Ever feel like there are too many marketing platforms and too little time to master them all?
And so, if someone was to say to you, “hey, have you thought about using LinkedIn to grow your private practice?”, you’d probably roll your eyes and think “I barely get time to update my personal facebook status, never mind think about LinkedIn”.
But, what if there was a way to utilize LinkedIn with the minimal amount of effort for the maximum amount of return…would you want to hear more?
Then you’re in the right place, as LinkedIn expert Beth Granger shares her 3 top tips for a private practice owner wanting to get started on this powerful platform.
But, before we dive into that, let’s first address the elephant in the room…
Why, as a private practice owner would you even bother with something like LinkedIn?
The answer’s simple: because you’re a professional and it’s a professional platform for professional people. Whether you’re looking to build your personal brand, or simply connect with other audiologists/physicians, it’s worth having a presence on it at the very least.
So, now we’ve established why, let’s look at how you can utilize this platform for your private practice…
LinkedIn Top Tip #1: Create A Striking Profile (at least the top half of it, anyway)
Let’s be real here, no one has time to be reading everyone’s life stories in their Linkedin profiles, which means there’s very little time to catch attention.
As a private practice owner, it’s understandable that you’d want to have a ‘highly professional shop front’, but don’t confuse professional with cookie cutter.
Take Beth’s profile for example…
What immediately catches your attention when you look at it?
It’s got to be the blue header image, right?
Uncluttered, bright, punchy and a clear representation of what industry Beth is in, plus the kind of vibe you can expect from her brand, this is a brilliant example of creating a strong first impression and, other than a good profile picture, is by far the best place to start with your LinkedIn profile.
If you haven’t got access to a graphic designer, then you can knock a header image up in Canva, or any other low-entry design platform.
The other thing you will want to consider is ensuring your 220-character bio below your name gives enough of an explanation as to what you do and is punchy enough to show a bit of your personality.
This is a good thing to do as, especially in an industry like hearing care, where, let’s face it, there’s a bit of an ‘identity crisis’ going on, as showing your personality can make you approachable and instantly separate you from your peers, which, for the person who could be looking to work with you, is a powerful thing.
LinkedIn Top Tip #2: Show Your Expertise Through ‘Pinning’ Your Content
As much as people like to say “your LinkedIn profile isn’t your resumé”, that’s not entirely true, as it’s a brilliant place to not just tell people what you can do, but also show them.
The ‘featured’ section on your profile is your chance to show expertise by featuring some of your content, be it articles, videos, or even your top performing posts.
Don’t worry if you haven’t got a bank of content though, as it’s really easy to write short articles on the platform itself – in fact, LinkedIn prefer you doing this.
If you’re just getting started and need some inspo on what to write about, you could start by writing down the top 10 questions you get asked as a hearing care professional, and simply write your answer in blog-form.
LinkedIn Top Tip #3: Strike Up A Conversation With People Who Look Your Way 👀
One of the coolest features of LinkedIn is its ‘who viewed your profile’ feature, which, exactly as it suggests is where you can see who has viewed your profile, (up to a limit; to unlock all the views you must upgrade to Premium) and check them out.
A lot of people only pay mind to this feature for vanity reasons, but you can go one smart step further and use it as a way to strike up a conversation.
If you believe the person who has viewed your profile is someone who would be worth having a chat with, then private message them and say “hey, I noticed you viewed my profile, how are you doing?” – simple as that!
It cuts the sleaze, is completely upfront and is totally direct, which, in a sea full of sharks, makes fishing that little easier for you.
And there you have it – 3 top tips directly from the LinkedIn expert herself. Now, which one are you going to try?