedIn to achieve professional success. She is the author of 2 books about LinkedIn, one a best-seller, the other listed by BookAuthority as a top LinkedIn book of all time. She is a regular guest on podcasts worldwide and hosts her own events – masterclasses, LinkedIn lives and LinkedIn audio rooms. 

Lynnaire is the founder of the Link∙Ability members site for those wanting to be successful on LinkedIn. Lynnaire and her team provide done-for-you and coaching/training services to individuals and companies globally.

Coming from a journalism and broadcasting background, Lynnaire has been a reporter, feature writer, magazine editor and copywriter for the majority of her career. She has written for industries as diverse as automotive, beauty, local authorities and not-for-profit. She founded her copywriting business, Word Wizard, in 2000 and began specialising in LinkedIn in 2016.

Lynnaire Johnston joins me to talk about how to write for LinkedIn. Especially with the rise in AI writing technologies, it’s important for people to understand the importance of human writers. While useful in some situations, AI writing is full of long sentences and far too much jargon. As Lynnaire says – reading it just makes her eyes glaze over.

The rising use of and reliance on AI writing will inevitably make people worse writers. But, especially on LinkedIn, using AI to write your posts and comments defeats the purpose of the platform. “We’re here on LinkedIn to develop relationships, get to know people, and build the know, like, and trust factor. So, how is AI going to help us do that if we are not communicating directly with our audience?”

If you’ve been turning to AI to help you write because you don’t know what to say, Lynnaire offers some great advice. Get your inspiration from your life and some of the things that happen to you; even carry a notebook around to take notes about your day. Then, just start to write. Even if you don’t know exactly what you want to write about, by writing about anything, you’ll eventually come to the point you want to make.

Lynnaire also shares the importance of consistent posting on LinkedIn. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what schedule you stick to. What matters is that you show up regularly. And, if you’re wondering how to become a better writer, Lynnaire says the best way to improve your writing is to read more.

How often do you post on LinkedIn? If you’re not consistent, what’s stopping you from posting regularly? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.

• The dangers of AI writing [7:30]
• How AI is going to make people worse writers [10:15]
• How to get started writing [14:00]
• Where to get the inspiration to write for LinkedIn [21:30]
• The importance of being consistent on LinkedIn [27:00]
• How to improve your writing [30:45]

Linkability the Book
Business Gold

Find Lynnaire Johnston Online
Follow Lynnaire Johnston on LinkedIn | YouTube

Find Louise Brogan Online
Follow Louise Brogan on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Should employees in larger organisations use LinkedIn? What happens in terms of compliance, and especially in fields like insurance, which are thoroughly regulated?

 Keith is the Social Media Manager and Employee Advocacy Lead at Zurich UK, a world-renowned company operating in the field of insurance.

In his role, Keith educates and enables Zurich employees not only to better understand the world of social media but also to actively participate and share content. 

You will learn…

1. About the difference between a LinkedIn company page and the new My Company Tab on LinkedIn.
2. Why staff social media training is key when it comes to navigating complex compliance issues.
3. How you can leverage your employees to boost your organisation.

About Keith

If you’d like to connect with Keith, you can find him on LinkedIn or Twitter.

LinkedIn VIP Intensives

If you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, check out the LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. 

Download my FREE LinkedIn guide

Would you like to learn what daily and weekly tasks will help you build your network on LinkedIn? Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here. My tips work no matter what type of business you run!

More about me

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on your favourite platform. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

In 2020, LinkedIn released a LOT of new features – here are some of the top ones:

Adding a new ‘Featured’ section to your LinkedIn profile – this section is where you can share your featured highlights including Posts, Articles, Links to external online content and upload photos or documents.

How to use the LinkedIn Featured section in your personal profile.

Adding a new Polls option to your text posts – one of my favourite new features! I suggest you try this feature out once a month – polling your network is a great way to encourage conversation and debate, plus finding out what your network REALLY think about!

How to use LinkedIn Polls

If you are currently looking for a new role, you can add an option to your personal profile that shows your network you are ‘open to work’

Click on the ‘Open to’ button underneath your headline – then choose Finding a new job as your option.

You can choose location, job titles, and whether you want full-time, part-time, temporary or contract work. You can also choose whether to share with only recruiters, or with your whole network.

Once you have completed this, a green circle will appear on your profile picture.

Before 2020, you would have been able to click to ‘like’ someone's post on LinkedIn. Now we have six reactions available – like, celebrate, love, support, curious and insightful.

Remember – if you leave a comment, this will raise your profile and visibility rather than just clicking a reaction.

Did you know you can send a video message to your connections?

On your LinkedIn mobile app, go to messaging, click on the video sign and you can create and send a video message.

How to use messaging on LinkedIn (and why you should)

How can you use LinkedIn to build thought leadership, even if you work in a highly-regulated industry?

This week on the podcast, I interview my good friend Rhonda Peterson. Rhonda is a Coach for financial professionals, a speaker, and a workshop facilitator.

Rhonda guides financial services executives, entrepreneurs, and emerging leaders to lean into their strengths and energy to increase their ROI, both professionally and personally.

As more people within financial services using LinkedIn, those who work in a highly-regulated industry seem to struggle to hit the right balance between using the platform to build relationships and remaining compliant with their employer’s regulations.

However, raising your profile on LinkedIn doesn’t need to be causing any issues to your employer or your industry.

Establishing yourself as a thought leader on LinkedIn is possible, even if you work in a highly-regulated industry.

In this episode, Rhonda and I discuss a couple of examples from our networks, and Rhonda shares how she’s using LinkedIn to grow her career as a speaker. If you want to find out how you too can become a thought leader on LinkedIn, make sure you tune in!

1. Why you should be using LinkedIn to reach out to your connections and ask for relevant introductions.
2. The exact steps you can take to build your thought leadership on LinkedIn, regardless of the industry you work in. 
3. How you can use LinkedIn to get more work. 

If you’d like to connect with Rhonda, you can find her on LinkedIn or on her website. And if you connect with her on LinkedIn, don’t forget to send Rhonda a personalised message and let her know you’ve listened to her interview on this podcast. 

Christopher Melcher is a family attorney in Los Angeles, California. We met when I worked with Chris during the summer of 2020 as he wanted to learn how best to use LinkedIn.

Chris's clients include business owners, celebrities, and trust beneficiaries across California who are going through complex divorces. We talk about how Chris uses LinkedIn, not to find clients, but to connect with and build relationships with fellow attorneys.

We discussed some of the challenges the lawyers face when it comes to marketing and how this can hold them back from building their network/gaining new clients.

You can reach Chris on LinkedIn where he would be delighted to connect with more of his legal community.

walzermelcher.com
Twitter
YouTube

To find out how you can work with Louise and build your own network on LinkedIn, book a free discovery call at www.louisebrogan.com/call

I love statistics and analytics in social media - how do you know what's working if you don't go back and find out what engaged your audience?

In this week's podcast, I take a run back through the best and most engaging posts I shared on LinkedIn this year.   No surprise to me (but possibly to you!) that all the top ten were txt only posts - a mixture of LinkedIn polls and pure text posts. 

Find out more about polls and other new features released by LinkedIn this year here

Reach out if you'd like some support building up your LinkedIn presence in 2021 - and find out why having a small but mighty network is the best option.

www.louisebrogan.com/call 

Are you getting business through LinkedIn?

Do you enjoy using LinkedIn as a marketing tool?

IF you answer either of this with anything other than YES, then here are a few tips for you.

When you are using social media to build your business, the biggest tip I can give you is to choose ONE platform. Decide where your ideal client spends most time, and start building your profile on that platform.

Facebook is great for B2C businesses, Instagram is good for ‘inspirational’ and shopping businesses. Twitter is super for sharing news, events and fast paced networking.

LinkedIn is GREAT for B2B. And people go to LinkedIn specifically to connect with their business network.

By trying to be on all the platforms, you either exhaust yourself, share the exact same content on all platforms or you build a small presence on each one rather than making a larger impact on the platform that will help you to grow.

Why should you not share the same content on each platform?

Check out the image above once more – if I am sharing content on FB it needs to fit in with the tone of that platform. I will write longer posts for LinkedIn that don’t make sense on Twitter. Also, when you see someone you follow who puts the exact same content on each platform, it makes you lose a little faith in them (or maybe that’s just me)

Please complete your LinkedIn Profile. Check out this blog on how to make sure you fill in the whole thing:

How to write a great LinkedIn Profile

The statistics on LinkedIn profiles are staggering:

When you add a professional photo to your profile you are 14 times more likely to have someone click on your profile

Updating your current position leads to 5 times more connection requests.

Having at least 5 relevant skills on your profile leads to 31 times more messaging requests.

Source – LinkedIn Official Blog

You can add in multiple email addresses to your LinkedIn account.

One of the most common issues I come across is when someone has more than one LinkedIn account and can’t access one of them.

Remember when you started work at that corporate job in your 20s and they made you sign up to LinkedIn? If you used your work email only, its quite likely you aren’t able to log in anymore. Here’s how to avoid this happening.

How to add a secondary email address:

• Go to your account
• Click on Settings and Privacy
• Add your personal email address

The purpose of using LinkedIn is to raise visibility of your business. So your content should be showcasing your knowledge and expertise!

What type of content posts can you create on LinkedIn?

Be strategic – when you go to LinkedIn and view your newsfeed, make sure you comment on the posts from the people in your network that you want to see content from.

The algorithm will keep serving up posts from the connections you have ALREADY engaged with.

I also recommend you ‘unfollow’ those in your network that you don’t want to engage with.

Follow some of these basic steps and you will see an improvement not just in your LinkedIn newsfeed, but also in the types of connection requests you receive, and the return on time spent on LinkedIn.

Book your first session with me today www.louisebrogan.com/workwithme

How long should you spend on LinkedIn every day in order to grow your network? Should you post on your profile daily? Is engaging with other people's content helpful?

These are some of the questions I answer in today's solo episode of the podcast, where I remind you that while only 1% of LinkedIn users are active on the platform, 40% of users check in every single day. This tells you that by showing up daily, you have plenty of opportunities to build your profile and your network and to grow your business.

So what are the five things I recommend you do every day on LinkedIn? First thing first, you should check and address your notifications. Has anyone commented on your posts? Is a particular post trending under a hashtag you're following? Once you've done that, check the LinkedIn news daily rundown - if you want to find out what that is and how you can use it to your advantage, all the details are in this episode.

The third thing I recommend you do is building your network by connecting with people who engage with your content or who might have a similar audience to yours. Also, don't forget to check your newsfeed and comment on any interesting or relevant posts. This helps you raise your profile and visibility, so you can start being seen by the right people. And last but not least, you should always check and reply to your messages.

If you want to find out exactly which steps you should take to maximise the activities above, don't miss out on this episode! And if you haven't already, go and grab Your FREE LinkedIn Checklist - a guide with daily and weekly tasks to help you build your business on LinkedIn.

1. Why I don't recommend you post on LinkedIn every day (twice a week is enough!)
2. Why you should optimise your LinkedIn profile.
3. And why you should write LinkedIn posts in a way that helps you start a conversation with your audience - stop broadcasting and start connecting!

How to win business on LinkedIn - my YouTube channel.

Personalise your connection request on LinkedIn - YouTube video.

LinkedIn Profile Review - paid service to help you optimise your profile and leverage LinkedIn to win business.

Would you like to find out if I can help you use LinkedIn to make more sales in your business? Head over to my website and book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with me.

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on your favourite platform. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

Before you go, do you have any questions about this episode or on LinkedIn? Would you like to give me some feedback? I’d love for you to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

And if you want to find out more about how you can work with me or what events I'll be running in the future, head over to my website, email me at louise@socialbeeni.com, or book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with me.

What are LinkedIn Company Pages and should you use them?

LinkedIn Company Pages are a way for organisations to showcase their business, connect employees, promote products and services and share news and updates about the organisation/company.

There are 30 million businesses on LinkedIn.  LinkedIn Company Pages were launched in 2018. If you are a business – solo or global, you should have a Company Page on LinkedIn. Let’s find out why.

Work with me 

If you are enjoying the podcast, please share with someone who would benefit from it!   

Today's solo episode is all about how to use LinkedIn Stories to engage and interact with your network on LinkedIn.

Have you noticed something new under your LinkedIn profile yet? LinkedIn has just introduced Stories. And if you're wondering how you can use this new feature to support your business, this episode is for you.

This week on the podcast, I share everything you need to know about LinkedIn Stories. As you may know, Stories have been a feature on other social media platforms for a while now - see Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Like on other platforms, LinkedIn Stories stay on your profile for 24 hours. You have the ability to add up to 100 Stories per day, with a max length for a video story of 20 seconds. This gives you a lot of room to create and share short, quick, and engaging content that is both lightweight and image-focused.

If you want to find out how to get your network to engage and interact with the content on your Stories so you can strengthen your community on LinkedIn and promote your business, don't miss this episode!

1. What LinkedIn Stories are and how to create a Story by adding an image, a video, or by creating a video post.
2. Five different ways to come up with content that will help you start conversations with your network.
3. Who can see and reply to your Stories, how to add stickers or text, and how to choose from the available colour options.

How to Use LinkedIn to Build a Powerful Network - article.

How to build a network on LinkedIn you want to connect with - article.

And, How to use LinkedIn Stories for business - article.

To work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile. I also help you build a content strategy plan and teach you how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales. The sessions are interactive, fun, and practical. You leave with a fully optimised profile, a complete plan of action, and feeling raring to go! 

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn? My tips work no matter what type of business you run! Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

Would you like to find out if I can help you use LinkedIn to make more sales in your business? Head over to my website and book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with me.

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on your favourite platform. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

This week on the podcast, I share a LinkedIn coaching session with Ontario-based physiotherapist Micaela Zettel.

1. What to consider when optimising your LinkedIn headline, profile, and Featured Section.

2. Why you should create and share more thought leadership content on LinkedIn in the form of posts, videos, presentations, and articles to establish yourself as an expert in your industry or niche.

3. Why it's important to actively reach out to decision-makers in your industry who might be willing to connect and support your cause.

Find out how to book your LinkedIn VIP session here 

www.louisebrogan.com/workwithme

LinkedIn is a powerful tool to find a new career – if you’re using it right. By updating and optimising your LinkedIn profile, utilising the ‘Open to Work’ option, connecting with the right people, and even investing in career coaching, you can really make LinkedIn work for you. In this episode, I’m joined by LinkedIn Career Coach, Sarah Burgess, to discuss the reality of LinkedIn recruitment, how companies can attract candidates, and why universities should promote LinkedIn.

1. Not having a clear profile picture.
2. Having an unclear/misleading headline.
3. Not having enough experience listed.

Sarah Burgess started Koru, a LinkedIn career coaching company, in 2003 after a restructure left her facing redundancy. She is a self-confessed ‘LinkedIn geek’ and loves talking to people about how they can work towards finding that role they’ve always wanted. When she’s not coaching others, you can find Sarah on a paddleboard or otherwise being active outside.

Your LinkedIn profile picture and headline are two of the most important things you can optimise on your profile. These, along with your experience section, are what LinkedIn recruiters look at when actively seeking candidates for potential job openings. Sarah recommends optimising these three sections of your profile if you’re looking for new career opportunities.

Sarah also recommends using the ‘Open to Work’ option if you’re actively seeking a new role. Not only does this signify to recruiters that you’re a potential candidate, you can also write a message about the type of role you’re interested in and why you’re leaving your current role. You can also use the #OpenToWork hashtag, which will increase your posts’s reach and show it to more people in their news feeds. Sarah also recommends tweaking your profile regularly.

Companies can also optimise their company pages to become more attractive to potential candidates. Writing a compelling about section helps give a good company overview. It really is about selling yourself as a company, too – posting as your company page and generally being active. If you’re posting jobs, Sarah says to be transparent. List the salary and provide a contact at the company for candidates to speak to.

Finally, we talk about the use of AI on LinkedIn. From the built-in AI features to how AI is becoming more useful in career coaching and recruitment, the use of AI is not going away. It will only get more prominent, especially since LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. We ended our discussion with how and why universities and students need to use LinkedIn in their career search.

Have you used a career coach to help you find new opportunities on LinkedIn? How do you make sure your profile is optimised and updated regularly? If you’re a company, how do you make sure you stand out to potential candidates? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.

• Why your LinkedIn headline should reflect your job title [13:00]
• When to use the ‘Open to Work’ option on LinkedIn [13:30]
• Why your Experience section is more important to career coaches and recruiters [17:00]
• The benefits of using the ‘Open to Work’ option [18:30]
• How companies can use their company page to attract talent [21:00]
• The role of AI in recruitment on LinkedIn [24:45]
• How universities and students can use LinkedIn for career opportunities [30:00]

Find Sarah Burgess Online
Follow Sarah Burgess on LinkedIn

Find Louise Brogan Online
Follow Louise Brogan on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Have you ever accepted someone's connection on LinkedIn and received a 'cold' sales message straight away? Or maybe you've sent messages yourself that have fallen on deaf ears?

Then tune into this interview to learn what to do (and not to do) when selling on LinkedIn.

This week on the podcast, I interview Lynn Whitbeck, sales trainer, speaker, and author of the book "Practical Wisdoms @ Work", a must-read for every woman who wants career success. Building on her 30-year experience in sales and executive roles in the corporate world, Lynn transitioned to executive consulting and is the founder and CEO of Petite2Queen. Lynn and her team provide strategic expertise for the development and management of tailored client programmes. They help to enhance marketing, sales, business development, and operations management.

In this episode, Lynn and I talk about how to move your sales process forward on LinkedIn by focusing on relationships. A strong network of close connections will not only potentially work with you but also refer you to their connections. Be of service to your network - nurture relationships, and you'll see faster and more sustainable business growth. By focusing on your customers' needs and on how your products or services benefit them, you'll be able to close sales faster and more easily. 'Think like your customers' and focus on their goals and objectives. If you want to learn how not to squander leads, but, instead, create relationships that stand the test of time, don't miss this episode!

1. About the importance of 'relationship sales', based on providing value to your connections.
2. About the importance of refreshing your profile regularly.
3. How NOT to squander your leads by sending out 'cold' hard sell messages without investing in building relationships.

If you'd like to connect with Lynn, you can find her on her website or on LinkedIn. If you're interested in Lynn's book - "Practical Wisdoms @ Work", you can find it here.

And if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of four LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile, build a content strategy plan, and learn how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales. The sessions are interactive, fun, and practical. You leave with a fully optimised profile, a complete plan of action, and feeling raring to go! 

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn? My tips work no matter what type of business you run! Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

If you found this episode useful, come and join Lynn and I on Friday, 23rd October at 5 pm BST for our LinkedIn live catch up. And if you can’t watch us live, you’ll also find the recording on my YouTube channel.

Would you like to find out if I can help you use LinkedIn to make more sales in your business? Head over to my website and book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with me.

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on your favourite platform. 

Clients and customers want to work with companies they ‘know, like, and trust’, and this trust can be built by demonstrating your knowledge and expertise.

Decision-makers within companies - big or small - spend time reading and watching content online. Well-crafted content that delivers a concise message has the potential to influence how people view your brand and, crucially, their buying behaviour.

49% of decision-makers say that thought leadership can be effective at influencing their purchasing decisions.

89% of decision-makers say thought leadership enhances how they view a brand or organization online.

Edelman and LinkedIn Research, 2020

So why are so few people sharing thought leadership pieces?

It’s possible that organizations don’t realise the impact that sharing thought leadership can have. Without clear measurement of what impact this has on a brand, this activity may be pushed to the back of the to-do list.

My experience in working with clients on their LinkedIn strategy teaches me that many would like to share thought leadership content but feel they don’t have the skills or experience to know how to do this.

If you want to learn how to use thought leadership to help your business or organization, read on.

Thought leadership on LinkedIn can take the form of writing posts or articles, commenting on other people’s content, and sharing video.

Use your knowledge and experience to create content that answers your audience’s key questions.

Put yourself in the mind of your audience – what can you share with them today that will be of service to them?

Here are three key areas to focus on:

1. Industry news – updates, insights, and experience from working inside your field of expertise.
2. Product or service information – how do you use your product? What benefits can your services bring? How will they impact your customers?
3. Brand values – what does your company stand for?

Why does this matter?

On the LinkedIn Business blog, C-suite figures back up the importance of sharing thought leadership.

47% of C-suite executives say they shared contact information after reading thought leadership.

45% of decision-makers say thought leadership compelled them to invite an organization to bid on a project when not previously considering them, and 57% of them say thought leadership directly led to awarding business.

61% of C-suite executives say they’re more willing to pay a premium to work with an organization that has articulated a clear vision.

LinkedIn Business Blog: Marketing Solutions

Maybe you’re thinking you haven’t got time for this. But the good news? Sharing one thoughtful piece on LinkedIn per month in the form of an article, or showing up with a short video once a week is all it takes.

1. Writing long-form articles

Writing an article for your LinkedIn profile takes a bit of time and effort. And yes, articles get less views than posts. However, your ideal audience or potential clients will do their due diligence when looking to work with someone. And this includes checking what articles you have written. A well-crafted article will show up in search results online. So use keywords and consider what your ideal reader is searching for.

Also, by highlighting your article in the Featured Section of your profile, you can make it easier for your readers to find your pieces.

How to write articles that people will read and share

(this article first appeared in Social Media Examiner)

1. Share video content

Video marketing is an excellent way to share your thought leadership. Why not show your audience the behind-the-scenes of your company? Or demonstrate how your product works? Video will get your message across quickly.

So create video for your audience. Go back to the questions you get asked about your product or service and answer those.

If you have an event coming up, create a buzz around it using video. If you’re hosting a webinar, record a short promotional video that shows your audience what they will gain from attending your session.

How to use LinkedIn live and LinkedIn video for your business

1. Engage with your network

Using LinkedIn effectively means that the content you produce isn’t all about you. Sharing content shows your thought leadership, but remember to also spend time commenting on your network’s posts. Don’t forget to engage inside industry-specific LinkedIn groups because establishing your thought leadership is a two-way street. Also, when someone comments on your content, always respond to them.

Plan your thought leadership pieces.

What is your end goal? Don’t overcomplicate it. Your network enjoys digesting content – try to make it accurate, shareable, and relevant.

If you need help planning out what content you’re going to create, consider booking a LinkedIn VIP Intensive to work on your profile, content, and strategy for using LinkedIn.

Do you have a team? Consider showcasing your team members and their expertise. Encourage the team to contribute to your Company Page content. Once they publish posts, videos, or articles, ask members of your team to share this content in their own personal networks too.

Supporting and highlighting your own employees makes your business more attractive not just to future employees, but also to those companies that share your brand values.

LinkedIn has had a surge of engagement in 2020, with an increase in traffic by 25% as more professionals are working from home. So don’t miss the opportunity to share your expertise and knowledge and to demonstrate leadership.

If you’re not leading, you’re following.

LinkedIn

If you would like to discuss creating a strategy for building your thought leadership on LinkedIn, reach out. My LinkedIn VIP intensives are the perfect fit for individuals, and my corporate training packages will suit an SME or corporation.

LinkedIn have released a few new features!   Including the new look and feel (pretty modern - I like it) as well as some great new features for Messaging.    Adding in integrations with Zoom and Microsoft Teams so we can use video chat, managing your existing conversations and a new way to report spam or harrassment. 

For my clients who want to use LinkedIn and don't want to spend weeks learning how to, check out the LinkedIn VIP Intensive sessions here - LinkedIn VIP Sessions

If you enjoy this episode of the LinkedIn with Louise podcast, please do share with one other person you think would like it.  

Would you like to start using LinkedIn to grow your network of prospective customers or clients? Have you thought about using LinkedIn to make more sales in your business? If you'd like to start posting content on LinkedIn but aren't sure what to share, then tune into this episode!

This week on the podcast, I talk about the four key components of the LinkedIn Framework that I teach all my clients. Whether you're a corporate company looking for a group training session or someone who's interested in one of my private VIP Intensives, the principle I share today will work for you.

The foundation of everything you do on LinkedIn is your profile. If you want to use LinkedIn to your advantage, make sure you don't have any empty sections in your profile. Instead, use it to showcase your knowledge, your expertise, and your products or services.

The second piece to the puzzle is your network. Focus on quality rather than quality and aim to connect with potential customers, clients, or collaborators. You want a network that engages with you and that you enjoy interacting with.

The third component is your content. If you don't post anything on LinkedIn, people won't see your profile and will miss the chance to understand what you do.

And last but not least, don't forget to connect with your network directly by using LinkedIn messenger. Remember - LinkedIn is a professional social media platform, and it's all about building relationships. So have conversations with your network! If you want your connections to join your email list or book a discovery call with you so you can increase your chances of making a sale or being introduced to the right people, building relationships is the way to do it.

Find out more by tuning into this episode or join us for my FREE training on How to win business on LinkedIn on Wednesday, 30th September 2020 at 6:00 pm (BST).

1. How to write your LinkedIn profile (including your headline, your About section, and more) to showcase what you want to be known for and improve your chances of being found on LinkedIn.
2. What connection requests you should send or accept/decline in order to build a network of people who will engage with your content and help you move forward in your business.
3. How to create content that showcases what you do in business so you can raise your visibility and attract your ideal customers or clients.
4. How to use LinkedIn messenger to open the doors to building relationships and connecting with the right people in your business.

Did you know I am a speaker at Podcast Movement Virtual this year? For details, head over to the Podcast Movement website. It's the world's largest virtual podcast conference, and it runs from 19th to 29th October 2020.

Do you want to make more sales in your business? Then join me for this free training and find out:

• What you should post on LinkedIn.
• Who you should connect with.
• And how much time you should spend on LinkedIn every week.

Sign up for FREE here.

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my group coaching and membership program to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn.

This is perfect for you if you want to get to grips with LinkedIn and have regular access to me. You can ask me questions at any time and come along to our group calls twice a month. The program also includes 6 training modules (each consisting of 4 to 5 bite-sized videos). It teaches you everything you need to know to use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool for your business.

And if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of four LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile, build a content strategy plan, and learn how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales. The sessions are interactive, fun, and practical. You leave with a fully optimised profile, a complete plan of action, and feeling raring to go! 

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn? My tips work no matter what type of business you run! Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

Would you like to find out if I can help you use LinkedIn to make more sales in your business? Head over to my website and book a FREE 15-minute discovery call with me.

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on your favourite platform. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

Before you go, do you have any questions about this episode or on LinkedIn? Would you like to give me some feedback? I’d love for you to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

And if you want to find out more about how you can work with me or what events I'll be running in the future, head over to my website or email me at louise@socialbeeni.com.

Have you come across the term 'influencer marketing' and wondered what it's all about? As a business owner, are you looking for ways to reach out to a bigger audience? Or would you like to increase your influence on social media?

Then don't miss this episode!

This week on the podcast, I interview Neal Schaffer. Neal is a digital marketing author, speaker, and consultant who helps businesses with the digital transformation of sales and marketing through consulting and training. Neal helps enterprises large and small develop and execute on social media marketing strategy, influencer marketing, and social selling initiatives.

His most recent book, The Age of Influence, is a guide for marketing professionals and business owners who want to create and implement a highly-effective and sustainable influencer marketing plan. So whether you are looking for influencers to reach more of your ideal customers or clients, or whether you want to increase your own sphere of influence, this episode is for you.

In our interview, Neal tells us more about the definitions of 'micro influencers' and 'nano influencers' and encourages business owners to look at their overall organic social media reach, rather than focusing on one platform. Neal and I also talk about the key elements you should focus on if you want to increase your influence on social media, and specifically on LinkedIn. We talk about why you need to publish regular content, build a community, and encourage relevant engagement. Ready to find out all the details? Then tune in to the episode!

1. Why you should aim for authentic engagement rather than a big following.
2. How and why the way we are being 'influenced' has changed over the years, and why this gives entrepreneurs the ability to influence others on social media.
3. What to do when you want to find influencers for your products or services (outreach), as well as when you want to increase your own sphere of influence.

If you’d like to connect with Neal, you can find him on his website, on LinkedIn, or you can listen to his podcast Maximise Your Social Influence. Neal is the author of four books, including The Age of Influence.  

How to Create a Great LinkedIn Profile with Louise Brogan - guest episode on the Content 10x podcast.

Repurposing your content for LinkedIn, with Amy Woods - episode of the Linking in with Louise podcast.

Do you want to make more sales in your business? Then join me for this free training and find out:

• What you should post on LinkedIn.
• Who you should connect with.
• And how much time you should spend on LinkedIn every week.

Sign up for FREE here.

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my group coaching and membership program to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn.

This is perfect for you if you want to get to grips with LinkedIn and have regular access to me. You can ask me questions at any time and come along to our group calls twice a month. The program also includes 6 training modules (each consisting of 4 to 5 bite-sized videos). It teaches you everything you need to know to use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool for your business.

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn? My tips work no matter what type of business you run! Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

If you found this episode useful, come and join Neal and me on Friday 2nd October at 6 pm (UK time) for our LinkedIn LIVE catch up. And if you can’t watch us live, you’ll also find the recording on my YouTube channel.

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on iTunes. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

Do you work for a big company? Are you worried about your employer thinking you're looking for another job if you suddenly start posting on your LinkedIn profile? How can you use the platform in a way that helps you progress in your career?  

This week on the podcast, I interview Anita Belitz. Anita uses her extensive experience and NLP training to coach and mentor women to move ahead in their careers. In this interview, Anita and I address the common concern employees have around posting on LinkedIn while working for an employer. But if done correctly, being active and visible on LinkedIn can benefit both your career and your employer. Sharing knowledge and building relationships on the platform give you opportunities to grow. Not to mention it also helps increase visibility for your company. 

In this episode, Anita and I also talk about a new feature coming to LinkedIn (the My Company tab). This will allow employees of larger companies with over 200 members of staff to connect with each other and share content. If you're an employee or a small or medium-sized business and want to find out how to use LinkedIn to make connections and grow your business, don't miss this episode! 

1. Why visibility and personal branding are important for you and your company, even if you work for a large business. 
2. Why it's important that companies provide training and support as well as clear policies and guidelines to employees. 
3. And why companies should create an environment that's inducive to using LinkedIn as a professional platform and invest in their employees' career development, thus increasing retention. 

If you’d like to connect with Anita, you can find her on LinkedIn or on her website. Anita is also the host of the Wise Women's Workplace podcast, which you can access via her website or your favourite podcasting platform. 

Anita is also the host of a FREE virtual online conference (running from 28th to 30th September 2020) that will share information and advice on how to plan, find, and land your dream job. I was lucky to be invited to speak at this conference to talk about LinkedIn, but you'll also have the opportunity to get advice and inspiration from other fantastic international speakers. The line-up includes Todd Herman (author of The Alter Ego Effect), Jane Frankland (Developing Women Influencers), Jenny Kovacs (visibility expert), and many more. To see the whole line-up and register, head over to the website. 

During the week 21st to 25th September 2020, I will be running a 3-part online workshop called Power Up Your LinkedIn. The first part (on Monday, 21st) will teach you how to create a LinkedIn profile, while the second one (on Wednesday, 23rd) will focus on how to build your network and understand what type of content works well on LinkedIn. The third and final part (on Friday, 25th) will bring everything together to help you start using LinkedIn consistently in order to connect with customers or clients and raise your profile.

I'll be hosting 3 one-hour live sessions followed by 30-45 minutes of Q&A. The workshop is recorded, and you can access the recordings afterwards. Everyone who attends will also receive my amusing workbook, so if you want to find out more and sign up, head over to my website.

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my group coaching and membership program to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn.

This is perfect for you if you want to get to grips with LinkedIn and have regular access to me. You can ask me questions at any time and come along to our group calls twice a month. The program also includes 6 training modules (each consisting of 4 to 5 bite-sized videos). It teaches you everything you need to know to use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool for your business.

And if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of four LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile, build a content strategy plan, and learn how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales.

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn? My tips work no matter what type of business you run! Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

If you're running a business, you've probably heard that you need to niche down. But why should you? And how can you do it in a way that works for you and your business?

This week on the podcast, I interview Amy Caiger, who helps business owners to get clear on their niche. Drawing on her extensive marketing background, Amy helps her clients to stand out by getting clarity on what they do and attract more of the right customers, which Amy calls 'A list clients'. So if you feel you're currently being pushed and pulled by the requests of your customers rather than doing what you want to be doing in business, this episode is for you.

In this interview, Amy explains that, unlike what most business owners get told, niching down doesn't necessarily mean focusing on the client demographic or avatar. Having a niche is about being clear on the pain points you address and the problems you solve in your business. It's about communicating to your audience why they should choose you over somebody else. And the one thing that makes your business different is you! Not to mention that niching down helps you become a better expert at what you do, and people want to work with specialists and not generalists. 

1. Why and how niching down helps your business to stand out and makes it easier for your existing or past clients and for the people in your network to refer you to others.
2. How you can niche down and still attract and communicate with different audiences.
3. Why video and having a 'hero piece of content' can be a great way to help your audience get to know, like, and trust you.

If you would like help with your LinkedIn, please reach out to louise@socialbeeni.com and we can set up a time to chat 

Have you come across the term SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) but aren't sure how it applies to your business? Would you like your website to be displayed in Google search results for your location or your industry? 

Then tune into this episode!

This week on the podcast, I interview Ben Roberts, who helps businesses with their SEO using the power of Owned and Earned Marketing. Ben is also an author and a speaker and through his company, BMR Marketing, he helps SMEs grow their web presence, their rankings, and their online search potential. So if you're looking to learn more about SEO and how it can help your business, this episode is for you.

In this interview, Ben talks about the importance of making your online content 'relevant'. As Google aims to return the best possible results for their users, if you want your website or LinkedIn profile to show in the search engine results for any given term (or keyword) that represents your business and what you do, you need to make sure you mention those terms in your content - and not just once!

Ben also explains why blogging is an important aspect of your Owned Marketing. Creating content around your ideas, opinions, products, or services (even in the form of FAQs) can help with your online presence. And if writing isn't for you, we even touch on outsourcing, consulting, and speech-to-text as ways to help you create more content for your business. This is a jam-packed episode full of valuable information, so don't miss it!

1. The difference between Owned Marketing (the content that you create as a business owner) and Earned Marketing (the trust and credibility you build with your audience over time).
2. Why recommendations are an important form of Earned Marketing, how to get recommendations via third-party review websites, and how you can (and should) display them on your website too.
3. The importance of updating existing content and adding fresh content to your website (for example, through blogging).

If you’d like to connect with Ben, you can find him on LinkedIn or on website. Ben is the author of the book Marketing Buzzword to Marketing Authority and the host of The Marketing Buzzword Project podcast. 

If you're interested in joining the next 90-day Content Marketing Challenge with Martin and Lyndsay of Jammy Digital, check out the online membership Make Your Mark Online. I also interviewed Martin and Lyndsay in episode 48 - Making your mark online with Jammy Digital.

And if you're interested in outsourcing your content creation or blogging, check out my show notes writer Sara Bussandri. I interviewed Sara in episode 85 - Batching your content writing and running your own business.

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my group coaching and membership program to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn.

This is perfect for you if you want to get to grips with LinkedIn and have regular access to me. You can ask me questions at any time and come along to our group calls twice a month. The program also includes 6 training modules (each consisting of 4 to 5 bite-sized videos) and teaches you everything you need to know to use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool for your business.

And if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of four LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile, build a content strategy plan, and learn how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales.

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn, no matter what type of business you run? Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

I use a framework to help my clients use LinkedIn - this includes four pieces:

Your LinkedIn Profile

Your LInkedIn Network

Your LinkedIn Content

Your LinkedIn messaging strategy

These are all necessary parts of your strategy and all depend on each other.  To have a chat with me about how this works, go to Work with me and book your discovery call!

Why use LinkedIn Polls?  This is one of my new favourite features on LinkedIn!

• Polls are part of your 'create a post' options
• They help you engage with other members
• Ask for opinions
• Find out what your audience REALLY wants to know about
• Helps with identifying your content topics

Some Poll Basics:

Only the person who is running the poll can see how each person has voted

Your network can see the volume of votes for each option, but not who has voted for which option

Page Admins can vote on behalf of their page in a poll

You can change your vote but you can only vote once

Polls cannot be edited but can be deleted by the owner

To check out my latest polls, come and connect with me on LieIn - www.linkedin.com/in/louisebrogan

If you would like more support and training on how to use LinkedIn, check out

book your VIP session today

To keep yourself up to date with LinkedIn, subscribe to the podcast and leave me a review on Apple Podcasts to get your shout-out! 

LinkedIn Ads have become a powerful tool for companies, but using them to their full potential requires a strategic approach. In this episode, I’m joined by LinkedIn Ads expert AJ Wilcox to discuss the advantages of LinkedIn Ads, how companies can use them to increase their warm and hot leads significantly, the many types of ads available, and what happens when you dabble in the platform.

1. Target the right audience based on budget.
2. Find out who the audience is and what they need.
3. Offer free and/or subscribable content.
4. Build the know, like, and trust factor.

AJ Wilcox is a LinkedIn Ads pro who founded B2Linked.com, THE LinkedIn Ads agency, in 2014. He's managed over $150M in spend on the platform, and they're official LinkedIn partners. AJ is the host of the LinkedIn Ads Show podcast and has managed 5 of the world’s top 10 LinkedIn Ads accounts. He's a ginger & triathlete. He lives in Utah with his beautiful wife and 5 adorable kids, and his company car is a wicked-fast go-kart.

LinkedIn Ads can be a powerful tool for companies, but it’s important to invest in them strategically. AJ says that simply dabbling in them might not yield immediate results, especially if you’re advertising at a low volume. You need to understand that the impact of your ads may take time to materialise.

To make the most of a low-volume approach, AJ recommends targeting warm audiences. By focusing on the people already familiar with your brand, you increase the chances of achieving positive outcomes.

Using LinkedIn Ads without professional knowledge can be challenging. With it, you may end up wasting a significant amount of money on ineffective ad campaigns. AJ provides some guidance on how to use this as a learning experience and advises marketing managers who are asked to start using them without training.

LinkedIn offers a huge variety of ad types, from direct messages and sidebar ads to news feed ads, including images, carousels, and videos. Video ads are gaining popularity because they are a much more direct way to build the know, like, and trust factor in getting your audience from a cold or warm lead to a hot one. Video is becoming the future of LinkedIn!

Do you use LinkedIn Ads? What do you like about them? Have you ever invested money in LinkedIn Ads and received little to no return on your investment? Let me know your experience in the comments on the episode page.

• What kind of companies should invest in LinkedIn advertising [7:30]
• What happens when you dabble in LinkedIn Ads [11:00]
• The reality of using ads without professional knowledge [16:00]
• How marketing managers can make their case to their managers [20:45]
• Why you can’t use your Meta strategy on LinkedIn [22:45]
• How to start working with an agency [24:30]
• The power of free and subscribable content [26:00]
• How many types of ads exist on LinkedIn [27:15]
• The power of LinkedIn video ads [29:30]

Learn About LinkedIn Ads Fanatics
Get the Free Comprehensive LinkedIn Ads Startup Checklist & Guide
Listen to The LinkedIn Ads Show

Find AJ Wilcox Online
Follow AJ Wilcox on LinkedIn | X | YouTube

Find Louise Brogan Online
Follow Louise Brogan on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Subscribe to LinkedIn with Louise Brogan on Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Have you ever thought about being a guest on someone’s podcast? Would you like to increase your visibility by sharing your expertise on someone’s show but aren’t sure about the best way to reach out to a podcast host? 

Then tune into this episode! 

This week on the podcast, I interview Julie Fry, who is the founder of Your Expert Guest, a podcast guest strategy and booking agency, where she helps experts share their message on podcasts to reach larger audiences and grow their business. Passionate about creating meaningful connections, Julie supports business owners and experts to leverage podcast guesting as a visibility, brand awareness, and lead generation tool. 

You will learn…

1. Why guest podcasting is one of the best marketing strategies out there and what the benefits of being a guest on someone’s podcast show are. 
2. What to do to become a great podcast guest.
3. What things you shouldn’t do when you’re invited as a guest on someone’s podcast. 

About Julie

If you’d like to connect with Julie you can find her on her website or on LinkedIn. And if you’d like to take Julie’s FREE quiz to find out if you could leverage podcast interviews to grow your visibility, you can do so here. 

If you’re a podcaster and would like some FREE guest recommendations or would like Julie to share your show on her social media channels, fill in Julie’s form here. 

Resources mentioned in the episode

Selling through relationships with Nikki Raush (podcast episode).

The pumpkin plan, by Mike Michalowicz (book). 

Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business? 

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my group coaching and membership program to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn. 

This is perfect for you if you want to get to grips with LinkedIn and have regular access to me – you can ask questions any time and come along to our group calls twice a month. The program also includes 6 training modules (each consisting of 4 to 5 bite-sized videos) and teaches you everything you need to know to use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool for your business. 

And if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of four LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect for you if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile, build a content strategy plan and learn how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales.  

Download my FREE LinkedIn guide

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn, no matter what type of business you run? Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here. 

More about me

If you found this episode useful, come and join Julie and I on Friday 7th August at 6pm BST for our LinkedIn live catch up. And if you can’t watch us live, you’ll also find the recording on my YouTube channel. 

And if you want to find out more about how you can work with me visit  my website or email me at louise@socialbeeni.com. 

Do you struggle to create a marketing plan for your business? Would you like to share content but have no idea where to start?

Then tune into this episode to find out how your brand story can help. 

This week on the podcast, I interview Lucy Eckley,  founder of Build your Brand Story.

After a career working in financial services and specialising in Internal Communications, Lucy now helps independent consultant to build a unique brand story, so they can stand out in their industry, get hired by their ideal clients, and grow their expert status.

In this episode, Lucy and I talk about how you can use your story brand specifically on LinkedIn to attract and connect with the types of clients you want to work with.

If you’d like to find out how having a clear framework and a strategic approach to communicating with your ideal clients can help your business, don’t miss this episode!

You will learn…

1. About the two key steps to creating a strong brand story framework.
2. Why talking about yourself on the About page of your website and on your LinkedIn profile is a mistake!
3. How your brand story (and reviewing it and tweaking it) can help your business thrive during the pandemic.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

The Pumpkin Plan, by Mike Michalowicz
Build your brand story with Lucy Eckley 
Empowering your brand through PR with Amanda Berlin (podcast episode).

if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of four LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions.

Download my FREE LinkedIn guide

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn, no matter what type of business you run? Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

If you found this episode useful, come and join Lucy and me on Friday 24 th July 2020 at 2pm BST for our LinkedIn live catch up.
If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave a review so I can read it out on the next episode. 

How to tell your business story in the media with Amanda Berlin 

Do you struggle to explain what you do? Do you feel you’re not working with the right types of clients and would like to find more effective ways to be visible and reach out to your ideal customers? 

Then tune into this episode! 

This week on the podcast, I interview Amanda Berlin, who is a visibility and business consultant for entrepreneurs. Amanda works with clients on holistic visibility to help them grow their business and impact based on tactics employed during her 12 years in the corporate PR world, guiding strategy for major brands. Amanda and her clients have been featured in all types of media — from Business Insider to Entrepreneur on Fire and WNYW Fox 5 to Bustle.com. She’s the host of The Empowered Publicity Podcast and loves arming soul-powered business owners with the ideas and skill-set they need to go from hidden industry gems to recognizable trusted experts. 

You will learn…

1. Why it’s important to tell your business story in a way that interests and relates to your audience AND that is palatable to the media. 
2. Why podcasts are the most effective media to generate a deeper connection with listeners or to get in front of a new audience. 
3. Why you should always understand your business goals and create a strategy BEFORE you decide on what PR tactics to employ – different aims call for different platforms and different types of publicity! 

About Amanda

If you’d like to connect with Amanda, you can find her on her website – click on the Connect tab and you can send an email straight to Amanda’s inbox. And if you’re ready to make new profitable and meaningful connections, you can join Amanda’s FREE 5-day Connect Fest challenge. Over the course of 5 days, Amanda shares templates and ideas for emails to send to contacts you’ve lost touch with or to people you admire and want to build a connection with. 

You can also tune in to Amanda’s podcast – The Empowered Publicity. 

Resources mentioned in the episode

My articles on Social Media Examiner:

Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business? 

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my group coaching and membership program to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn. 

This is perfect for you if you want to get to grips with LinkedIn and have regular access to me – you can ask questions any time and come along to our group calls twice a month. The program also includes 6 training modules (each consisting of 4 to 5 bite-sized videos) and teaches you everything you need to know to use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool for your business. 

And if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of four LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect for you if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile, build a content strategy plan and learn how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales.  

Download my FREE LinkedIn guide

Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn, no matter what type of business you run? Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here. 

More about me

If you found this episode useful, come and join Amanda and me on Friday 17th July 2020 at 2pm BST for our LinkedIn live catch up. 

And if you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on iTunes. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

Before you go, do you have any questions on this episode or on LinkedIn? Would you like to give me some feedback? I’d love for you to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. 

And if you want to find out more about how you can work with me or what events I am running in the future, head over to my website or email me at louise@socialbeeni.com. 

Do you create marketing content for your business? Do you spend hours and hours of your week working on it? Perhaps you work with a number of skilled freelancers and wish you could hand over
your content creation to one company for them to take care of the rest?

This week on the podcast, I interview repurposing expert, speaker and author Amy Woods.

Amy is the owner of Content 10x, a creative agency that specialises in content repurposing. Amy and her team work with business owners who embrace content marketing and want to make the most of each piece of content they produce without having to spend hours doing the work themselves.

In this episode, Amy talks about why her agency is now niching down on LinkedIn to help their clients become leads and authorities in their industry.

If you want to become a leading voice on LinkedIn but also reach a wider audience through YouTube, your website, or a podcast show, Content 10x can make it happen for you while taking a weight off your to-do list and saving you tonnes of time, so you can focus on the tasks that bring money into your business.

You will learn…
1. How to maximise every piece of content you produce and why video should be the central
focus of your content creation efforts.
2. Why it’s important to take the calculated risk to invest in the business you want, rather than the business you have right now – invest in content creation and repurposing, and leads and
sales will come in!
3. How you could use longer LinkedIn videos (or ‘events’) to invite and interview guests and encourage more people to watch and engage with your live videos.

About Amy
If you’d like to connect with Amy, you can find her on her website, on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

And if you’d like to purchase Amy’s book – Content 10x: More Content, Less Time, Maximum Results, you can find it here.

Previous guests mentioned in this episode
Making Your Mark Online with Jammy Digital
How to do live video with confidence with Ian Anderson Gray
Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business?

Work with Louise

What is LinkedIn live? Does everyone have it? And what’s the difference between LinkedIn live and LinkedIn video? 

This week on the podcast, I talk about the importance of creating video content on LinkedIn. This can be done through LinkedIn live – LinkedIn’s live streaming service – or through LinkedIn videos that you can pre-record, edit, and upload onto the platform or record directly on your smartphone using the LinkedIn app.  

LinkedIn live is an application-only service that not all users currently have access to, so if you haven’t applied yet, in this episode I explain why you should and give you plenty of details on how to use the service via the third-party software StreamYard once LinkedIn grants you access. If you’re wondering whether you should apply through your LinkedIn company page or your personal profile, if you want to find out how to pull your viewers’ comments onto the screen so you can engage with them, or if you want to know exactly how to use your background, this is the perfect episode for you. 

You will learn…

1. Why you should apply for LinkedIn live (more than once!) and how to fast-track the processing of your application. 
2. How to use the paid version of StreamYard (third-party software) to go live on LinkedIn – plus, I share my best tips on how to plan and prepare for your LinkedIn live in advance. 
3. Why it’s important to be consistent with your LinkedIn live content and how to encourage your audience to join in and watch. 
4. How to find out what to talk about on your LinkedIn live sessions.  
5. How to notify your network about you going live on LinkedIn and how/why you should check your analytics.  

Resources mentioned in the episode

StreamYard – third-party software that allows you to go live on LinkedIn. 

They Ask You Answer, by Marcus Sheridan – book. 

Using LinkedIn polls to survey your audience – see What type of questions would you like to see/hear on LinkedIn live? 

Headliner – app for adding subtitles/captions to your videos. 

Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business? 

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my group coaching and membership program to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn. 

This is perfect for you if you want to get to grips with LinkedIn and have regular access to me – you can ask questions any time and come along to our group calls twice a month. The program also includes 6 training modules (each consisting of 4 to 5 bite-sized videos) and teaches you everything you need to know to use LinkedIn as a lead generation tool for your business. 

And if you want to work with me on a 1-to-1 basis, every month I offer a maximum of 4 LinkedIn VIP Intensive private coaching sessions. These 3-hour sessions are perfect for you if you want some help to optimise your LinkedIn profile, build a content strategy plan and learn how to use LinkedIn to generate leads and sales.  

Do you think your business is too niche for LinkedIn? Do you hold off using the platform because you don’t think it will work for the type of business you run?

Time to think again!
This week on the podcast, I interview US-based Culinary Brand and Anniversary photographer Amanda Richardson. Amanda helps culinary professionals (and personal private chefs in particular) who want to strategically grow their brand through the art of photography.

Amanda’s story is fascinating – with a background as a chef, she re-trained and pivoted her career several times. By combining her love for food and wine with photography, she first learnt how to take photos of food
before training in how to photograph people too.

In this episode, Amanda shares exactly how she used her unique passions and skills to identify a specific set of ideal clients and serve their needs. By becoming a skilled photographer of both food and people, Amanda is able to help her clients showcase their culinary creations as part of their
personal brand. Tune in to find out how, by sharing content on LinkedIn that’s strategically targeted to her audience, Amanda’s been able to grow her network and become a well-known professional in her specific niche.

You will learn…

1. Why it’s important to be able to empathise and sympathise with the unique needs of your clients.
2. How to make sure your LinkedIn headshot stands out.
3. How to use LinkedIn articles to connect and engage with more of your ideal customers and clients.

About Amanda
If you’d like to connect with Amanda, you can find her on her website, on LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Resources mentioned in the episode
Katelyn James Photography.

Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business?
If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my membership designed to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn.

Download my FREE LinkedIn guide
Would you like to learn about the 4 exact steps you need to take to get success on LinkedIn, no matter what type of business you run? Then download my FREE 10-page LinkedIn guide here.

More about me

If you found this episode useful, come and join Amanda and me on Friday 26 th June 2020 for our LinkedIn live catch up.

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on iTunes. If you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

Do you feel brave enough to show your personality on social media? Are you absolutely clear on what you stand for and what sets you apart from the competition? And do you use storytelling as a tool to build trust in your marketing?
This week on the podcast, I interview chartered marketer Nicole Osborne. Nicole is a social media trainer, a personal branding coach, a marketing consultant and a speaker, and she works with
ambitious founders, entrepreneurs, and business owners to help them grow their audience and improve their marketing results.
In this episode, Nicole shares the story of how she moved from East Germany to the UK 25 years ago and how, after years in the corporate world, she decided to start her own business – Lollipop Social.
As a fellow social media trainer and speaker, Nicole and I have met in person at various events, but I was pleased to be able to dig deeper during this interview and learn more about how Nicole
prepares her engaging talks, where she includes stories that add value, give the audience a great experience, and make her personal brand memorable.

You will learn…
1. About the pros and cons of using a business name vs using your own name when you start
your own business.
2. Why it’s important to know what works on specific social media platforms, but, at the same
time, how some key principles about personal branding and storytelling apply across all
social media channels.
3. Why you should always consider replying to comments on LinkedIn (and other social media platforms).

About Nicole
If you’d like to connect with Nicole, you can find her on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Related episodes
Making your mark online with Jammy Digital.
Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business?
If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learners Lab – my group coaching program d esigned to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn.

If you found this episode useful, come and join Nicole and me on Friday 19 th June 2020 for our LinkedIn live catch up.
And if you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on iTunes. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

How to connect with your ideal audience on LinkedIn, with Amy Grubbs
Who are you connected with on LinkedIn? Is your network made of people who you feel you can build relationships with and who understand you and your business?

Are you specific enough about who you connect and work with?

This week on the podcast, I interview Ottawa-based Amy Grubb. Amy is a commercial lawyer who primarily helps other lawyers build the boutique practice of their dreams through coaching,
consulting, masterminding, and community work.
After leaving the corporate world, Amy started an online business that slowly opened her eyes to a different way of networking and connecting with prospective clients.

When she started her own practice as a commercial lawyer, Amy tailored her services to entrepreneurs in the creative space.
But over time, she transitioned towards working with other lawyers, and specifically with solo and small firm lawyers, offering freelance help but also advice and support on how to market themselves and bring more clients into their business.

In this episode, Amy talks about her experience of focusing in on a specific target audience in her business and on LinkedIn. She shares how she’s been using the platform to connect with her ideal audience, and specifically with people she can engage and build connections with. If you’re using LinkedIn for business and feel your network does not reflect the type of people you’d love to
connect and work with, tune in to find out what worked for Amy and her business.

You will learn…
About the benefits of focusing in and making your offer crystal clear so you can attract more of your ideal clients – niching down makes it easier to market yourself and bring more leads and sales into your business!
1. What the ideal frequency for posting on LinkedIn is if your aim is to do business with
employers and corporates.
2. Why it’s important to be intentional in the type of network you create on LinkedIn (and any
other social media platform) – you are in control of your network and your social media experience.

About Amy
If you’d like to connect with Amy, you can find her on LinkedIn or on her website. You can also find her in her Facebook group: Solo/Small Firm Lady Lawyers.

Related episodes
Getting rid of your content gremlins with Amanda Webb.
Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business?
If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, check out LinkedIn Learner Lab – my
group coaching program designed to help you create an effective LinkedIn strategy and start building your network on LinkedIn.

More about me
If you found this episode useful, come and join Amy and me on Friday 12 th June 2020 for our LinkedIn live catch up.

And if you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on iTunes. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

And if you want to find out more about how you can work with me or what events visit www.louisebrogan.com

On this week’s podcast, I interview Amanda Webb of Spider Working. We discuss the ‘Content gremlin’ – the little gremlin that sits on your shoulder and tells you to start creating content and sharing it all over the internet.

Amanda works with people who’ve got all those bits and pieces up and running, and I help them put that together into like a sales driven strategy.

They know that everything that they’re doing online is driving towards that end goal. It can be hard to do when you’re in it yourself because there’s so much going on. So a lot of the time, Amanda is telling people to quit doing things rather than telling them to do new things.

We streamline their processes, they make sales, and they never, they get rid of the content gremlin, and they never have the worry that they’re wasting time again.

We talk about Amanda’s early career in the IRish Film industry and how that worked out (plus a common connection with an Irish movie!)

Amanda shares how consistently creating her weekly video show has led to her filling up her client base and how this one piece of content is chopped up and re-used across her social media channels.

Find out more about Amanda by visiting www.spiderworking.com

For help with your LinkedIn, go to www.louisebrogan.com/workwithme

This week on the podcast I get to interview a good friend, Reena Philpot, who 'does' sales in exactly the way I like.

Reena works with lots of entrepreneurs, business owners to help them and improve their sales or build their sales teams by working on their strategy.

Reena talks about how she sees sales as a way of finding out about companies and businesses. Curiousity helps. We talk about how Reena used her experience from her photocopy business she runs with her husband Earl to help solo entrepreneurs learn how to sell.

During our conversation, Reena explained how she works with her clients which gave me a great idea on how to change some of my own offers! Having a one-off session which deep-dives into your issues, and then offering to follow up with 30-minute sessions.

If you would like to get hold of Reena's free guide to sales plus book a free 15-minute consultation, head here

www.louisebrogan.com/workwithme

Connect with Reena at www.reenaphilpot.com 

Keep rocking LinkedIn by taking control of your personal branding and exploring the new platform features. In this episode, my guest, Kevin D. Turner, shares invaluable insights on enhancing your LinkedIn profile. Discover the power of making small but impactful changes, leveraging LinkedIn’s AI features, and the power of free resources for your network.

1. You can use AI to write your headline and personal summary.
2. Use AI as a starting point for creating more personal posts.
3. The more you use LinkedIn’s built-in AI features, the more it will learn your writing style.

Showcasing your personal brand on LinkedIn is something we can all do more of. My guest, Kevin D. Turner, shares his thoughts on how you can keep rocking LinkedIn by showcasing your personality on the platform. As Kevin says, If you don’t own your own brand, someone is going to own it for you.

One thing you can do that makes a big difference is to make little changes to your LinkedIn profile. As a personal branding expert, Kevin encourages you to utilise LinkedIn’s built-in AI features to help sharpen your profile and make it more accessible to recruiters and other search engines.

It’s also really important to create free resources for your network. When you’re inundated with messages and requests, having a YouTube channel, course, blog, or LinkedIn newsletter, to name a few, provides valuable content while saving you time – and establishing yourself as an expert in your field.

LinkedIn continuously introduces new features and updates to enhance user experience. However, as Kevin points out, these updates are not rolled out to everyone at the same time. Understanding how LinkedIn’s rollouts work and why they adopt this approach is important.

One of Kevin’s favourite new features is LinkedIn’s built-in AI. One feature that’s still in development is the AI-powered headline and personal summary generator. You can also use this AI as a starting point for creating tailored content to post.

LinkedIn has also launched an exciting new AI-powered Job Seeker Coach, which aims to provide personalised guidance for people seeking employment on LinkedIn.

How do you show up on LinkedIn? Have you explored any of LinkedIn’s AI features yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.

• How rollouts work on LinkedIn [12:00]
• Why LinkedIn doesn’t roll out updates to everyone at the same time [13:00]
• Why it’s important to create free resources [19:30]
• How to make LinkedIn more accessible and inclusive [21:15]
• How little changes to your LinkedIn profile can make a huge difference [26:00]
• Some of the best new LinkedIn features [31:00]
• The best way to use AI on LinkedIn [33:00]
• How LinkedIn became profitable in year one [35:00]

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Subscribe to Keep Rocking LinkedIn!
Follow Kevin D. Turner on LinkedIn | YouTube
Follow TNT Brand Strategist LLC on LinkedIn 

Find Louise Brogan Online
Follow Louise Brogan on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Subscribe to LinkedIn with Louise Brogan on Apple Podcasts | Spotify

How to connect with people on linkedIn

What are the do’s and don’t s on connecting with people on LinkedIn?

Should you accept all connection requests?  How do you decide whether or not to accept someone’s connection request?

I share my thoughts plus those of my network.  

To work with Louise visit www.louisebrogan.com/workwithme

LinkedIn is releasing a lot of new features at the moment.  The latest have been Featured section in your personal profile and the Events section. 

Featured Section - this sits under your About Summary and can be used to link to your website, events, articles, blog posts and even your latest YouTube video.

Events - you can add in-person or virtual events. I wrote about this recently for Social Media Examiner - https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-linkedin-events-to-promote-online-or-in-person-events/

If you want training and support for your LinkedIn activity, come and join us inside the Level Up Your LinkedIn programme - with access to ask me any questions at least once a month during our regular office hours calls plus over 30 videos on how to use LinkedIn. 

www.socialbeeni.com/leveluplinkedin

If you prefer to work one to one, book your strategy calls with me today at www.socialbeeni.com/workwithme 

5 ways to communicate with your audience:

1. Show up for them!  

2. Try something new - if you want to learn about starting a podcast , check out the Raise Your Visibility online summit here https://socialbee.teachable.com/p/social-bee-online-summitpass

3. Share on your social media

4. Try going live online

5. Keep sending your newsletter to your email list

Your Social Selling Index (SSI) measures how effective you are at establishing your professional brand, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and building relationships. It is updated daily.

The SSI is a measurement taken by LinkedIn.

You can access it at www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi and log in to your own account.

The SSI is a number marked out of 100 and is broken down into four sections.

Establishing your personal brand

Find the right people

Engage with Insights

Build relationships

I would love to hear what your SSI is. When we ran my LinkedIn 5 Day Challenge recently, every member measured their SSI at the start of the week, and again at the end. While most people raised they SSI by one or two points, a few raised theirs by almost 10 points.

If you would like to know more about increasing your reach and growing your business on LinkedIn, why not book a discovery call with me today. https://www.louisebrogan.com

This week on the podcast, we discuss how important it is to look after your brand, how to behave on social media during normal times, as well as during our current crisis.

Rebecca invested in a LinkedIn Profile Writing service with me back in October/November and now uses LinkedIn to connect with her audience and clients.

You can find more about Rebecca and her book - The Personal Brand Project, over at brand intentions.com.

https://www.louisebrogan.com

www.louisebrogan.com

Do you have a LinkedIn profile that is looking a bit sad?

When was the last time you posted an update on LinkedIn?

Have you EVER posted an update?

Don't worry - if you can't answer the above with a positive response, you are not alone.

I run a lot of in-person training events in N.Ireland which gives me great opportunities to talk to people about why they aren't using LinkedIn, or why they haven't really got into LinkedIn yet. And there's lots of different reasons why which I cover in this episode.

If you need help and support with getting started, I offer one to one strategy sessions to help you with understanding how you can use LInkedIn to grow your business.

Get in touch and we have a strategy session together.

We'll look at what your business is, who your clients are, who's your target market, what could you be sharing on LinkedIn, that will bring those people to you to connect with you to want to work with you.

And I'd be delighted to help you with that.

https://www.louisebrogan.com

Do you sell online courses? Perhaps you’re running a challenge or offering a free PDF or a webinar to encourage people to sign up for your membership? 

Are you interested in finding out how you can replace your existing funnels with ‘conversational selling’ and increase your digital sales?

This week on the podcast, I interview Mike Kelly, CTO and Co-Founder of MemberVault, an easy-to-use resource hub that allows you to showcase your free offers and paid products in one place. Whether you offer digital products, courses, memberships, or one-to-one services, MemberVault helps you share your content and keep your followers engaged using gamification. 

In this episode, Mike gives us an insight into how the platform works, but also shares the story of how and why he and his wife Erin came up with the idea for this product. Using MemberVault allows you to qualify warm and hot leads within the platform and reach out to them individually, so you can go from ‘funnelling’ (a very seller-centric approach) to ‘serving’ (a more user-centric approach). If you sell digital products in your business (free or paid-for), and you want to find out about a different and more engaging way of selling, you won’t want to miss this episode! 

You will learn…

1. Why having all your digital products in one place allows you to replace your existing sales funnels and increase your conversion rates. 
2. Why you should qualify your warm and hot leads and reach out to them individually (Mike calls this ‘conversational selling’). 
3. Why you should always listen to your users and create products or services that alleviates a pain point they are experiencing, rather than something that you (the business owner) want to build and sell.  

About Mike

If you’d like to connect with Mike, you can find him on LinkedIn. 

Try MemberVault for free

And if you would like to try MemberVault, you can use my affiliate link here. You can create a free account, join the helpful MemberVault Facebook group that Mike and Erin’s team run, and try out all the features before you buy. 

Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business? 

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, get your message out there, and create a solid strategy on how to use LinkedIn for your business in 2020 and beyond, check out my Work with Me page.  

I offer 3 types of services: 

• A LinkedIn profile review with a video walkthrough of your profile and a 2-page action plan for you to implement.
• A LinkedIn profile review + consultation, including a 45-minute strategy session for using LinkedIn.
• And a series of 4x 1-hour LinkedIn strategy sessions followed by a tailored action plan.

If you have any questions, send me a message on LinkedIn or email me at louise@socialbeeni.com. 

Would you like FREE tips on how to grow your LinkedIn network?

If you’d like more tips on growing your LinkedIn network without being salesy and spammy, you can download my FREE guide here or head over to my website to pick up my FREE LinkedIn profile tips.  

More about me

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on iTunes. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not?

If you have any questions on this episode or on LinkedIn or would like to offer any feedback, I’d love for you to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. 

Traci Baxley joins me for an on-air coaching call on how to 'jump back in' to LinkedIn following a change of direction with her business.  Traci is a Life Coach for Moms,  supporting women who are chasing the elusive “balance” instead of choosing harmony and grace to guide their lives. Traci helps moms move from fear-based parenting to intentional parenting with radical love using her parenting philosophy, Social Justice Parenting.

Traci specializes in supporting moms of transracial families. She offers cultural coaching and consulting for transracial families (white parents with black/biracial children) and adoption agencies working with transracial families. 

I met Traci in the US in November when she was a keynote speaker at a conference we were both speaking at and I love her approach to parenting as well as business.  In this on-air coaching call we work through how LinkedIn can be a resource for Traci, and how she can change and adapt her profile to fit her true passion in business.  

Find out more about Traci here

Last week, while working with a client on their Linkedin strategy, we had a chat about whether or not LinkedIn Premium was worth investing in.. 

I currently DO have LinkedIn Premium and have had it for about six months.  I am not sure if I want to keep it o – but I do find it useful to see who has been looking at my profile.  

So lets dive into the detail

How much does it cost?

LinkedIn Premium is offered in four tiers, ranging from $29.99 to $59.99 per month for job seekers, $79.99 per month for sales professionals, and $119.95 per month for recruiters. Annual billing offers slight discounts.

Yes – they offer a free trial for 30 days quite regularly. If you click on the option for Premium on your account, you usually get offered a free trial.

You can get a block of free InMail emails  with LinkedIn Premium. InMail is the LinkedIn messaging App.

What do you use it for? You are able to send messages to people who are NOT in your network. Reasons to do this? Well personally I tend to connect with people and then start messaging. But I can see if you worked in sales for example, you might want to reach out to anyone without already being connected.  

You can see who has viewed your profile, and then reach out to connect with them.  If your current network is looking at your profile, maybe send them a private message and restart your conversation. 

You get good insights into who is viewing your profile.   LinkedIn will mark other members as Interesting Views – this could be because you follow the company they work for, they are seen as a senior leader in yours or another industry, 

There are also insights when multiple people from one company are looking at your profile.  For example, having worked with InterTradeIreland this week, I am notified that 5 people from ITI have looked at my profile.  

Then you can see if a lot of people with the same job title have looked at your profile – mine says that 54 people with the job title Business Owner, have been looking at my profile.  These stats are based on the last 90 days. 

You have access to Insights into a company page, where the company has more than 30 employees with complete member profiles.

If a company has more than 30 people with complete LinkedIn profiles, you can get a lot of insight into that company on their Company Page

• You can see a breakdown of employee distribution and headcount. For example, I can learn that 18% of Apple employees are classified under Engineer and only 3% under Marketing.  Which makes sense! 
• You can also see other classifications such as HR, admin, project management, sales, business development. 
• New hires – you can have a look at the most recent hires within the company – this would be great for reaching out to connect with someone and give you a conversation starter. 
• Notable company alumni - who worked at this company and where are they now?
• Job Openings – which department is hiring?

You can choose to opt out of this information being shared about your own profile on your company page, Go to your own profile, click on the drop down menu under Me. Go to Privacy Settings and click on the toggle where it says Representing Your Organisation and set it to whatever option you prefer.

When you have a premium account, you get a little gold LinkedIn square beside your name.   This may seem a little trivial – but for people using the platform regularly, it shows you as someone who is keen to leverage LinkedIn for their own personal brand. 

LinkedIn Learning gives you access to literally hundreds of video training modules – from Business Skills, to public speaking, from Java coding to Graphic Design.

To conclude:

I would ask you the following first –

• Have you optimised your LinkedIn profile?
• Are you making connections with personalised messages?
• Are you posting status updates?
• Are you commenting on your connection’s posts?
• Do you have a strategy for using LinkedIn?

If you need help with ANY of the above, then get in touch. 

 If you have all this down pat, then why not get your free 30-day trial of LinkedIn premium and see for yourself!  I’d’ love to hear how you find it. 

https://www.louisebrogan.com

Sales Navigator and Google are two powerful tools in the arsenal of anyone looking to connect with their ideal client on LinkedIn. My guest, Nigel Cliffe, is a LinkedIn trainer who specialises in helping his clients find and grow their target audience on LinkedIn. In this conversation, we’re talking about what Sales Navigator and why you would use it, how much dedication it needs, and why Google is a better search engine for finding your ideal clients on LinkedIn.

1. Update your profile with your keywords
2. Write about what you’re known for, including keywords
3. LinkedIn puts your content in front of your target audience

Sales Navigator is a tool that lets you collect, navigate, and sort different types of people on LinkedIn. In the right hands, it’s a very valuable tool to help grow and connect with your target audience. Nigel Cliffe explains how to use Sales Navigator to find your audience and then have LinkedIn send you new leads who match your criteria each week.

However, in order to be an effective tool, Sales Navigator takes serious commitment. Users need to dedicate around two hours every day to using the tool, and they also need to commit to using it regularly. Nigel says it’s not a tool that you can just dip your toe into and expect success.

According to Nigel, using Google is a more effective way to find your ideal clients on LinkedIn. As a search engine, Google allows you to filter words and phrases with an effectiveness that doesn’t exist on LinkedIn. 

This allows you to finesse your search criteria and find the exact right people in your target audience. From here, Nigel recommends building a list with this data and connecting to your audience on LinkedIn. 

Google and LinkedIn searches pick up the keywords that exist in someone’s LinkedIn profile. Industries, job titles, experience, and other target keywords filtered through profile information and someone’s about section all contribute to being effectively discovered on LinkedIn.

Do you utilise Sales Navigator to find leads? How have you used Google to find your target audience? I’d love to hear about how these tools have helped you connect with your ideal clients in the comments on the episode page.

• What Sales Navigator is, and why you would use it [6:15]
• How much time you need to dedicate to Sales Navigator each day [10:15]
• How much Sales Navigator costs [15:15]
• Why Google is a better search engine to find people on LinkedIn [24:00]
• How to use Google to create a list of people you’d like to work with the most [25:00]
• How LinkedIn puts your content in front of your target audience [28:00]

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Find Nigel Cliffe Online
Follow Nigel Cliffe on LinkedIn | X | YouTube

Find Louise Brogan Online
Follow Louise Brogan on LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Subscribe to LinkedIn with Louise Brogan on Apple Podcasts | Spotify

How do you use LinkedIn for business?

Did you know you can have a personal profile and then create a company page even if you are the sole member of your business?

Find out why I suggest you have both!

IF you would like help creating either your personal profile, or a company page, please reach out for a chat.   Contact me on louise@socialbeeni.com.

Subscribe to the podcast for more tips, techniques and strategy to help you win business on LinkedIn.

www.loiusebrogan.com

If you are using social media to promote your business, you might get frustrated from time to time.  You think of something wonderful to post online and write it out carefully, checking your spelling and grammar.  Choose a nice photo to go with it and post it.  Away it goes, into the ether.  And you wait to see if anyone will click like.  Or comment.  Or even better, send you a message via messenger or email. 

But all you get is crickets.

And in the meantime, you see other people posting stuff that regularly seems to get huge engagement. But they are saying the same thing as you!  Aren’t they?

The focus of today’s podcast is to discuss all the weird and wonderful hacks that people use,  with the belief that it will boost their engagement on LinkedIn.

Before we dive in though,  I want to let you know the real way to get engagement on LinkedIn.  

1.  Identify who you are talking to
2. Share something that starts a conversation or helps them in some way
3. Always have a call to action – ask a question or spur some sort of action after they read your post
4. Engage with other people’s posts  

I have been working with an amazing client recently on a series of linkedin strategy sessions.  At the end of each hour, we discuss ‘homework’.   This varies for each individual client (as does the training – it depends on what you need help or strategy on!).  My client’s homework was to write an article for LinkedIn that spoke directly to her ideal client.   Within 2 hours of posting this article, she has already received three comments.  Which is fantastic for a LinkedIn article in 2020.  I expect many more people will leave their thoughts in response to this piece during the next few weeks.  

I don’t believe in hacking the system.  You can use any or all of the following tricks that people suggest but if you share genuine content that your audience is interested in, you will win business on LinkedIn.   Being aware of what works for you is not a hack – I think learning how a social media platform works, what works ON it, and measuring your results is a far better use of your time. 

1.   Some suggest using hashtags that are not relevant to your post e.g. hashtag#innovation

Innovation has 38 million followers. 

However – my work is NOT about innovation. And interestingly, I did attract the attention of some linkedin users to comment on my post, who are not in my network and after they posted, I was pretty sure I won’t be adding them any time soon! 

I recommend you choose hashtags that relate to what you are saying – then someone who follows that hashtag is much more likely to be interested in, and engage with, your content. 

This is a highly debated topic amongst LinkedIn users.  Some will publish their post and go back to edit it, and add in the link.   Others will put links in the comments.  

Why does it matter?

The theory is that the algorithm doesn’t like you sharing content that takes the reader off LinkedIn. I actually wonder does the reader decide he/she doesn’t want to go off linkedin!  IF you consider the high volume of people accessing social media through mobile apps n (57% of linkedin users),  they are scrolling through the posts on that platform and it would take a high interest story to take them to another site.  

Gary Gleeson made the following point - . I have tried putting the link in the comments and the reach does increase, but I still prefer to post using schedulers as I am always busy working then.

Hubspot research a few years ago suggested  the best days to post content on LinkedIn are between Tuesday and Thursday, either early in the morning, lunchtime or early evening. 

Having read some of the comments on my own original post, I think a lot of my network read Hubspot because they mentioned the 10am slot on a Tuesday morning.  Of course, what if you work internationally?  Then all bets are off! 

I would suggest this applies to professionals – if your target audience is a small business owner this may differ.  There is some suggestion that the senior C-suite execs are more likely to engage after 8pm at night! 

Having a quick review of my last four weeks, my most popular day is Thursday … hmmmmm

So test this out for yourself! 

Some people will recommend you for work even though they have never even had a conversation with you. 

This is interesting.  Why would you recommend someone whom you have never worked with?  Back in the day this was very common practice on LinkedIn.  

LinkedIn used to ask you to endorse up to eight of your contacts regularly.  And I believe it became a little irrelevant.  This option has now gone.  An improvement! 

Maybe it depends on your line of business. But for me, followers for the sake of followers makes no sense. Am I missing something? I’m looking to LinkedIn as a place to curate a specific tribe of people for reciprocal support, resources, and those most likely to do business with me. So my tactics here are very strategic. Is that wrong? hashtag#LinkedInInfluencer 😉

The people recommending me for skills they couldn’t possibility know I have is utterly baffling to me. What’s behind this? Is it the modern day form of you scratch my back I scratch yours? So that I’ll owe you something in the future? 

What is an engagement pod? A group of people who collaborate together and post/comment on each other’s content

I have talked about this on the podcast before and I did use this method about a year ago – but for many reasons, I stopped.  You find the same people commenting on each others posts every day. It is time consuming.  You have to comment on something you may not actually find relevant.

This could be a good opportunity for a time management exercise. If you are in an engagement pod, how much time does it take you each day? Would your time be better spent connecting with your own potential clients? 

Not using a scheduling tool, because it effects your reach. 

 Many of my connections on LinkedIn have said using a scheduling tool can have a negative impact, the general consensus seems to be for native posting. 

However, if your time is limited, choose where to spend it. And if scheduling your posts in advance, or hiring a virtual assistant to schedule them for you works for you, then carry on.

In the last few days I've seen: - Liking your own posts - Tagging yourself at the end of your own post - "I'll connect with everyone who comments below"  

These are all 'tricks' currently in favour in early 2020. The best advice I can give you is to create interesting content that your audience want to engage with, and not to get weighed down with trying to beat the algorithm on any social media platform.

There is "the golden hour" - posts which get a lot of engagement in the first hour after publishing always go on to do well. How do you know when this is? Watch your own posting schedule and see what time of the week works for your own audience. If you have time, respond to comments on your post in that first hour and measure how effective this strategy is.

Then be strategic - what works for your audience? What do they want to know about? Build a genuine network around your profile on LinkedIn, and engage with them.

Consider how much time you are spending trying to get more clicks or likes - and decide if your time would be better spent on InMail or better still, picking up the phone and calling your prospects.

To get help with your LinkedIn strategy, why not schedule a discovery call today.

Here’s a belter which is a sure fire winner, Louise. Find people on LinkedIn you don’t know and then send them a connection request. Maybe even make it a personalised one. Then as soon as they accept send them a DM saying, “BUY MY STUFF. BUY MY STUFF. BUY MY STUFF.” It works every time. I made 7 figures just last week using this “hack”.

I would love to find out what other 'hacks' you have been told about for LinkedIn and whether you try them out or not... 

www.louisebrogan.com

Ep 114  

Using LinkedIn to promote your event with Lean In regional leader Nicola McGuinness  

Are you organising an event or a conference? Did you know you can now create ‘events’ and raise awareness about your event on LinkedIn?  

This week on the podcast, I interview Nicola McGuinness, who is the Policy Research and Information Project Manager for Inter Trade Ireland and the founder and regional leader of the Lean In Newry Network, which currently has 220 members.  

In the first half of this episode, Nicola and I talk about the Lean In network, which supports women to achieve their potential through an inclusive, diverse, and confidential support network. Nicola regularly holds training and facilitates networking sessions, but this year she’s also organising a conference called Gender Equality is Everyone’s Business on Friday, the 6th March 2020.  

So in the second part of the podcast episode, I give Nicola some tips around how to promote her conference and raise more awareness and create a buzz around her Lean In circle. So if you run events and want to find out more about this undervalued and underused LinkedIn feature, tune in to find out more! 

You will learn… 

1. How and why you should create an event on LinkedIn to promote your upcoming event.  

1. Why you should invite your network to start having conversations in the event section on LinkedIn. 

1. What type of content you should create to raise awareness and create a buzz about your event (with examples!).   

About Nicola 

If you’d like to connect with Nicola, you can find her on LinkedIn, through the Lean In Newry website, or on Facebook.  

Do you want to learn more about using LinkedIn for business?  

If you want my help to leverage LinkedIn to raise your profile, get your message out there, and create a solid strategy on how to use LinkedIn for your business in 2020 and beyond, check out my Work with Me page.   

I offer 3 types of services:  

• A LinkedIn profile review with a video walkthrough of your profile and a 2-page action plan for you to implement. 
• A LinkedIn profile review + consultation, including a 45-minute strategy session for using LinkedIn. 
• And a series of 4x 1-hour LinkedIn strategy sessions followed by a tailored action plan. 

If you have any questions, send me a message on LinkedIn or email me at louise@socialbeeni.com.  

Would you like FREE tips on how to grow your LinkedIn network? 

If you’d like more tips on growing your LinkedIn network without being salesy and spammy, you can download my FREE guide here or head over to my website to pick up my FREE LinkedIn profile tips.   

More about me 

If you enjoy the show, I’d be very grateful if you could share it with at least another person and leave me a review on iTunes. And if you haven’t subscribed yet, why not? 

If you have any questions on this episode or on LinkedIn or would like to offer any feedback, I’d love for you to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.