Are you a freelancer who isn’t using LinkedIn as a vital part of your business building strategy?
So today I want to talk about using LinkedIn in your personal profile and why it’s so important for your ongoing marketing strategy as a freelancer.
But first, I wanna tell you this story. So just recently I was at a networking event nearby, and truthfully, I don’t go to a lot of in-person networking events, but I happened to be at this one, and the network event was probably 30, 35 people, mostly entrepreneurs like myself. And we were getting around, getting together and just basically having a little networking session, just exchanging information and backgrounds. So I, I was able, while I was there to talk with about, about six to eight different people in terms of having a, a good conversation. So I was able to speak with these folks and able to learn their story, and I was able to, you know, to connect with them.
And when I meet new people, one of the, especially in a business context, I always like to try to connect with them on LinkedIn. Guys, I gotta be honest with you, when I was visiting with these folks, almost half of them gave me responses like, yeah, I’m on LinkedIn, but I don’t use it very often. Or I,
I have a profile, but I haven’t really filled it out. Or in fact, one person said, no, I don’t have LinkedIn. I was shocked. I was in a room full of entrepreneurs who are creating in the digital space like myself, and 50% of them did not use, or apparently have a reason to use LinkedIn. And guys, I was,
I was like, okay, I, I hope this isn’t stereotypical, but I felt like I needed to come out and just say, Hey, there are some very, very compelling reasons why if you’re a freelancer or a contractor, you need to be using LinkedIn because number one, it is the largest social media platform on the planet that is geared toward business professionals and business to business networking, period. It is there, there’s none other, like, it, it, and just by virtue of it being the the largest social media platform ought to be compelling reason alone for anyone who’s looking to build business connections to be involved. I was really shocked when I found out that there were so many people that were not leveraging LinkedIn. They were willing to spend the time and effort and come to an in-person gathering, an in-person networking event, but not willing to take the time to expose themselves and their professional profile to a world of opportunities. So number one, it’s the largest social media platform for businesses out there, and you need to be on it. Okay? So that’s the first reason. The second reason why you need to be using it is it’s going to provide you an opportunity to showcase the best of who you are to the world.
If you’re a creative professional, like myself, a graphic designer or a web developer, or maybe a, a writer or a blogger, a photographer, all of the content that you create is in the digital space. And LinkedIn is a place that allows you to show that off. So your portfolio or your white writing samples, or an award that you’ve won or a special project that you worked on, or kudos or recommendations from a client that you worked for recently, all that information can be collated and put into your LinkedIn profile and is available to anyone that wants to come and find you. It’s amazing. And once your information is in the LinkedIn ecosystem, then you have access to LinkedIn’s search controls or search features. People can find you based on the content that you’ve entered into your, your profile and your content that you’ve posted your work experience, the project experience that you have in your portfolio. All those pieces become available to people that are Searchie on LinkedIn for things for people like you. The last thing that, the reason why LinkedIn is gotta be such a, a vital part of your marketing toolkit is it gives you the ability to to connect to people on a viral level.
So not only is it the biggest social network for, for professionals, but if you are connected to past and current employers, colleagues, managers, supervisors, friends and family, there’s an automatic connection for you that you can leverage. Because let’s be honest, people recommend other people. And if people don’t know that you’re out there, it’s very hard for people to share your information and help you in your search for, for new clients, new business relationships, whatever it is. Okay? So you already have a built-in network in LinkedIn. You just have to go find it and draw them to yourself and then leverage those connections that you have. And then, my goodness, don’t be afraid to reach out and reach out and find new people that could be potential clients for you, businesses, individuals, whatever it is, there’s a way for you to get in and search LinkedIn, and you can find people based on topics, likes, job descriptions. The the list is, is huge. So I think if you’re a freelancer and you are not using LinkedIn right now as a part of your marketing strategy, then you need to get with it and just jump in.
It’s the largest social media network on the planet for businesses and professionals. It’s a wonderful place for you to, to house and to showcase all of the things that, that you are able to do to help businesses and allow you to. Number three, reach out and build important connections with people all over the planet. People that are looking for people who can do things like you can do.
So come on, don’t, don’t waste another minute. If you’ve got a LinkedIn profile, dust it off, polish it up, throw in the best of the best and start communicating. It’s an awesome way for you to communicate to your friends and family what’s going on in your business, but also to prospect and find others. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, I encourage you to get one. It doesn’t take much time. It’s really easy to set up. And once you have it set up, then it’s available and it’s ready for you to Use.
