Find out 5 reasons why a comment on LinkedIn gives you more results than a like. Now I realise most of us LinkedIn know-it-all bang on about this all the time. I’ll go one further.
After giving you the 5 reasons, I will also ???? ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ???????? ???????? right here, right now!
? With a comment, you actually TELL the person who posted why/what you liked about their post. This is a nice thing to do AND it strengthens their post (nice again).
? Whilst being nice and all, you also show some of YOUR expertise. You add value to the post AND give a sneak peek of the knowledge people need to know you for.
? The way you word your comment, gives the reader a feel for your personality. An ultimate yay or nay by the time someone considers hiring you.
? With a comment, you can start a conversation. This makes people notice, mention and remember you. Three things a mere like will not achieve.
? Your picture show with your comment, making it easy for people to recognise and remember you AND the first part of your headline is visible!
Did you notice? Points 1 and 5 actually each gave you two reasons to you just discovered SEVEN reasons why a comment on LinkedIn gives you more results merely clicking the like thing.
???? ????? ???? ??????????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???????? ????????: ① Go to your own recent activity. ② Take a screenshot of the last post you liked. ③ Post it in the comments on my LinkedIn Post.
I will respond to your comment with a suggestion for a comment you can add to the post your liked!
> The reason for doing this on LinkedIn is that it allows me to quickly click to your profile. In order to give you meaningful feedback, I need to know a little bit about what you do.
> Comment BELOW which of those reasons is the most compelling to you?
I never bothered with LinkedIn 2 Step Verification. Are you kidding me? I had a great password, not to be guessed by humans or artificial intelligence. So why go through such an annoying process of having to wait for a text message to input when logging on? YIKES.
I CAN’T BELIEVE I WAS SO IGNORANT
Yup, I needed to have it spelt out to me. I had a full backup of my profile in Word. I downloaded my connections once a month. It is not Facebook, no pictures of my daughter here. So hey, what is the big deal?
SCARY SHIT (AND SO OBVIOUS)
If someone logs on to your account, they can act like YOU. Now once you read this, it is so blatantly obvious. Yet it took me FOUR years to set up LinkedIn 2 Step Verification (yup, it was introduced back in 2014).
Post pretending to be you.
Comment (even nasty) pretending to be you.
Message (spam, annoy) all your connections.
Download your connections.
Disconnect you from your connections.
Delete recommendations you received.
You get my drift. They will have TOTAL CONTROL over your LinkedIn Account. Profile, Articles, Posts, Network, Engagement … EVERYTHING. I know it is not 100% foul proof, but what is? And people going through the trouble of hacking your phone or convincing your provider they are you … they usually don’t target ordinary people, not even the extraordinary like YOU and me.
You can fix things under “settings & privacy”. Might also want to check the “Ads” tap while you are there. If you want to find out more about the settings, here is something I wrote before: LinkedIn Settings & Privacy.
>>> So tell me (honestly) when did you set up LinkedIn 2 Step Verification? Oh and please add to the list of things you don’t want to happen! <<<
This post has a bit of a personal touch. Well, about 867 words or personal touch. OOPS. Normally my posts are around 200 words. In this post you’ll learn how building business through LinkedIn can be done without acquisition. I am too shy for acquisition, so I had to find another way, you’re about to find out all about it.
You may not be interested in my personal entrepreneurial journey. I get it. I don’t need to read everybody’s personal account. If you prefer to skim read the find the juicy bits, there are plenty of headers to guide you. Otherwise, grab a cuppa and spend the next 5 minutes following my story of building business through LinkedIn.
THIS LINKEDIN STORY STARTS IN 2011
I worked for an organisation with about 100 employees and we hit rough weather. Regardless of how much I like commuting by ferry, especially on stormy days, this was the kind of rough weather that made me uncomfortable.
Friends said I should look at it as an opportunity. That it was time for me to start working for myself. Yeah right, doing what? Sure, I loved training, as I still do, but training in what? I’d done so many different things. Jack of all trades, master of NONE is how I saw myself.
My friends had a different view. They saw training as the thing I am good at and had in one shape or another 20+ years of experience in. I couldn’t deny that point.
BACK TO THE COMPANY I WORKED FOR
About 20 people were made redundant. All but two temporarily contracts were terminated. I was one of the two survivors. And I let out a big sigh of relief. All this talk about starting my own business. Ha, no matter what strengths my friends believed I possess, they forgot just one minor detail: I am too shy for acquisition.
I had been quite worried about my position for about 6 months. That is a long time. Ever been anxious about your future for six months? I do not recommend it. What it did make me do, was freshen up my LinkedIn profile.
I FELL IN LOVE WITH LINKEDIN
As I discovered more and more about the possibilities of actively using LinkedIn, I got quite excited about it. I was almost disappointed that I didn’t lose my job. ALMOST. I still had a mortgage to pay and daughter to look after as a single mum. I decided there and then that I would never, ever, feel this anxious about surviving again.
I thought, what is going to happen in 12 months time? Will they renew my contract again, or let me go after all? I always chose time for me and my daughter over money, so I was only working three days a week at this stage. With two days a week spare I decided to give this ‘starting your own business’ thing a go.
I would be “Petra Fisher, LinkedIn Trainer for International Professionals”.
NO MONEY TO INVEST OR FALL BACK ON
Now all I needed to do is put my money where my mouth is. Lacking the money, I invested time.
I aimed high. Though there is plenty of fish in the sea, what will make this fish stand out?
Charging high fees! Seemed like a great idea at the time…
Charge high fees, work for corporates and be one-of-a-kind. I needed to build up a reputation in order to be able to target those clients. By working on my reputation, I also didn’t have to worry about that little detail called acquisition. Out of sight out of mind.
WHAT WORKS FOR NETFLIX WORKED FOR ME
“Ten tips to …” seemed to be the best-viewed blogs at the time, so I needed to write some of those as well. Build a website, write a blog, share it through LinkedIn and Bob’s your uncle. With only two days a week for my own company, I had to use my time creatively.
If Netflix can do it, then I can do it. Why spend all my time on ONE blog sharing 10 tips? If I made it into a series of 10 posts that would last me 2.5 months. Somehow I only made it to 9. Each week I shared my blog on LinkedIn, as status update. Posted in several groups to start discussions…
FELL FLAT ON MY FACE WITH THAT
I posted blog episodes in so many groups, without really starting a discussion, that I got a black mark against my name in some groups. Meaning I couldn’t post for a period of time. This inspired me to write another series of blog posts. About group use on LinkedIn. Only three blogs this time, but they got picked up worldwide.
I have to tell you something that happened in between.
All this activity on LinkedIn did not go unnoticed. I got noticed by Mike O’Neil and Lori Ruff in the US. We started chatting on Skype and one day Lori send me a message saying:
“Uhm … I may have jumped the gun a bit, but a big international corporation asked if we have a trainer in Amsterdam to conduct some sessions at their European headquarters, and I’ve let them know you’ll do it”.
So here I was. I had quite an impressive video on my website. Had delivered one in company training and was asked by Mike O’Neil and Lori Ruff to deliver training on their behalf.
NOT BAD FOR A SOCIAL WORKER TURNED SELF-PROFESSED TRAINER
Not long after, I was invited to come to the US to co-facilitate the 10th annual LinkedIn event Mike and Lori organise. I was flattered, felt special. It took someone else to point out to me that it worked both ways. They had been able to advertise this 10th event with an international speaker all the way from Amsterdam!
HOW DID I USE LINKEDIN TO GET HERE?
I clearly identified WHO I wanted to reach and WHAT message I wanted to send. You’ve probably heard about the “Know, Like and Trust” factors in order to be able to do business. Here’s how I applied them.
GET PEOPLE TO KNOW YOU
Make a lot of noise so people have heard of you! Make noise on LinkedIn by sharing knowledge. By sharing industry articles by others. By liking and commenting on updates of other people. Every activity you conduct on LinkedIn increases you visibility in your network. Ideally comment rather than like. It allows you to share little snippets of your expertise, adding value to your network.
GET PEOPLE TO LIKE YOU
The easiest way to get people to like you is handing out presents. Share valuable information that doesn’t directly lead back to your website. Endorse people if you think they are really good at something. Write a short recommendation without being asked. It does wonders for your likeability.
More importantly, it is actually really good fun to do.
GET PEOPLE TO TRUST YOU
Apart from the obvious: don’t tell lies. People trust you if they relate to you. Make sure some of your personality shines through in what you do. Your values, the fact you care about how your work impacts and benefits your clients. Focus on the other.
HAVE A ONE-TRACK-MIND
Make sure you stay focused on your expertise and the target audience you wish to reach. I am interested in sustainability; my daughter was recycling before she knew there was such a word. Yet I rarely like an interesting update on LinkedIn about sustainability.
People connect with me for my LinkedIn knowledge. I want to be predictable. If you see my face come past in the non-stop stream of updates on your homepage, I want you to automatically pause to see what I said. Because you KNOW it will be about LinkedIn, Networking or Personal Branding.
HOW ABOUT THE ACQUISITION?
But how did I get around that nagging little detail, that acquisition thing? I didn’t! Easy as that. Well, most of the time. I am good at what I do because it is within my comfort zone. Acquisition is not, so I am not going to create anxiety for myself. By being active on LinkedIn for about 30 minutes a day, staying focused on my topics, aiming for my dream clients, I have not done any active acquisition. Prospective clients approach me.
STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF
I once accepted a project because it was big. It would be a great experience, could lead to new things yet I completely ignored a nagging little feeling that I was not actually going to enjoy this project.
I pushed that feeling away with rational arguments. How I was capable of pulling this project off. How it would really put my name on the map within the Dutch market. How the money was great.
Putting my name on the map within the Dutch market. What was I thinking? Didn’t I, in part, keep my own company going after the initial employment panic had gone, because I love operating in English? In an international environment?
LIFE IS A JOURNEY (Ralph Emerson Anderson)
That is when I found the missing piece in the puzzle of my LinkedIn use. I needed to sharpen my target audience and let go of doing everything bi-lingual. Operating in English is what makes me happy. Happy trainer – happy clients. This was my journey during the first four years I was in business. It led to me being a well-known LinkedIn trainer in The Netherlands, Australia, The UK and the USA. You can see the locations of my clients pinned on a map at the bottom of this page.
WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?
I can tell you how to fill out your LinkedIn Profile.
I can show you how to use the different features of LinkedIn.
Yet none of that is going to get you anywhere… If you don’t listen to yourself!
Identify what makes you happy, what puts that spark in your eye?
Who do you want to work with?
And then, only then does it make any sense to put all my tips and tricks into practice.
>>> Have a question how LinkedIn can help YOUR business? Pop it in the comments! Other thoughts and compliments most welcome as well. <<<
Love it when I get asked questions. Like the other day, when Business & Marketing Coach Stephanie Ward asked: “How come I no longer receive an email about LinkedIn Invitations? All my settings seem correct.” LinkedIn Notifications exists in two flavours. The ones with the little bell icon and the ones through email.
GREMLINS OR SETTINGS
My first instinct is to blame Gremlins, as I do for most stuff. Then I had a look at the settings and noticed the little “detail” drop-down thingy… please do click and check all the sub-settings.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
If that doesn’t fix it … gremlins, or more likely bugs. LinkedIn is doing LOTS OF STUFF behind the scenes to improve the platform. Unfortunately, this often plays havoc with existing functionality. But then again, good stuff comes to those who wait (and put up with the funny stuff along the way).
>>>Have a question for me? Pop it in the comments. You could be featured in my next blog! With a link to your profile. How is that for exposure?<<<
At the time of writing there are 1,583,987 groups on LinkedIn. You can be a member of 50 LinkedIn Groups. Well and 50 subgroups. Personally I am quite happy that there is a limit to the number of LinkedIn groups you can join. If there was no limit, how many groups would I join? Ten, ten-thousand, a million? (more…)
How often have you clicked the link “Company Website” on someone’s LinkedIn profile?
What about “Personal Website”? “Portfolio”, “RSS Feed”, “Blog” – do you actually click that one? Yet another one of LinkedIn’s hidden gems about to be revealed… It does make me wonder why LinkedIn even provides these options though. (more…)
I’m SO NOT asking for recommendations. That’s just not me!
Many people have great difficulty dealing with recommendations on their LinkedIn profile. If they get a recommendation, that’s very nice for sure, but to ask … No, that’s not done. Is just doesn’t feel right. Besides, it looks like bragging on your profile. Something like: “Look how good / great / important I am”.
So what is your purpose on LinkedIn?
What do YOU want to achieve with your presence on LinkedIn? A new job? More leads? Sales? A network for sharing/finding knowledge? Whatever your goal on LinkedIn, don’t forget that it is a NETWORK. Your profile is not a resume. It is a first impression | billboard | marketing spiel | window display | brochure | CV… in short: an instrument you USE when networking.
The advantage/ importance of LinkedIn recommendations.
Whatever your goal on LinkedIn, people do business with people. People they trust. And before someone can trust you, they must be aware you even exist. It’s all about the famous trinity: Know – Like – Trust. A recommendation on LinkedIn helps you in various ways to improve your know you – like – trust factor. TRUST – You can write a great story about yourself (that’s what your LinkedIn profile is: a self-written story). Once others confirm your story people will start to really value it. A recommendation from a satisfied customer, manager or business partner is a wonderful confirmation of your expertise. KNOW – How can a LinkedIn recommendation build your reputation? That’s easier than you think! The moment you receive a recommendation (say it comes from me) all your connections will see a status update like this: “Petra Fisher recommends So-and-so …” followed by approximately the first 100 characters of the recommendation. But there’s more… MY 500+ connections get to see this update as well! If I write a strong enough opening (which is partly visible in the status update) then some people’s curiosity might trigger them to check out YOUR profile!
What goes around, comes around…
As you may have concluded from the previous paragraph … it certainly pays to spontaneously recommend other people (me for example, because of my great blog posts ;-)). For starters it is a really nice thing to do and the recipient will at some stage reciprocate one way or another. More so, you bring yourself to the attention of the network of those you recommend. So some strategic recommending is not misplaced! A Word of Warning! If you receive a recommendation, LinkedIn asks you immediately to return the favour. DON’T. Look at the status updates that I saw come along … if you sincerely want to recommend someone back, wait a week or two.
>>> I do believe that you should ask someone in person for their recommendation. Just call, or email if you must, but don’t use the automatic feature of LinkedIn. What do you think? <<<
The average LinkedIn user (November 2011 stats) is 44 years old. Or 41, or 42 depending on who you believe. There was an article published on my birthday stating the 44 figure, so that’s what I’ll stick to. This means the average user has been out of school a good 20+ years. What are the changes that YOU, a LinkedIn user, are still working in a field closely related to your education?(more…)
You can’t have another go at making a first impression. It must be right first time. It is more rule than exception these days to look someone up in Google before your first meeting. And if you type someone’s name in Google, their LinkedIn profile is usually the first search result.
Recruiters see what they can find about applicants, and the well prepared applicant checks the interviewing committee on LinkedIn before an interview. Business meetings are almost always preceded by a check of the business partner/client on LinkedIn. (more…)
Would you like some cookies with your cuppa tea? Feel free to decline. Or ask me for my best recipe (yup, I bake amazing cookies).COOKIES ARE FINENO COOKIES
This means the average user has been out of school a good 20+ years. What are the changes that YOU, a LinkedIn user, are still working in a field closely related to your education? 