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LinkedIn Success: The Anatomy Of An Engaging Status Update

Jamie Shanks
Jamie Shanks

How healthy is your lead generation strategy on LinkedIn? A strong, robust series of status updates will inspire confidence in you and engage your prospects’ curiosity about your solutions. On the other hand, an ill-conceived and sporadic status update plan with poor presentation will drive away prospects. Before you post a LinkedIn status update with a link, image or video, perform this quick health check on your presentation.

Head

Be smart. The best LinkedIn posts feature link descriptions that are short and to the point. Quick Sprout notes that posts with links generate 200 percent more engagement. Limit link titles to 70 characters and link descriptions to 250 characters. Limiting characters will prevent titles from getting cut off and will help you learn how to say more with less and communicate more effectively.

Example: Social Selling Success in 2015: New Year’s Resolutions. Resolutions are intensely personal. If you need some inspiration, however, here are some social selling resolutions, followed by some expert motivation.

Heart

Generate some feeling when you provide updates. Don’t neglect the social part of “social sales.” The four most powerful status update tools are: Share, Comment, Like and Mention. Relationships on social media start with shared interests, and the best way to demonstrate your interest in a subject is to post or respond to topics that affect your prospects.

Use the @ symbol to involve prospects in upcoming events you have found using Sales Navigator. The # symbol is a great way to expand the discussion and raise awareness about your business with new prospect pools beyond the reach of your existing connections. One Like or Share can be more effective than all the sales copy in the world in terms of laying the groundwork for future connections.

Example: Every business needs a @KokaSexton (or a Social Selling rock star)

Workshop

Arms

Don’t be afraid to show your strength. Take a position and back it up. HP is one of the leaders in creating effective status updates, and a great deal can be learned by following the company’s pattern of posting. Nearly half of their posts center around thought leadership and industry news. Every business will use a slightly different mix of posts, but when you take a stand on important industry topics, you can spark conversations that have wide ranging effects across social networks. Display your knowledge and encourage your connections to share their ideas.

Example:Patience is key in social selling. This is how long it takes to monetize a #LinkedIn connection.

Legs

Make your messages go farther. The best posts on Earth mean nothing if no one can see them. Because LinkedIn filters status updates, even people following you won’t always see your updates. If you want to ensure that your updates are seen more often by more people, follow a few practices recommended by LinkedIn.

  • Post status updates in popular Groups and ask followup questions.
  • Post often. It takes more than 20 posts a month to reach 60 percent of your followers.
  • Manage your range of topics and posting times with an editorial calendar.
  • Experiment by reposting updates with different pictures, headlines or on different days

Example: How do you help buyers today? What’s your strategy to stand out from the rest? #sales #advice

A status update a day…

Healthy lead generation means crafting appealing LinkedIn updates that attract likes, comments and shares, and ultimately initiate conversations. Remember these simple rules: watch your character limits, interact more with prospects, take a strong position and boost the reach of your updates. Follow this doctor’s prescription for shaping up your LinkedIn status updates and all will be well.

Jamie Shanks Social  Selling9 Step Thumb12 Step Book

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