LinkedIn is one of the most powerful tools for building business connections. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn users tend to share a similar goal: they’re there to grow their career, expand their network, and find new professional opportunities.
Whether you’re looking to build your personal brand with the hope of securing a 9-5 career at a fortune 500 company or are hoping to scale your own business as an entrepreneur, LinkedIn provides a unique and intentional space to do so.
With over 1 billion members globally and 69+ million companies listed, the platform offers an unmatched opportunity for small business owners and entrepreneurs to expand their influence, build credibility, craft an intentional network, and acquire leads.
Here’s how to create a strategic, sustainable LinkedIn presence that will benefit you, your company, and your professional goals.
Why LinkedIn?
I’m a huge advocate of building a diverse online presence.
You should be showing up where your clients are, and where they’re actively looking for you. That might mean keeping your website up to date, posting on social media, writing blogs, and nurturing an email list, among other digital marketing initiatives.
But let’s be honest: as a small business owner, your time, energy, and resources are limited. It’s not always realistic to be on every platform, especially if you’re a team of one.
Here’s why you should prioritize your LinkedIn presence and efforts.
01: There’s a consistent, business-focused mindset.
There’s a clear and shared purpose behind LinkedIn users: they are there to talk business.
They’re looking for professional insights, partnerships, and opportunities for career growth, which means there are less barriers in place for you to talk about your business, and related business content.
02: High-quality leads are present and decision-makers are active.
With a large number of active users and businesses visible on the platform, LinkedIn offers serious opportunities for brands to connect with high-level industry influencers and senior- level professionals.
In fact, a HubSpot study of over 5,000 businesses found that traffic from LinkedIn generated the highest visitor-to-lead conversion rate at 2.74% – three times higher than Twitter and Facebook. Translation? A significant number of people who find you on LinkedIn are primed and willing to buy.
There could be a few reasons for this.
For starters, LinkedIn users tend to have more disposable income and professional influence. According to a 2022 Statista study, one-third of LinkedIn users in the U.S have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, and 23% hold a master’s degree or higher.
These individuals are more likely to be senior-level professions, decision-makers and/or influencers in their organization.
Maybe these users already trust you, your business, and your content. Or maybe, they came to LinkedIn specifically to research solutions and are ready to make a purchase. Most likely, it’s a combination of all of the above.
Whatever the reason, the bottom line is clear: LinkedIn users are further along in the buyer journey and are ready to take action.
03: SEO benefits go beyond the platform.
Another major advantage of LinkedIn is its strong domain authority on search engines like Google.
Your LinkedIn profile often ranks on the first page of search results when someone searches for your name or business—especially if you consistently update it with relevant content and keywords.
That means even people who aren’t actively using LinkedIn can still discover you through organic search. This kind of visibility is incredibly valuable!
On your LinkedIn profile you can also direct this traffic to your website, lead magnets, portfolio, or other platforms by adding links to the various platform sections, summaries, and descriptions.
Set Yourself Up For Success
Now that you know why LinkedIn, let’s talk about how to make the most of your profile so you can establish connections, grow your online presence, and increase your level of authority.
01: Optimize your personal LinkedIn profile.
A personal profile gives you the opportunity to speak to your unique qualifications, industry expertise, interests, and certifications, establishing a comprehensive personal brand that can help appeal to other users.
Make the most of your profile by filling out each and every section that you can:
- Use a professional, recent head shot as your profile image.
- Create a headline that is benefit-driven, within the provided characters.
- For each section and role, describe what you do – don’t just list your job title.
- List all jobs related to your current position and link to each company page, if they have one. Frame your past in an appropriate way. You have the freedom to call out what’s important in your job history and gloss over what’s not!
- Include a description of what you do, why you’re different, and how you can help your audience in the summary section.
- Include where you were educated, which helps to build trust and establish connections.
- Add all of your relevant contact information.
- Add rich media where relevant.
- Embed keywords within your profile to highlight your specialties and skills, boosting your search engine visibility.
02: Set-up a LinkedIn company profile to further boost credibility.
A company page can speak to what your company does, its specialties, and what makes your business unique. This is important, even if you’re a solopreneur, consultant or freelancer!
A completed LinkedIn company page with a proper logo kills two birds with one stone:
- It provides additional opportunities for your business to be found in the search results for the services you offer, and
- It ensures that your company looks legitimate on both your own and your employees’ profiles.
03: Establish your credibility via connections and recommendations.
Make strategic connections, and don’t be shy about asking for recommendations from previous employers, clients, or co-workers who can genuinely speak to your strengths.
These actions help to further build your profile and establish trust. They indicate that you’re a real, qualified professional with social proof to back it up.
Plus, the more connections you build, the better LinkedIn becomes at suggesting other relevant people to connect with. It’s a simple way to expand your network and open the door to new opportunities.
I have an entire blog post on how to build your LinkedIn business and personal profiles which you can reference here!
Use Intentional Networking Strategies
With an established profile, it’s much easier to grow your LinkedIn account with personal and professional connections.
This is a great way to stay in touch with alumni, colleagues, and recruiters, as well as connect with new, professional opportunities and individuals who can move your business forward.
In order to be successful in this endeavour though, you need to go about your networking intentionally.
No one likes to be spammed with connection requests that appear random, overly salesy and one-sided, or scammy.
Here are some networking strategies that really work.
01: Personalize every connection request.
In many cases, LinkedIn makes it easy to send a connection request with a single click of the Connect button, especially if you share mutual connections, past education, or have interacted before.
When someone receives your request, their only options are Accept or Ignore. So, when inviting someone to connect with you, I highly recommend sending a personalized message telling the person how you know them or why you want to connect.
Where did you meet or who do you both know? How do you think you could support each other? A thoughtful message can make all the difference.
If you don’t have shared connections or your recipient has stricter privacy settings, LinkedIn may ask “How do you know [member name]?” before sending your invite. This helps LinkedIn verify your relationship, combat spam, and protect the integrity of the platform. The extra step could even mean sending them an InMail message based on their messaging settings.
Don’t send a generic message! If too many people mark your invites as spam, LinkedIn can temporarily restrict your ability to send connection requests.
Take the time to build out a short but impactful introduction message that will build trust and set the tone for a genuine relationship. The small effort up-front can help your invite feel more authentic, and is therefore more likely to be accepted.
02: Engage with cold connections.
Take the time to reconnect with past contacts by commenting on their posts or sending a genuine message checking in.
This lets them know you’re still active on the platform, and interested in what they’re up to. You never know what these messages could lead to!
03: Network shortly after in-person and online events.
After virtual or in-person events, follow up with new contacts on LinkedIn in a timely manner. Take note of their name, business title, or company at the event so you can find them later.
When sending your introductory message, reference the session or event to make your invitation feel more natural.
04: Leverage mutual connections.
An often underused feature of LinkedIn is the ability to tap into and leverage your existing network to build new relationships.
If there’s someone you’d like to connect with, take a moment to see if you have any mutual connections. If you do, don’t be afraid to ask for an introduction.
Send a quick message to your mutual contact explaining who you’d like to meet and why. Be clear, respectful, and make it easy for them to forward a short note or make the introduction. You can even offer to write a brief message that they can pass along.
Another option is to post to your network more broadly. In the post, explain that you’re hoping to connect with someone in a specific field or role and ask if anyone can facilitate an introduction.
These warm referrals can be more impactful than a cold invite.
05: Always lead with value.
When messaging potential leads, offer value before asking for anything. Share a useful resource, article, or tip tailored to their needs.
Develop these relationships so that future promotions or requests don’t come off as too salesy or annoying.
06: Use inclusive, appropriate language.
When connecting with people on LinkedIn, aim to speak with them not to them.
While it’s important to demonstrate expertise, too much jargon or overly polished language can feel cold or condescending.
Position yourself as a peer and guide, leading with authenticity and using real conversational language. Using a “we” mindset more than a “me” format can help your content feel more collaborative and relatable.
07: Give more than you get.
LinkedIn is a great place to gather information, make meaningful connections, generate leads, and find new hires. But follow the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Don’t spam. Don’t infiltrate email boxes with constant sales messages. Instead, share valuable information, comment on posts, celebrate others’ wins, and offer support to your connections and community.
The energy you bring to the platform is often the energy that returns to you. By consistently showing up as a cheerleader for others, you build trust, making it more likely that people will engage with you, remember you, and want to work with you.
Show up in the ways you want to be supported. That’s where the magic (and leads) tend to happen.
Quick exercise: connect with me on LinkedIn today using the strategies discussed here! Let me know how you discovered this work – whether you joined my live training on the topic or found this blog online.
Create Content That Converts to Drive Traffic and Engage Users
Social media platforms like LinkedIn are more effective if they’re regularly updated. It’s not enough to set-up your profile. You also need to regularly share insights, resources, or updates to keep the community you’ve built engaged.
If you connect with someone but then they never see your profile because you aren’t actively posting, you’re likely to be forgotten among a sea of network connections that were started but never truly established.
Remind people who you are and what you offer by showing up on their feeds! Not just through comments on their posts (though these are absolutely important), but also through original content creation.
Content ideas to engage your audience and stay relevant:
- Quick wins, client transformations, stories from the work you do, and/or case studies
- Client and customer feedback and testimonials
- Updates including new clients, credentials, experiences or education you’ve completed
- How-to posts
- Behind-the-scenes content related to offers you’re working on, events you’ve hosted or are going to host, and team building initiatives
- Articles or studies you found interesting or engaging
- Blogs you’ve written
- Podcast episodes you’ve published or been featured on
- Free and paid resources you’ve created
- Books you’re reading or podcasts you’re listening to
Tips for posting on LinkedIn:
- Share real insights, not just sales pitches.
- Use the first line to hook your audience. You can do this by asking a question or presenting a surprising fact.
- Include media-rich content like carousels, individual photos, or short videos when possible.
- End every post with a call-to-action (CTA). Ask a question, invite direct messages, encourage comments, or link to a related resource or relevant offer so people can learn more.
- Keep a consistent posting schedule where possible. 2-3 posts a week is generally a good goal to aim – that number hopefully isn’t overwhelming for you, but can keep your brand relevant.
Quick exercise: write the first sentence of a LinkedIn post you could share this week. Is it eye-catching and valuable?
Bonus: Think About Trying LinkedIn Live
It’s possible you don’t have access to LinkedIn Live yet as it’s only available to select profiles.
Eligibility to create and broadcast a LinkedIn Live is based on a set of criteria. You have to apply for access, at which point you’ll trigger a review of your profile or page to see if you fulfill the criteria.
In general, they’re looking for:
- Members and pages with more than 150 followers and/or connections
- A history of abiding by their Professional Community Policies
- Consistent, unique content
However, if you qualify, and if you’re comfortable going live, LinkedIn Live offers a big advantage for you. In fact, some stats show that lives get 7X the reactions and 24X the comments of a standard video.
This is a great way to engage your community, and develop a more personalized, authentic connection with your LinkedIn connections.
Use Lead Generation Tactics to Build Your Community
LinkedIn isn’t just a space to connect with fellow entrepreneurs and professionals doing cool things (though that’s definitely a perk).
Many users come to LinkedIn with a business mindset – actively looking for services, solutions, and collaborators. They’re primed to buy, and are in charge of real purchasing decisions within their company.
With the right strategy, your LinkedIn profile can turn casual connections into relevant, high-quality leads:
- Use LinkedIn Search to find prospects using filters like industry, job title, and location.
- Interact with their content, driving interest and attention to your profile.
- Send a thoughtful message that offers real value.
- Add a free resource or lead magnet to the featured section of your LinkedIn profile. That way, when users are driven to your profile and are interested in what you offer, they’re more likely to convert into an email subscriber or audience member.
Quick exercise: What resource could you offer right now to start building relationships?
Stay Active on LinkedIn for Better Results
Like most marketing initiatives, LinkedIn isn’t a “set-it-and-forget-it” tool. The more intention and value you bring to the platform, the more it will give back.
Prioritize:
- Adding new connections frequently and in a timely manner after in-person or online events where you’re introduced to new people.
- Updating your profile, credentials, and expertise as they evolve.
- Engaging with others’ content. Cheer on your friends, previous co-workers, or fellow entrepreneurs, “like” updates and posts you enjoy, and leave comments on content you find interesting.
- Re-post content that’s relevant to your work and audience. This is a great way to keep your profile updated without having to come up with your own posts every week. Add your own thoughts to the post before you publish!
- Update your profile image every year or two so it remains relevant.
- Make posting to LinkedIn part of your content creation strategy, just like Instagram or Facebook. Post regularly, aiming for 2-3 posts per week to build visibility and awareness.
- Create content within a variety of content pillars. Share industry insights, storytelling and behind-the-scenes posts, information about what you’re working on, lessons learned, and personal insights like what you’re reading or listening to for a relatable, human element.
The real rewards in terms of visibility, connection, and growth will come from using the platform as a regular, consistent tool to share and learn.
Quick exercise: what are 5 actions you can take today to boost your LinkedIn presence and advance your business goals? Let me know below!
