If you are a professional who provides a service to other businesses, you probably know that LinkedIn is the best platform. But the problem is everyone knows that and because they know that the competition there is fierce. The challenge is real, and if you aren’t equipped with the right mindset and tools, you won’t find much success there. Instead, you might drown yourself in the sea of frustration of not getting results. So here are some tips that I learned through trial and error on growing as a brand strategist on LinkedIn.

Don’t let the competition get to your head.

If you are active on LinkedIn, I can guarantee that you’ve seen at least a few people doing the same thing as you. When you see them, you get curious. So you check out their website and the quality of their work, which is probably great. Imposter syndrome creeps in, and questions like, am I good enough, are they better than me, is this a waste of time starts running in a loop inside your head.

You’ve got to understand that there will always be people similar to you, and it’s not bad. The place they are professionally and where you are might be completely different. Their clients are not your clients. So be resilient and move forward with confidence. And always remember there are millions of businesses that need your help.

Be proud of what you can bring to the table as a Strategist on LinkedIn.

Your biggest enemy is yourself. If constantly questioning yourself is stopping you from posting. And you are nitpicking everything you are going to do. Then how will people get to know you? If the quality of work is your concern, then show it to a loved one; they’ll give you feedback. If you want to grow on LinkedIn, you must consistently post content there at least two times a week. 

Niche helps a lot.

Having a niche guides the right people to you for you. So, for example, If I’m a realtor starting my new firm and am looking for help. And I see that you are a brand strategist who explicitly helps realtors build their brands. That piques my curiosity. So I’ll want to know more about you; I’ll check your posts on LinkedIn, and if I see that the posts are all about growing brands for realtors, I’m in. The rest will be up to you.

It’s about quality, not quantity.

Having a niche helps a lot. That’s right; I’m writing niche again on the list because it’s that good. 

Many people randomly start connecting with people on LinkedIn and try to grow their network that way. But that is inefficient. You need a guideline for the people you need to approach, and niche gives you that. Going back to the realtor example, if your niche is realtors. Then you’ll only have to look for realtors on LinkedIn, connect with them, and engage them in conversations. 

Small talk if going in hard isn’t your thing.

Once your people have started to connect with you, you need to talk to them. There are two approaches brand strategists take here. One is creating a template where you need to add the connection’s name and send the message to them. The message would include the services you offer and an invitation to talk with them. But here is a more straightforward way, read through their profile and see what they are doing. Don’t take more than 10 seconds, then message them about it. A single sentence is more than enough. If they are interested, they’ll get back to you. It’s as simple as that.

It’s ok to test out stuff as a strategist on LinkedIn.

If there is a new feature coming out or you have a unique idea in mind that you want to try out. Go for it because it might give you the extra edge. Changing your profile bio and title also helps, so don’t be reluctant to test out new ideas.

There are always going to be naysayers.

Don’t let what others may or may not think to stop you from putting content out. Remember, some people will love you, and some will hate you. So don’t mind it because you probably don’t like all people, so it’s unfair to expect everybody to like you. Like Nike says, “just do it”.

Be helpful

Doing good always brings in good. So if you genuinely try to help others, good things will come to you. Life is rarely just transactional. Going out of your way to help others can impact your life.

By the way if you need help feel free to connect with me for a chat here or on LinkedIn.

Think of LinkedIn as a game

LinkedIn is perfect to think of like a game. Competition, quiz badges, and more features make it easier for you to grow there. Here’s a video where Chris Do talks to Jocelyn Macdonald. Where Joce shares the little-known strategies for boosting LinkedIn engagement. By working with the algorithm rather than against it.

It takes time and effort to grow on any platform, but if you do it the right way, the chances of LinkedIn being massive support for your growth as a brand strategist are enormous. So be persistent.