LinkedIn Series Guide for Social Media Freelancers

1 LinkedIn in LinkedIn has a network of around 65 million business professionals around the world. Nearly 50% of its users have the authority to make decisions for the businesses they represent. This is a huge potential market for a freelancer to penetrate. LinkedIn is very different to other social media platforms; it is fundamentally geared towards developing professional connections. Profile set up LinkedIn is a platform for you to blow your own trumpet. To do this you need to set up a comprehensive but pertinent profile. Do not fall into the trap of just listing everything you have done - you should focus on using keywords and phrases to describe your skills and experience and get to the point, so bullet points work well. If you have big chunky paragraphs this is likely to put people off reading about you. TOP TIP Think of your profile as a business card with keyword triggers to bring people to you. Include searchable keywords and repeat these throughout your profile. Use a good photo with an open and welcoming facial expression, but remember this is business - nothing too personal or casual is the key. Keep your profile fresh and active and ensure you review and refresh it at least every 3 to 4 months to develop a higher Linkedin ranking. General activity Start by posting around 20 times a month during normal office hours, avoiding late afternoon, weekends and evenings. This will help your content to reach the largest number of users. The most popular and in-demand content revolves around industry insights, so keep up to date. This is where using other social media avenues in conjunction with LinkedIn can help. We will look at this later. TOP TIP Linkedin has found their busiest times to be morning and midday, Monday through Friday - post content and comments during these times. Join relevant groups to help improve your industry insight and provide you with opportunities to comment and enhance your presence on LinkedIn. Use the "Jobs" section of LinkedIn to seek out any potential work. Resist the temptation to just bang out an application. Before applying for any role advertised do some research on the company, make sure this is the sort of work you are looking for and tailor your application to meet the requirements requested by the potential employer. Here are a few groups to explore... www.linkedin.com/groups/Writeful-Share-2008327/about Freelance Writers/Editors New Freelance Writers Freelance Writers Job Openings, Job Leads and Job Connections Advantages of a premium account It is worth investing in LinkedIn Premium to take full advantage of potential opportunities. Paying the monthly fee for this will increase your ability to network and consequently offer you more opportunities. A premium account will give you greater access to information and an enhanced ability to build connections. For example, you would be able to find out who may have been viewing your profile. This can be very useful as you can then follow up and introduce yourself via InMail which a Premium Account will allow you to send. Endorsements Be proactive in endorsing others. Quite often you will find that they will endorse you back which works well to enhance your profile. If you have completed some work and your client has given good feedback to you, ask them to endorse you on your LinkedIn profile. They can also act as reassurance during leaner or more difficult times - Aplin says that she keeps a "Lovers folder" on her computer filled with positive messages and thanks from happy clients and people who have read her blog, so positive LinkedIn endorsements can have the same effect. Find out more about endorsing here TOP Be active and get recomm ndations/ endorsements from your clients and contacts. For more information on how to get set up on Linkedin click here or view the help guide to find out more or to answer any specific questions.