How to Grow Your Audience on LinkedIn
Why do you need to grow your audience?
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Your audience is one of your most important business assets. They show up to hear what you have to say. If they like what they see and trust the source, they’ll become loyal followers and loyal customers.
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So, how do you get more people to show up? Where do you find them?
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Of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn isΒ theΒ professional social media platform to be on. It’s more than a place to search for jobs. It’s where you’ll find industry news and tools to increase your knowledge, productivity, and skill set.
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And it’s where you’ll find and connect with your ideal audience.
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As connecting with humans became more restricted last year, social media became even more important. The same was true for business networking and marketing. Because the traditional face-to-face interactions werenβt possible, everything went online. And during this time, the number of LinkedIn users skyrocketed.
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There are over 750 million LinkedIn users, and thereβs a good chance your future customers are among them. So, how do you get your fair share?
Want help creating a strong LinkedIn profile? Click here!
Use LinkedIn to post and publish quality content.
An easy way to grow your audience is to consistently post or publish high-quality content. This keeps you fresh in peopleβs news feeds and gives them something to share with their network. If people in their network find your content relevant and interesting, theyβll connect with and follow you to get more. The more you share, the more you grow.
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Quality wins over quantity every time. Posting content for the sake of posting content doesnβt work. Quality content gives your audience something theyβre looking for. It answers a question, solves a problem, or gives them relevant information about their industry or interests.
How do I post or publish on LinkedIn?
Click the Home button at the top bar (where you go to search). Below the Home icon, youβll see options toΒ start a postΒ andΒ write an article.
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Use the start a post option when youβre giving a brief update (similar to Facebook but with a professional slant), sharing another userβs content, or sharing content from an outside source (more on that below). LinkedIn limits post to 3,000 characters. A company page post is limited to 700.
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Use the write an article option (LinkedInβs blog feature) to publish longer content. The maximum number of characters here is 110,000. There was a time when only Influencers could publish articles. Lucky for you, this feature is open to all users.
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Youβre off to a good start, but youβre not done yet.
Engage with your audience.
Getting great content for your social media is half the battle. Youβve got to be sure to monitor the responses you get. Keep the conversation going with your audience. It shows you care about them and encourages future engagement. It may encourage those who didnβt respond to do it next time.
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Sharing other peopleβs content with your network is another way to engage, especially from Influencers. But donβt just share the content. Tell your audience why youβre sharing it. Give them insight into the subject that wasnβt covered in the article. Ask your readers to give you their perspective. Play devilβs advocate with the authorβs opinions or conclusions. Ask questions people will want to answer.
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You can do the same thing with industry-related news found outside of LinkedIn. Lead by example and teach your audience what sharing looks like.
Post a video.
All social media platforms give the most attention to video. LinkedIn loves native video (video uploaded to LinkedIn versus sharing a link to a video on another site, such as YouTube), and so do your readers. Video attracts users and engages them far better than text.
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Make a video showing how your product works, talking about your services, saying what you would have typed. It doesnβt matter so long as it applies to your audience.
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You’ll follow the same steps to post a video as you did when posting or publishing text. The videoΒ button is near theΒ write an articleΒ button.
Want help creating a LinkedIn video? Click here!
Bringing it home.
Users are looking for reliable information that relates to their industry, interests, or objectives. Give your audience what they want, and youβll be the first person they think of. Theyβll look to you for advice and rely on your experience and expertise, and they’ll share your wisdom with others.
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So, before you post an article or video on LinkedIn, ask yourself what value will this bring to your audience? Does it answer their questions? Does it solve their problems?Β
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Answer those questions and youβll have a devoted following.