How to Turn Linkedin Into an “ATM”

Do you want to boost your business ?

Yeah, well, so does everyone else in this economy. But you can stand out in the crowd …And through LinkedIn, there’s a solid way to do that.

Having a strong personal brand on LinkedIn can lead to a lot of great opportunities! The best one is transforming that personal brand into an ATM!

By leveraging your network and expertise, you can create a steady flow of income … And let’s be honest, who wouldn’t like that?

A personal brand by itself won’t generate money. That will give you likes, shares, and comments…That’s fantastic for our personal satisfaction, but it, unfortunately, doesn’t pay the bills.

Instead, your personal brand is the tool that will eventually lead you to your very own ATM.

Ironically, the three steps to unlock this power stand for Attention, Trust, and Monetization (ATM); in that specific order.

1️⃣ A = Attention

To achieve any momentum, you must first get your audience’s attention. It’s no easy task, especially with so many competitors and online voices aiming for similar goals. This is even more difficult in a noisy medium like social media. But here is how to achieve that:

 Define Your Target Audience

Who are you talking to? You need to be super precise because if you speak to everyone, your voice will drown.

• Get a paper and pencil, and here’s your homework :
• List down at least three types of target audiences that you are trying to reach.
• Research your target audience.
• Create buyer personas for each of the types.
• Identify their pain points and potential solutions.

 Optimize Your Profile

Now that you know who the audience is, every piece of your LinkedIn profile should speak to that persona ️.

• Update your profile picture into a professional headshot.
• Design a cover image showcasing what you can offer & who you are.
• Write a telling headline to complement this (not your job title).
• Craft the About and Employment sections with proof of your experience, showing skills and what makes you an expert.

 Content Strategy & Plan

Time to build your content plan and calendar!  Pull out your Excel sheets and divide it into Type, Topic and Format ‍.

• 3 types of content: Educational, Motivational, and Entertaining.
• For example, educational content can be tips & tricks. Motivational content can be personal achievements. Finally, the entertaining content can be behind the scenes at your office.
• Get creative with your topics in the way you write, your tone and voice,
• Diversify content formats between pictures, graphics, videos etc..

2️⃣ T = Trust

As we live in an era of misinformation and fake news, trust has become the most precious currency on the internet. But how can we achieve this?

 Consistency

Post your content and show up consistently. This includes how much you post and what timings you choose to post at, becoming a regular voice on your audience’s feed.

Long Form Content

Invest time in creating LinkedIn articles, a newsletter, live audio events or video content.

This offers a special kind of content where your audience can subscribe to read or join a live discussion. This kind of connection is not easily created through small day-to-day posts.

For example, if you have 15k followers, you might have 4k subscribed to your newsletter, and this creates a bond with that specific group.

Conversations

Let it be known that the internet is not about one-way communication and passive scrolling is not welcome here ❌…

It’s not all about your content. Meaning you need to make sure that you’re talking to other people about their content, reposting and commenting on things that aren’t just yours.

When you post something, you must stick around to respond to comments or direct messages. Being as responsive as possible to supercharge trust.

This helps with the algorithm because it favors fast responses, rewarding you by further exposing your content to a bigger circle! A great opportunity to connect with people you don’t know.

3️⃣ M = Monetization

The hard bit.

You’ve done the content creation and strategizing part, and now it’s time to move to the DMs. Metaphorically welcoming people to your place turns your conversations into phone calls. And phone calls turn into and business meetings to close deals!

While the opportunity doesn’t always present itself, be ready with a powerful win-win pitch. Do your research that addresses “how to solve their problem” by painting a picture of the results.

For example, if you are a coach or a consultant, paint the picture about the “status” that your customers will have when they work with you.

Will working with you solve their pains? Diminish their current fears? Achieve their desires?

Please give them the result of what it means to work with you…Their dream solution of “This is what you will be able to achieve after we work together”.

Finally, do you want to build an effective personal brand today?

The “LinkedIn Influence Accelerator” is my course for founders, coaches, and communicators. It is crafted for professionals who want to create an effective personal brand that generates opportunities! 

Start boosting your personal brand now!