How To Become A LinkedIn Influencer

Oct 18, 2017 6 min read

Becoming an Influencer always first starts with becoming a professional. And when it comes to portraying yourself as a professional, a LinkedIn profile always works as a highlighter. LinkedIn is the world's biggest professional network with 500 million users from 200 countries. People are working hard to become a LinkedIn Influencer nowadays and I say, it’s really worth it.

The fact is, the virtual professional network has morphed from an online job finder and resume into a huge personal branding tool on the Internet. LinkedIn has been constantly redefining professionalism ever since it's inception.

What makes LinkedIn powerful is because it attracts the highly professional and business-oriented audience.

Professionals are building connections with other people in their field of work. HRs and Recruiters are hanging out to find best profiles for their company. Everyone is constantly running and emphasizing on their LinkedIn presence.

LinkedIn is encouraging people to become Industry celebrities, for which it launched the LinkedIn influencer program. It got a huge response from Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Ian Bremmer and many other thought leaders. But still, in order to get the influencer tag from LinkedIn, you need to have a concrete presence on LinkedIn and in your professional sphere.

Look how Sallie Krawcheck, the CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest is featured as a LinkedIn Influencer.

LinkedIn influencer Sallie Krawcheck

Influencers are personally invited by LinkedIn to join the program, but it’s still hazy to find out how they are chosen.

Now, here are a few tips to help you stand out on LinkedIn.

How to become a LinkedIn Influencer:

  1. Improve your LinkedIn profile
  2. Use LinkedIn to post original long-form content
  3. Behave like a thought leader and LinkedIn influencer

1. Improve your LinkedIn profile

People come to your profile and see your whole professional history; what if they find it blank or in an improper state? This doesn't give you a chance to become a LinkedIn influencer.

Let’s do a quick LinkedIn profile audit if you already have a profile. If not, take a note of it.

  • Is your profile photo is up to date?
    Have a good profile photo as it will show you care about your public image. Don’t use an unprofessional and funky photo on your profile. Trust me, it doesn’t encourage connectivity.

  • Did you claim your public profile URL?
    Do it today so that you can promote your LinkedIn profile in the signature of your email, resume, business card, blog, etc. Make sure you create one in attractive and easy-to-read format.

  • Did you update your summary?
    If your summary is unattractive then no one would love to scroll your profile. It's going to be anyone's first impression of your LinkedIn profile. In order to gain a good reputation, keep your summary updated. You can even add your personal branding statement as a summary.

  • Are you getting recommendations?
    If you gain a good number of recommendations then you are doing good on LinkedIn. The ratio of recommendations received should be more than recommendations given.

  • Are you contributing to the relevant groups?
    In order to connect with major players in your industry, you should join relevant groups on LinkedIn and contribute your ideas with others thoughts.
    The truth is, everyone likes to see your experience and achievement before considering you as a professional. Having a good LinkedIn profile will illuminate you as a professional.

It’s not very easy to get notified as an Influencer in your field of work until you put your time and effort into it.

The next step to become a LinkedIn Influencer is to consider the responsibility of sharing original and curated content for your connections. Holding on to LinkedIn without sharing your ideas is a mere waste of keeping your presence on it.

Sharing regular posts on LinkedIn using Statusbrew is one the efficient techniques. Lately, many successful businessmen and influencers have started using its publishing tool to share links and ideas on LinkedIn. It allows you to schedule your post now and for future in the easiest way.

2. Use LinkedIn to post original long-form content

LinkedIn had considered the power of writing and sharing; then rolled out its publishing platform for all its users.

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the well-known personalities on Internet today and a LinkedIn Influencer. How did he do that? The truth is, he constantly shares his content to educate, entertain and value his audience of millions on LinkedIn. The more you want to grow, the more you should connect and share with people.

There’s no shortcut.

vayner linkedin profile

A long-form post on LinkedIn is equivalent to a blog post and must be helpful and relevant to your audience. It allows you to share original content which appears to enhance your visibility on LinkedIn as a contributor.

If you’ve ever published blogs somewhere then you would not have to worry to share on the LinkedIn publishing platform, it is very easy and convenient to use and has all the necessary tools to make your article attractive.

What happens when you publish your article on LinkedIn?

  • Your original content appears in your professional profile.
  • Your content is shared with your connections on LinkedIn.
  • You get to share your thoughts with people who are not in your LinkedIn network; it allows people to follow and connect with you.
  • You can share your articles on your other social channels and increase more views, likes and comments.
linkedin publishing platform

Try to ignore duplicate content as much as you can while writing your articles. In order to become a LinkedIn Influencer, you need to be real. You are here to share your real thoughts with your audience.

Daniel Roth, the executive editor at LinkedIn shared his views with a brief course (Writing to be heard on LinkedIn) on Lynda.com. He revealed the power of writing on LinkedIn publishing platform and get it heard in the ocean with hundreds of millions of boats.

Tips for writing content on LinkedIn

  • Follow LinkedIn Influencers from your industry.
  • Try to be a source while people from your industry research on a Topic.
  • Get into the conversations on comments and see what do people need and start writing about it.
  • Always use trending topics from your industry or try to create topics that fit the needs of the people.
  • Keep yourself updated about Trending news headlines.
  • Share your personal stories that can inspire and educate your audience.
  • Use websites like Canva to create your own visuals and add them to your articles.
  • Link your articles with your work across the web.
  • Embed Youtube videos and Tweets from different sources.
  • Headlines are crucial.

LinkedIn wants you to share business-oriented content because LinkedIn is 100% business. You will connect more with your industry during your presence on LinkedIn.

Know more: How To Add Resume To LinkedIn [4 Methods + Bonus]

3. Behave like a thought leader and LinkedIn influencer

richard-branson-linkedin-profile

If Richard Branson has time to share his thought-provoking ideas on LinkedIn constantly then it’s clearly unacceptable to exhibit our busy schedule as an excuse.

On the other hand, LinkedIn Influencers are likely to get more responsibility to create and share content and become a noticeable contributor. You don’t have to wait to do that now; you already have all those necessary resources to become a LinkedIn Influencer.

Publishing articles on LinkedIn will not only make you a better writer or thinker but also a thought-leader and COMMUNICATOR.

Related: Top 100 Social Media Marketing Influencers to Follow in 2019

Conclusion: LinkedIn influencers are important to LinkedIn

People that manage LinkedIn’s editorial efforts do consider and pay attention to quality content on LinkedIn by its regularity and engagement (liking, sharing, commenting, etc.).

Remember to stay active because LinkedIn is constantly searching for new talents to feature as LinkedIn Influencer.

By making the right connections and increasing your followers through your content would definitely help you get into the LinkedIn Influencer Program

If you really work on the above the points; you will have a chance of being invited by LinkedIn to become an Influencer at their platform.

I hope this article helped you in understanding the various aspects of writing and growing big in your network. Especially, on how to become a LinkedIn influencer.

Just go ahead, start your preparation and become a LinkedIn influencer!

I would love to hear your feedback in the comment section below

Mohamed Sikandar G

Content Developer

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