Becoming a LinkedIn strategist requires building expertise in using LinkedIn for business objectives. This involves understanding LinkedIn’s features and capabilities, learning best practices for optimizing profiles, connecting with the right people, building engagement, running effective ad campaigns, and analyzing results. With dedication and the right skills, you can position yourself as a LinkedIn expert and strategist.
What does a LinkedIn strategist do?
A LinkedIn strategist helps businesses and professionals use LinkedIn more effectively to achieve goals like:
- Building an influential and recognizable personal brand
- Growing an engaged audience and network of connections
- Generating leads and new business opportunities
- Recruiting top talent
- Promoting content and increasing visibility
- Conducting market research and gaining customer insights
Strategists have deep knowledge of how LinkedIn works and stay on top of new developments on the platform. They advise clients on best practices across LinkedIn, including optimizing profiles, content posting strategy, connecting with the right people, engaging the audience, advertising, analytics, and more. Their strategic insight helps clients fully leverage LinkedIn to meet their goals.
Gain extensive experience using LinkedIn
To become an expert at LinkedIn, you need to actively use it yourself across functions. Some recommendations:
- Build out your personal profile fully, making sure to optimize keywords, provide a strong headline, and highlight achievements.
- Connect with a wide range of professionals in your industry and related fields. Engage meaningfully, not just random connection requests.
- Join targeted LinkedIn groups and participate in discussions to build connections and authority.
- Follow influential thought leaders and brands on LinkedIn to gain insight into their content strategies.
- Post your own content regularly, whether articles, images, videos, or presentations.
- Experiment with different types of content and post formats to see what resonates best with your audience and gets engagement.
- Analyze your metrics and results over time. See which kinds of posts draw the most profile views, Shares, reactions, and comments.
- Run LinkedIn ad campaigns, even starting small, to understand the platform’s advertising options and how to optimize them.
This hands-on experience will give you a strong practical foundation in how to strategically build your brand and network on LinkedIn as an individual. The more you engage actively, the more you’ll learn about using LinkedIn effectively.
Study LinkedIn’s features, capabilities, and best practices
Beyond your own use of LinkedIn, invest time learning all about LinkedIn Marketing Solutions. Some key areas to focus on include:
- LinkedIn Profiles: Best practices for crafting an optimized profile for individuals and businesses, using keywords, rich media, optimizing headline and summary for SEO, etc.
- LinkedIn Pages: How to create and optimize Company Pages, Showcase Pages, School Pages, etc. Engagement opportunities.
- LinkedIn Groups: How to identify relevant niche groups to join. Tips for building community and cultivating engagement as a group member.
- Content Strategy: Types of posts and content formats that generate high engagement. Ideal posting frequency and timing.
- LinkedIn Ads: Different ad formats and placements available. How to target ads effectively. Tips for optimizing ads and lowering cost per click.
- LinkedIn Analytics: available data on post engagement, pageviews, ad performance, demographics, and more. How to track and measure results.
- LinkedIn Recruiter: How to use LinkedIn’s Recruiter tool to identify and source strong candidates.
- Sales Solutions: How to generate leads, build relationships, and boost sales through tools like Sales Navigator.
Continuously educating yourself and staying updated on new LinkedIn developments is crucial for becoming an expert strategist.
Get certified in LinkedIn skills
LinkedIn offers free certifications that can help demonstrate your expertise as a strategist. Consider getting certified in skills like:
- LinkedIn Marketing
- LinkedIn Advertising
- LinkedIn Content Marketing
- LinkedIn Sales
- LinkedIn Recruiter
You can add these certifications to your LinkedIn profile. This provides tangible proof of your capabilities with LinkedIn Marketing Solutions.
Acquire analytical skills
Strong analytical skills are vital for a LinkedIn strategist. You need to be able to:
- Interpret data and metrics on LinkedIn activity.
- Identify key insights from LinkedIn analytics.
- A/B test different strategies and content types.
- Determine what is and isn’t working.
- Optimize based on data-driven insights.
Take online courses in data analysis and analytics. Get experience running A/B tests and experiments then assessing the results. Develop critical thinking skills to derive meaning from data.
Build a portfolio
As you gain skills in optimizing LinkedIn profiles, crafting engaging content, running ads, and analyzing data, compile examples of your work into a portfolio. Having a portfolio to showcase allows you to tangibly demonstrate your expertise to potential clients or employers. Ways to build your portfolio include:
- Your own fully optimized LinkedIn profile.
- Sample profiles you’ve optimized for brands, individuals, or fictional sample clients.
- Anonymous screenshots of LinkedIn ad performance.
- Charts visualizing increases in engagement on Company Pages or Groups you manage.
- A case study of a LinkedIn advertising or content marketing campaign.
Treat your portfolio like a professional body of work showcasing the quality and impact of your LinkedIn strategy services.
Network and look for opportunities
As you build up your skills, experience, certifications, and portfolio, start networking and pursuing real-world opportunities to apply your LinkedIn expertise. Reach out to your connections, brands you’d like to work with, or LinkedIn Marketing Solutions partners. Share that you specialize in LinkedIn strategy and are looking for new consulting, advising, or content creation opportunities. Offer to give their current LinkedIn presence a free audit. Use LinkedIn Jobs to look for full-time or contract roles as a LinkedIn strategist. Experience will further validate your expertise.
Keep learning and improving
LinkedIn is constantly evolving with new features and algorithm changes. Commit to lifelong learning so your knowledge stays relevant. Set Google Alerts on topics like “LinkedIn algorithm” and “LinkedIn marketing.” Check LinkedIn’s blog and help center regularly for platform updates. Continue taking certifications or courses as they are released. Stay on top of new offerings under Products like Creator Mode, Newsletters, and Live Events. Keep building your skills and expertise over time to have a long and impactful career as a LinkedIn strategist.
Conclusion
Becoming a skilled LinkedIn strategist requires dedication over time to build practical experience, knowledge, certifications, analytical capabilities, a portfolio, and a professional network. Leverage LinkedIn to establish yourself as an expert. Consistently improve by learning about new LinkedIn developments. With the right strategic approach, you can become a sought-after advisor on using LinkedIn to achieve business and career growth.