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Use the Three "Killer Bs" to Increase LinkedIn Success
December 9, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
A quick story: I was speaking with a friend last week unhappy with the lack of results he was getting from using LinkedIn. He had a fabulous LinkedIn profile, with rich media here and keywords there, and and he had 500 connections, but nothing was happening for him. He wasn’t meeting the number of new and interesting people that he thought he should be. With a little probing, it was very easy to see the problem: He was not being very social on LinkedIn.
I told him if he wanted to be noticed on LinkedIn, if he wanted to meet new people and grow his network, he needed to master the three "killer Bs:" Be visible, be memorable, and be habitual.
Be Visible
The best places to be visible are in groups and in status updates. I advised him to start a discussion in one of his groups, or at least to comment in someone else’s. Participation in a group discussion would give him a valid reason to start a private discussion with any of the other discussion participants. In the same way, posting a status update provides opportunities for people to comment on his update, or he on theirs. My friend pointed out that he “likes” a lot of status updates and I had to gently tell him that that was not good enough, as his visible participation had to also…
Be Memorable
I asked my friend how much he thought a “like” accomplished for him. How much more memorable was he because he had taken two seconds to click on “like?” People notice when you say something memorable, when you add value, when you add color, when you have a different and interesting take on the situation. I suggested that if he started a discussion in one of his groups that explored a different look at a topic, that he might be surprised how many people joined in. And then I suggested that he do this every week in a different group because the last "killer B" is to…
Be Habitual
Being visible and being memorable are important, but unless he made these habits, my friends’ results would not be what he wanted. In the same way a person doesn’t get healthy from jogging just once, being memorable and being visible will only bring benefits if practiced regularly. If my friend wanted continual opportunities to engage with new and interesting people, he needed to make a habit of being visible and memorable.
The lesson in this story really just amounts to getting involved with your LinkedIn network in a meaningful way. Add value. Add your take on things. Do it on a regular basis. There are a lot of interesting people out there on LinkedIn…and you're one of them. Let everyone know it.Bruce Johnston is a sales consultant specializing in social media and especially LinkedIn. He has over 25 years experience in high-tech sales and management. He can be reached at brucej@practicalsmm.com or through his profile on LinkedIn.