Here are our five top tips for using LinkedIn as a leader.
1. Use your profile as a training aid for your team.
LinkedIn profiles can be much more powerful than a resume for a future employer. You should ensure that your LinkedIn profile reflects the great work you are doing and helps those browsing it understand how you could help them and vice versa.
These could be:
- Potential and Existing Customers
- Journalists and PR teams
- Analysts
- Competitors
- Partners
- Potential Employees
Your LinkedIn profile is a great opportunity to convert views into actions.
Once you have your profile in amazing condition, why not set up a training workshop for your team and get all of theirs looking great as well. They'll appreciate the support, and you'll have much wider exposure of your team on LinkedIn.
2. Connect with your team members.
This shouldn't even need to be in the list, but you'd be surprised how many managers are not connected to their team members on any social networks. You probably know more about what John from school is doing these days than you do about the team your work with every day.
When you make the connection with your team members make sure you edit the default message to something personal like "Hi Simon, It would be great to connect with you on LinkedIn, linking our networks should give you some useful 2nd degree connections. Look forward to seeing your updates, Regards, Will"
3. Recommend your team members.
LinkedIn Recommendations are an easy way of publicly patting your team on the back. Most people tend to ask for recommendations when they are looking for new jobs, but why not take the lead and write a recommendation for each of your team members using a specific goal they've achieved.
And remember, you can recommend someone more than once! If one of your team members does something amazing six week's later, then recommend them again. These public displays of appreciation get seen by your team member, their network and your network which helps position you as a supportive leader.
One of the top ways of generating recommendations on LinkedIn is to provide them first. How great is it going to look if everyone in your team has recommended you? Combined with a great Kebuki Rating it's going to make it much easier to recruit top talent.
4. Use your updates to praise your team.
Status updates on LinkedIn are a great way of keeping your network up to date with your activity. You can either write simple messages "Congratulations to the team on a great week - some great deals closed" or sharing links to other sites - perhaps a news article that references a piece of work by a team member, or a new hire listed on your LinkedIn Company page.
Your team members will see these updates in their feed and it helps remind them that they are top of your mind.
5. Join the same groups as your team members.
LinkedIn Groups are a fantastic way of building up your network with like minded individuals. Whether you work in technology, manufacturing, legal or retail you'll find groups specific to your market.
Either search for groups yourself and suggest that your team join them as well, or look at each of your team members profiles and see what groups they are already part of.
You can support your team members in these groups by liking and commenting on posts that they have made, or by bringing them into posts that you have made. "James, I'd appreciate your thoughts on this topic."
By showing that you value their opinion on a subject in a public forum you are demonstrating true leadership qualities.
So those are our top 5 uses for LinkedIn as a leader. What would you add? Have you been using LinkedIn as a leadership tool?
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