How to use LinkedIn in only 60 mins. / week

You may think you don’t have enough time to be active on LinkedIn.

“Wrong,” says LinkedIn expert Wietske van Ierssel.

One of her latest Posts inspired me to dedicate this week’s Nudge to making the most of your LinkedIn presence in only 1 hour per week.

1. Reactively grow network (10 mins.) – Send personal replies to people who invite you to connect. You can do this after accepting their invitation. Or, in case you don’t know them, by replying from the invitation manager before accepting their invitation.
   
   When I receive an invite from someone I don’t know (yet), I usually say something along the lines of…
   
   Thanks for the invitation to connect!
   I see [observation, like a mutual previous employer or shared connections]
   I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting one another.
   Or, am I mistaken?
   
2. Proactively grow network (10 mins.) – Use the advanced people search functionality and find interesting people to connect with. 
   
   Example:
   
   Once you’ve figured out what your ideal client looks like, you can come up with a shortlist: a top 10 – 50 of companies you’d like to work with. Use the Current Company filter to find people within those organizations.
   
   Use the Location filter to narrow down your search results based on geographical location.
   
   Use the Title field to find the people that matter to you. Enter the function titles of the different people within your client’s DMU. Think: decision makers, users, influencers, and support.
   
   Once you found the right people, send them a personal note explaining why you’d like to connect. “Remember,” says Wietske van Ierssel, “In this stage your goal is just a connection – no sale.”
   
3. Cultivate relationships with your network (2 x 5 mins.) – Reply to any direct messages you may have received in your LinkedIn inbox. And send congratulatory wishes to connections who celebrated their birthdays, job changes, or educational milestones – through LinkedIn’s catch up functionality.
    
4. Interact with relevant content and people (15 mins.) – Instead of using your feed and just eating away at whatever LinkedIn serves you, find content that is actually relevant. From people that are actually interesting.
   
   Use the advanced content search functionality to find Posts from people who hold specific job titles at specific companies in specific industries.
   
   Or, use LinkedIn to compose a list of key players in your market. And visit that list to interact with relevant Posts.
   
5. Create your own posts (15 mins.) – Use the remaining 15 minutes to display your own thought leadership. 
   
   Your professional opinion on current events usually leads to content that resonates well on the LinkedIn platform.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for reading Nudge #033, sent to busy subject matter experts on October 1, 2024.