On this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, I want to talk about LinkedIn.
Specifically, I want to talk about one trick that I think is well worth talking about in detail, because it will help you get a lot more views of your profile, and a lot more exposure on LinkedIn. It won’t cost you a penny either – all it’ll take is a little bit of your time each day, for probably a few days, maybe a week or two, and then you’ll start seeing some results.
This is about getting a Top Voice badge on LinkedIn. If you’ve never heard of the Top Voice badge, pay attention, because you’re going to love this.
If you have seen Top Voice badges and wonder how you get them, you also need to pay attention to this.
If you’ve already got a Top Voice badge, then you may as well just turn off, because this isn’t for you.
What exactly is a LinkedIn Top Voice badge?
So, what is a Top Voice badge? On your LinkedIn profile, you may see on other people’s profiles that they have a badge on top of their profile that says they’re a Top Voice in web design, or HR, or maybe IT. Some of them have Top Voice General, which means they’re really good at overall subjects on LinkedIn, and that they should be listened to, as what they post is important.
Now, these badges aren’t paid for. It’s not something you even have to have a premium account for.
First of all, you need to have added your skills on LinkedIn. So, for example, on mine, I’ve got topics like SEO (search engine optimisation), podcasting, web design, that kind of stuff.
The things you do that are relevant to your industry can be added as plain tech skills in the skills section of your LinkedIn profile, so you’ll be able to click on any one of those skills to go through to see a filter of the topics that are on LinkedIn about those skills.
You’ll see, for example, people that have those skills. You’ll see subjects that are being talked about, and you’ll see articles about those skills. It’s the articles you’re going to want, because these are articles that LinkedIn created, so that other people can contribute to them.
When you click on one of those articles, you’ll go through into essentially a page where you can submit content to that article. So, it’ll be kind of like a summary idea about a particular topic.
For example, I’ve got one on networking, and it’ll be things like how to network when you’re introverted. I’ve written one about how it’s a common myth that you can’t network when you’re introverted, because you need to be an extrovert to network.
Then, people can submit their responses. You can scroll down, and you’ll get some tips on how to network when you’re introverted, or how networking online can be good for when you’re introverted.
People will put comments on that. As you comment on each one of those posts, you’ll get tracked by LinkedIn for how much you are interacting, and how much value you’re giving. You can even like and thumbs up other people’s comments on those posts as well, so I’d suggest you find a topic that you want to be seen as an expert in, whatever is relevant to your business.
So first, make sure that skill is added as one of your skills on your LinkedIn profile, then scroll down on your profile to your skills section. Click on that skill to go through onto the feed on LinkedIn where it shows you people that have those skills, and to see posts about those skills.
It will show you companies or jobs related to those skills, and there will be articles, too. Click on one of those articles, and it will tell you where you rank in the top 100% of people who are posting content about it.
As soon as you’ve posted something, it will take about a day to update. It’ll tell you where you rank – maybe you’re in the top 90%, or the top 20%, and LinkedIn will tell you that you need to be in the top 5% in order to be eligible for a badge on that subject.
The more content you post, the more articles you contribute that are related to that subject – and you want to be doing it in a consistent way, so maybe three or four comments a day over the space of about a week or two weeks.
You’ll find that you creep up that percentage (or creep down, as it may be).
You’ll get into the top 20%, the top 10%, and the more you comment, the more value that you give, you’ll get into the top 5%. You’ll then be eligible for a Top Voice badge within that skill category. Eventually, that badge will appear on your LinkedIn profile, making you a Top Voice in that skill.
Increase your exposure – at no cost
This will increase the exposure that your profile gets, which will increase the number of people who see it, and will increase the number of profile views and potentially the number of inquiries.
It’s about getting more people to see you. Once you’ve got that with one category, you can do it with another category, or another skill. Again, you want to make sure it’s the skill that you want to be known for. Don’t pick anything just because it’s not competitive – pick something that’s relevant to your industry, something that you want to be getting business for.
You’ll find yourself creeping up the percentage again with that, and the more of those skills you do, the more you’ll go from having a Top Voice within one of those skill sets, to having a Top Voice badge, to becoming an expert on LinkedIn. Again, that will dramatically increase the number of profile views you are getting.
The more people that see you, the more people will engage with you, and the more people will potentially reach out to you. You’ll be able to get more business through LinkedIn, and this costs nothing. It doesn’t cost you a single penny, and it’s really easy to do. The only thing it costs you is a bit of time, and in fact, as a little secret, you don’t actually have to do it yourself. You could use a freelancer for this, or a PA to do it on your behalf, assuming you trust them, as you’ll have to give them access to your LinkedIn account, and they’ll need to have a very good standard of English, and know how to write in your tone of voice. This could be a member of your staff, or a business partner – it doesn’t have to be you. Although, usually, it’s better if it is.
So, give this a try, and let me know what you think. Send me a message about it, or give me a comment on YouTube if you found this tip useful. And by all means, give me a thumbs up on whatever you’re listening this to on, and give me a five star rating.
Hopefully this has been useful, and I’ll catch you on the next episode!
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk
