Most people make mistakes on LinkedIn. Yet, LinkedIn is a royal acquisition channel that should not be overlooked. You have every reason to choose it to create a content strategy.
But beware. 😱
There are some pitfalls. ❌
Here are 12 mistakes to avoid when using LinkedIn.
What are the benefits of LinkedIn?
Knowing how to leverage LinkedIn means having access to a free Btob database of millions of users.
It is to bet on 4 pillars of your digital strategy:
- Create new opportunities through networking.
- Control your image on the web.
- Boost your presence on the networks.
- Keep an active watch on your environment.
Maybe you want to find a job or developing a new career or develop social networking ? All thoses advices will help you out.
Mistake 1: Not having an optimized LinkedIn profile
When you bet on a content strategy on LinkedIn you must optimize your profile. It is your showcase before your company website. The first thing your audience will see after the post itself. You need to have a professional, friendly and attractive profile at the same time.
It would be a shame to miss an opportunity to convert someone who is interested in your content because your profile on LinkedIn is not clear or optimized.
Your profile defines your credibility.
It’s the “halo effect” in marketing or “clothes make the man.” A shortcut of the brain that consists of evaluating your skills on what you give off at first glance. You profile image is your personal brand. You can make the best post in the world, if you look like a clown on your LinkedIn profile, you won’t convert.
So remember to get your profile right by following one of our tutorials on Yputube or by following the link just above. 👆
Get your first customers this week
Take advantage of the power of Waalaxy to generate leads every day. Start prospecting for free, today.
Mistake 2: Not knowing how to structure your text
There are several well-known copywriting methods that work well (we’ll get to that), before starting your postings, what you need to do is learn how to structure your story.
The first thing you need to ask yourself is: what is the purpose of this text?
- Increase my credibility with potential prospects?
- Increase awareness of the company?
- Get new customers?
Your writing needs to be aligned with your tactics and your call to action will depend on the digital strategy you are addressing.
Then, much like telling a story orally, all of these elements need to be included in your post:
- The initial situation.
- The trigger.
- The explanation of the trigger = the solution for the problem.
- The call to action.
Here’s an idea of how to phrase it: “Postulate → But… → Then… → Except… → So… → Call to action”.
But you don’t have to put them in that order. But they all have to be in the text.
Here’s an example of, how can you model it:
If you’re looking to follow a method to get started and not lose any more leads, the AIDA method is there best known. 🔥
Mistake 3: Not having a publishing strategy
LinkedIn, if used well, is a careerbuilder. There are several methods to manage to produce content all the time without losing quality.
First: you must have a defined editorial line. What will be the tone? The message? (See LinkedIn’s Guide to Content Strategy). 👀
Then, you need to figure out how to share relevant content to your audiences:
Example 1 from the guide – 20 Tips Method
- List 10-20 tips to give your ideal client.
- Make this your very first post.
- Detail each point in a dedicated post.
Example 2 of the guide – The Funnel:
- TOFU > MOFU > DOFU method. (read more)
Finally, you need to find the keywords and issues that correspond to your targets in order to speak their language and offer them relevant advice.
For example, if it’s HR you’ve decided to target: sourcing, tech recruiting, interviewing, turning down a candidate, mistakes recruiters make…
Mistake 4: Being boring
Yes, it happens, don’t worry, there are solutions to remedy it.
There are several questions to ask yourself before publishing content, you can make a kind of “checklist” with checkboxes to be sure not to forget anything:
Does the post meet the following criteria:
- Does it use a copywriting framework (AIDA, PAS…)?
- Is the post structured. Example: “Assumption → But… → Then… → Except… → So… → Call to action”?
- Is it entertaining and/or informative?
- Is it inspiring (makes you want to use the information given)?
- Does it make you want to share it?
- Does it contain a strong hook: The first 3 lines before the “see more” are crucial.
- Does it state a precise and identifiable problem?
- Does it propose a solution to the problem?
- Does it provide actionable value?
- Does it contain an engaging development? Engagement is the key to a successful post.
- Does it end with a strong call to action or a punchline? Does it match the nature of the post and the audience? (remember that every post has a specific purpose and that you have to follow that purpose).
Mistake 5: Talking too much about yourself
Yes, when you publish, you want to talk about yourself. Especially if you publish with a personal account.
“Look I’m at the XXX show”
“I released this article”
“The team is having an afterwork”
“Look who joined our team”
…
All of this content doesn’t really provide value to your followers… And yet I still see a LOT of content like this on LinkedIn.
A good practice is to consider 10-15% of your content maximum to be about you. For the rest, you need to talk about more exciting topics than your life. You’ll notice that content that is only about you
about you often get less comments and likes. And therefore less views (See “how the LinkedIn algorithm works“).
Note: It can be interesting to talk about yourself when it is organized as a storytelling and the objective is to use your case to address a more global topic. In the post on the right, I’m using a case I met to make a story out of it, and bring to a larger topic that brings value. In fact, I think this kind of practice is quite effective. Anecdotes are always better remembered.
Think about talking about issues in your industry, giving practical advice, asking questions to your audience to build a network of assets.
Mistake 6: Adding outbound links
This is a beginner’s mistake and should be avoided at all costs. In order to monetize them, the LinkedIn algorithm wants to keep its users on its platform.
However, adding a link to another site encourages users to leave this professional networking platform and not to return. LinkedIn therefore devalues these publications by giving them much less reach.
So, prefer to add links in comments, indicating in your post that the link is in a comment (a practice very commonly used today).
Mistake 7: Not responding to comments
There are many reasons to post on LinkedIn. But at some point the goal is always to create interaction with the audience.
One person in your audience writing a comment on one of your posts is an important act of engagement. They take the time to respond to you.
So you should do the same. It’s a unique opportunity to start a conversation, to create interaction.
Bonus: Creating a conversation on a comment makes the user who left the comment come back to you to reply (remember to identify him to notify him that you are replying). This is highly regarded by the LinkedIn algorithm and will get you many more views.
Replying to comments = being visible.
Mistake 8: Tagging half your network to comment on your post
Nothing could be more annoying. Seriously! I get tagged several times a day by people I don’t know to comment on their profiles. (FYI I systematically delete them from my network if it’s not relevant).
Avoid this approach at all costs. If the person is really concerned by the post, yes. If not, no. You give a bad image.
And when I say “identified in the post”, that goes for the comments too.
Mistake 9: Using your company page
LinkedIn is a professional social network that emphasizes personal branding over corporate branding. In other words, company pages have no publishing reach and retain very little engagement and attachment.
If you choose to post on LinkedIn, you must post on your behalf. Showcase your expertise. Or use the account of the person who represents the business if needed.
🅰 LinkedIn company page = bad idea.
Forget about company pages. It will take you 10 times more time and effort to get the same results.
If you have any questions about good or bad practices, contact me on LinkedIn. I’m not a rocket scientist but I’ll try to answer them, however humbly. 😊
Mistake 10: Not using the new features of LinkedIn
Writing posts on LinkedIn is paramount to making a name for yourself on the LinkedIn social network. But the latter has much more to offer. The B2b network is becoming a broad medium for communication between companies.
It has developed several options, like stories, webinars (LinkedIn Live), events and recently LinkedIn audio.
To develop a complete strategy on the network, use all the channels available to you.
Mistake 11: Not being regular and not planning
Be active on LinkedIn.
There’s nothing easier than telling yourself you’re going to write when inspiration strikes because you’re an artist. I’ve done this, it doesn’t work at all. You need to build an audience, based on 3 pillars: regularity, quality and interactions.
Having a tool to plan your posts helps you to be more structured in the long run.
What is the best way to post to stand out? Posting 2-3 times a week has been the best way to get the best results with Waalaxy.
Last month the team’s (8 members) posts registered on Podawaa totaled:
- 😱 3231653 total views (68.86%)
- 🙀 26274 views per post on average (24.93%)
- 💅 Only 25% of posts are below 4368 views.
Mistake 12: Not knowing how to convert your audience
There is nothing sadder for me to see all that audience “wasted”. It’s great to boost your brand awareness, but all those people who follow you, what do you do with them?
In this article, you’ll discover how to get the profiles of people who commented on your posts, add them to a free automatic prospecting campaign , and even get their email and contact them on two channels.
Follow this tutorial for more details. 🔥
Conclusion d: Mistakes not to make on LinkedIn
The 12 mistakes to avoid when using LinkedIn intelligently are :
- Mistake 1: Not having an optimized LinkedIn profile.
- Mistake 2: Not knowing how to structure your text.
- Error 3: Not having a publication strategy.
- Error 4 : Being boring.
- Error 5 : Talking too much about yourself.
- Error 6 : Adding outgoing links.
- Error 7 : Not responding to comments.
- Error 8 : Tagging half of your network to comment on your post.
- Error 9 : Using your company page.
- Error 10 : Not using the new features of LinkedIn.
- Mistake 11: Not being regular and not planning.
- Mistake 12 : Not knowing how to convert your audience.
FAQ of the article
Should I put outbound links on my LinkedIn posts?
No. LinkedIn’s algorithm doesn’t like it. As a reminder, LinkedIn makes money from users who stay on the platform. If you want to share a link to your site, do it in comments or messages. Otherwise, the network will penalize your post and make it less visible.
To boost the visibility of your posts, use Pods.
How to use hashtags?
To use LinkedIn hashtags without doing too much or too little, there are few rules to follow. In this article, we also explain where to find the best hashtags and follow them.
How to promote my LinkedIn Live?
LinkedIn Live is a platform that helps professionals boost their visibility and brand awareness using the Webinar format, it’s a great idea to start a Live strategy. To promote your Live, you can send free personalized messages on LinkedIn with Waalaxy, and you can also run a campaign on LinkedIn Events.
How do I optimize my profile to get a job ?
It has been said that your LinkedIn profile is a source of acquisition for you. Because of this, I advise you to think about several points before embarking on a thorough marketing strategy.
If your goal is finding a job and be seen by recruiters, then you will need to adapt your profile to it :
- Upload your resume.
- Doing online job seach on LinkedIn job.
- Settle a reminder to see the latest job-offers.
- Apply for job with personalized cover letters.
- enviar uma mensagem ao recrutador and start a conversation. (The better way is to ask her/him questions about the job).
💡 Enriching your network means first and foremost connecting with people in our industry and/or matching your target.
Here is the perfect article to help job seekers. Please read it. 🔥
How do I convert my audience into new customers?
To effectively convert your audience:
- Use CTAs (call-to-actions) in your posts.
- Offer your audience to send you a message to receive the white paper.
- Launch free marketing campaigns with Waalaxy,
- Get the emails of your prospects and send them cold emails.
Avoid making those mistakes on LinkedIn that far too many people make and use the network to its full potential. 🚀
