How to sell on LinkedIn

LinkedIn, of all social media platforms, is definitely the most interesting one. Interesting as in - how can I use it as a freelancer? Should I even use it? How can I transform leads into clients on there? So many questions, we get it! Let's debunk some of the myths!

How to leverage LinkedIn as a freelancer?

No matter what profession you are in, you definitely should have a LinkedIn presence. Why? The main goal is to use the networking aspect of it and to create valuable, sharable content that your audience will interact with. The main goal isn’t to immediately find new clients, it’s to interact with others in your space and use that to get on your new clients radar.

Why is LinkedIn so scary?

Sharing your story on Instagram or Facebook might feel more comfortable to you. For many, LinkedIn can seem like a boxed, suited-up platform where you need to act super professional. Including using corporate language because you might feel like you aren’t hitting the target if you don’t.

You are trying to translate your brand from Instagram to LinkedIn and chances are, you’ll feel like you have to layer up and aren’t truly yourself anymore. Which - we hate to break it to you - is not the case at all! Look at Gary Vay-Ner-Chuk on Instagram and LinkedIn. He’s himself. Through and through. He doesn’t use corporate language, so why should you? You don’t need to tone down your brand for LinkedIn.

Do I need LinkedIn premium?

If you plan on using the connection piece a lot, then it’s worth spending money on LinkedIn premium - which would be a business expense and the Lunafi app can help you track those! If you are trying to make more than a hundred connections a month, yes, splurge on LinkedIn premium.

For everyone else just starting out with LinkedIn, get content out there, and slowly build your connections and your followers.

Be clear on what’s your goal

Are you looking to find more leads and sales to your mastermind, to your business? Are you looking to promote your new book or course or are you looking to get more speaking engagements? What is it that you're looking for? Get clear on that, so you can build a path from there.
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Translate your goals into a path in your next step. For example if you are a public speaking coach - are there specific industries that you're looking to target to do speaking events for? Are you connecting with the right people that would hire somebody like you?

Once you identify those things, you can start creating valuable content that hits those pain points.

Connect with others

Connect with others in your industry. Make sure to leave meaningful comments under posts and not just copy paste invites to connect with a bazillion people. Those meaningful comments will bring you further in getting in front of your ideal client and help with having intentional business conversations, which is good. And that certainly will help with closing the sales cycle.

How to actually sell on LinkedIn

It’s crucial for your content to add value. Use LinkedIn for the relationship building opportunity. LinkedIn is a top of funnel business tool, just like Instagram or Facebook. What’s the next step in you funnel? How can you close a potential client? Is it to make money? Is it for them to download your freebie? Or download your podcast episode?

There’s this fine balance of getting too salesy and sharing actual valuable content. Sharing nothing personal and then try to sell something - it’s not going to work!

LinkedIn marketing hacks

Play around with video and picture content. Utilize the new poll feature. Pictures can we raw and unedited, they don’t need to be professional all the time. For videos, use some that are around 30 seconds or less.

When you start searching hashtags on LinkedIn, you can find the right people for your audience. If you are a photographer and look up hashtags around photographer on LinkedIn, you’ll probably find related content, your competitor’s business. And the people that engage with those posts, those are your ideal client. Commenting and responding to those posts and adding your own tricks to it, then connect with every single one of the people you interact with. Those are your ideal clients.

LinkedIn is a really great place for you as a freelancer and we hope that excites you to know that you can be very specific in who you get in front of and who you connect with.

Lindsay is a LinkedIn expert for leads and sales. She started her business in 2020, helping entrepreneurs leverage LinkedIn, which she believes is a super-powerful business tool in order to help you achieve your business goals.