Top 3 LinkedIn Tips from TMSA Members in first inaugural Strategic Interest Group

TMSA held its first inaugural Strategic Interest Group this week, with 13 TMSA members participating in a deep dive conversation and peer networking. The discussion centered on the topic of LinkedIn Digital Strategies. Here are the Top 3 Tips for using LinkedIn that they shared: 

Tip #1: Listen and observe first, then use lead generation tools like Sales Navigator to engage in conversations.  It’s important not to become a social-stalker! One way to do this is to listen and observe what your targeted connections are doing and saying. Then and only then, find a relevant, meaningful and helpful way to engage in a conversation through comments or Inmails. Another great tool to extend your reach with meaningful messages and invitation is the use of LinkedIn robots to send personalized messages to your connections. 

Tip #2: Use Hashtags at the BEGINNING of your posts, instead of at the end. This helps dramatically with reaching the targets who your posts are intended for.  It also helps readers quickly see if a message is geared towards them or a topic they’re interested in before reading the entire message. 

Tip #3: Keep a close eye on your connections network, carefully cull connections that are likely to never engage with you. But also, recognize your connections are more transient than ever before and even though someone may not be a direct target today, they may have a new position, new role or totally different job function in a different company in the near future. 

There were several additional pieces of advice that the conversation revealed, including:

• Be consistent – don’t got silent for long periods of time and ensure you have a regular cadence, even if only a few times a month, for staying present in the LinkedIn social channel.
  
  
• Have a strategy – know who you’re targeting your messages towards and how you want them to engage. 
  
  
• Give it some time – don’t expect overnight results and just like anything else, consistent effort, learning, and adjusting over time will lead to the best outcomes for you and your company.
  
  
• Take time to learn – invest some time educating yourself on the features available, and test some of them out.  You won’t be an expert overnight, but just a few hours a month can go a long way to understanding the possibilities and options available.
  
  
• Revisit your personal profile, especially recognizing that your profile pictures speak a million words! Be sure your photo makes you feel approachable, knowledgeable, capable and friendly.
  
  
• Make sure you are posting relevant content that encourages engagement. Simply asking yourself “what do I want this post to accomplish?” is a quick way to make sure this happens.
  
  
• When resharing your company or another third-party’s post, make sure to personalize it with your own message or angle.

TMSA’s Strategic Interest Group on Digital Strategies will meet again for a one-hour discussion on Thursday, July 16, 2020 at 12 noon Eastern / 11am Central. Register here

Need more great educational tips and advice for LinkedIn? Watch this TMSA Webinar on demand!

Ready to take your Digital strategy to the next level? TMSA will hold a Digital Marketing Workshop on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at our Annual Conference in Chicago. Register to join us here

About the Facilitator of TMSA’s Strategic Interest Group on Digital Strategies:

Jill Schmieg is Founder and Chief Strategist at Sol de Naples Marketing, a marketing services firm that specializes in B2B marketing and communications based in Naples, Florida. Jill currently serves as TMSA’s Education Committee Co-Chairperson and was the first inaugural TMSA Volunteer of the Year in 2011. Jill has spent nearly 15 years in both corporate marketing and outsourced marketing role, and now provides marketing advisory services and project management to fellow marketers struggling with access to the talent and resources necessary to achieve best-in-class performance. Her firm specializes in branding, communications, campaign development, marketing automation, marketing effectiveness and ROI. Jill can be reached at 954-806-4472 or jill@soldenaples.com or you can learn more about her firm at www.soldenaples.com.