Get Better At LinkedIn In Just 15 Minutes A Day

There are many articles out there about how to use LinkedIn, but as a social media trainer, I find that they typically fall short of being really useful. I am going to give you a real, actionable, simple plan that you should follow if you really want to improve your LinkedIn skills. 

What can you expect if you follow this plan? More requests for connections, more likes on your post updates (more post updates), and maybe even some new opportunities.

Note: This plan includes the basics. It is meant for the person who spends little to no time on LinkedIn unless they are looking for a job or looking for ways to be more active.

If you can commit to 15 minutes a day for 5 days (a business week), than you will be on your way to improving your LinkedIn skills and success. 

Pictures are worth a thousand words, they say. How about an infographic:

Let's Expand A Little
1. Start at the beginning. Take a look at your notifications. You might not have any for the first few days, but you will start to get them as you become more active. Notifications are numbered by the flag icon at the top of the site or in the menu on the app.

2. Next, scroll through your news feed (to get there, click/tap Home) and hopefully you will find some interesting posts to like, share, and/or comment on. If it is a link to an article, click on it and at least skim it before you like the post. You can never really be sure what an article says until you read it. 

3. Next, search for new connections. Suggested connections can be found at the top of the page in a browser or the +person icon next to the notifications icon in step 1. 

4. Now it's time for you to share an update. This can be a like to an article that you read, including one that you might have found while in step 2. The goal is to share something that you believe your audience (connections) will find useful. 

5. Finally, make sure to talk to your connections. LinkedIn makes this very easy. They will tell you who is having a work anniversary. All you have to do is type in a comment and hit Done. Bonus points if you reach out to someone who is not listed. Other ways to connect include posting a comment on updates or write an endorsement for a coworker. 

Of course, there are many more actions that you can take in order to improve your profile and get seen by the people you want to see you. You can write a post(s) like this one to show that you know what you are talking about or recommend a few skills for a few connections. 

Start with the chart above and see what happens. My guess is that you will begin to form new habits that you will be able to hone and build upon. And as always, if you have any social media questions, I would be happy to answer them. Just ask! Thank you for reading.