One of the most common questions we get from CEOs, entrepreneurs, professionals, and executives is, “Does LinkedIn actually work?”
At Evyrgreen Networking, we always say LinkedIn will not work if you do not do the work.
Networking is work! You can’t expect a single seed to grow an orchard. It takes daily cultivation as well as the right balance of strategy, creativity, and connection to use LinkedIn as a tool for business growth.
In the same way, your business will not be successful if you ignore it, LinkedIn will not produce results if you ignore it. Dabbling in LinkedIn by sprinkling a couple of posts and leaving a few comments here and there will not reap many effective results, especially if you only use it for a few months and then quit right before you have the potential to close your biggest client.
Thought Experiment: In-Person Networking vs. LinkedIn
Let’s do a thought experiment!
What if LinkedIn was an in-person networking group?
The first time you show up to the group, you are just getting to know the members. You have no idea who anyone is just as they have no idea who you are.
After going to the event for a few weeks, you begin getting to know people, and you realize which connections would be the most valuable for your business.
Day after day, you engage in your networking group and stay top-of-mind with your peers for many months and build meaningful one-on-one relationships with your fellow members. But then one day, your networking starts picking up momentum.
Suddenly, one of the members becomes a client, another member introduces you to a massive opportunity, and you connect a member to someone in your family. Everyone wins!
You can use LinkedIn the exact same way, just virtually! LinkedIn is the biggest networking opportunity. Unlike in-person networking groups, you’re not limited to who’s local to you. LinkedIn gives you access to everyone around the world.
Three Ways LinkedIn Is Effective
There are three ways that LinkedIn works really well.
1. It helps you stay top-of-mind with your network.
This is one of the most important parts of networking. If you are not top-of-mind, you are out of your mind! Networking only works when people remember you at the right time. How do you stay top-of-mind? Post daily! We recommend you have at least one type of each post in your Evyrgreen Networking Asset Library that you gain access to when you sign up for Evyrgreen Networking!
2. It gives you the ability to build credibility.
That means you can gain the trust of your second-degree network by getting introductions or by simply engaging. When the friends of your friends start seeing you in the comments, likes, and mentions, they begin to trust you as a real person. How do you build trust? Engage strategically each day! At Evyrgreen Networking, we can teach you how.
3. It gives you a platform to get proactive.
LinkedIn is a tool. Don’t wait for things to happen; be proactive. They say “build it and they will come.” This couldn’t be more true in the world of networking! No one will come if you build it. Instead, you have to put yourself out there and get in people’s faces each day. You need to build meaningful relationships. That means getting on the phone, meeting new people, and getting to know them. It’s nice to see an avatar online but that is not real unless you speak on the phone or you meet in person ideally. How do you get people on the phone? Direct message them! At Evyrgreen Networking, we recommend using the greeting, feeding, and meeting method each day.
Even if you only have 15 minutes a day, you can take the right actions, and get real results from your LinkedIn activity.
The sky’s the limit if you have more time! There are endless more networking and LinkedIn tips that we teach in our courses, webinars, and seminars.
What Do You Want To Get Out Of LinkedIn?
You may not need more clients, you might just want more speaking gigs. You might not want to network, you might just want to stay visible and relevant. You might not want to build new relationships, you might just want to stay in touch with the 1,000 people that already know you.
Regardless of what your goal is, you need an actual strategy for LinkedIn. Because without a strategy, you’re just winging it.
Our Evyrgreen Networking students weren’t successful by just winging it. They had a plan and they executed that plan! Before you get started on LinkedIn, ask yourself these questions:
- How much revenue do you want to generate from LinkedIn?
- How many clients do you want to get from your networking efforts in the next three years?
- How much time are you willing to invest into your proactive LinkedIn activity, and are you willing to make it a habit?
- Are you willing to buy a course that will teach you the shortcuts to getting there faster?
If you want to learn more about our course and coaching program, contact us here! We would love to help you get more out of LinkedIn!
If you want in-depth training on how to leverage LinkedIn for your business, learn more about the Evyrgreen Networking System! For more helpful articles, check out the rest of our blog.