When did you join LinkedIn?
18 years ago, on May 5, 2005, I logged in for the first time and began networking and posting, up to four times a day – all in the quest to become a recognized thought leader on LinkedIn.
Two years later, I would win second place in a contest for top LinkedIn tips.
But, I wanted to delete my entry. Why?
Because every other entry had one tip.
Although, I didn’t know that. Before I looked at the other entries, I decided to write up a Top 10 Ways to Quickly Become a LinkedIn Expert entry that won second place and became a popular post on my blog, Wired PR Works
Almost nobody, except maybe David Letterman, was making top 10 lists in 2007. When I saw that I’d exceeded the requirements by nine, I thought I’d failed to understand the assignment. Why would anyone want 10 ways? How could I delete this entry?? I couldn’t. Instead, I was soon packing my bags for an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas to Blog World.
Two years later, this list also landed me a place as the LinkedIn expert in Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click by Larry Weber.
To date, I’ve written 350+ posts about LinkedIn.
To celebrate 18 years, here’s a 2023 version of this post updating subject matter expert to thought leader.
“Top 10 Ways to Quickly Becoming a Recognized Thought Leader on LinkedIn by Barbara Rozgonyi”
1. Grow your connections in the categories you want to reach; review every invitation before you accept to see if there’s a fit with your profile.
2. After you accept an invitation, reply with a quick personal message that includes a few bullet points about what you do, an opportunity to ask questions about your industry, and additional ways to connect with you online via social media.
3. Present your profile to match the audience you want to target with benefits or accomplishments that highlight your expertise to draw them in.
4. In the websites section of your profile, add a link to a page that lists your news, social media bio, articles, or publications.
5. In the features area, post a report, a presentation, video, podcast, or a white paper based on your LinkedIn community’s experience.
6. Answer relevant questions with specific information based on your expertise and work your way up to becoming an expert by giving the most relevant answers on other people’s posts.
7. Match your industries to your network, unless you’re a consultant to a specific industry who will benefit from being visible to your peers as well as your consulting base.
8. Talk about your LinkedIn networking experiences on your blog and in your marketing communications and make your LinkedIn site [www.linkedin.com/in/yourname] as prominent as your home page URL in all communications
9. Get recommended as an expert resource by asking those who value your insights to write a recommendation that promotes you [and them!].
10. Redirect interest to your own personal community, such as a blog or membership site, where people can learn, contribute and continue the dialogue with a link to or mention of the community in your public profile and track traffic to measure results.
I only changed a few words here and there. Over 15 years later, the solid foundation advice still works.
☀️Barbara Rozgonyi leads CoryWest Media LLC | Marketing PR Strategic Advisor, Sales Leadership & LinkedIn Training, Podcasts, a creative marketing communication consultancy that attracts attention, builds brands, and connects communities. Named in honor of her mother and grandmother, CoryWest Media inspires innovation as it fuels growth. Barbara is an international trends speaker, digital marketing advisor, and sales leadership guide. Her top-ranked blog, wiredPRworks.com, launched in 2006. An early social media advocate, Barbara founded Social Media Club Chicago in 2008. Her podcast, Growing Social Now, launched in 2021.
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Wishing you an amazing day in every way!!
OVER TO YOU
What’s missing? What would you add?