How to: Maximise your time on LinkedIn

01. Decide why you are using LinkedIn.

While LinkedIn and other social media platforms can be an effective networking tool. They can be a time drain. Therefore it is important to know why you are using social media and to have a clear social media strategy.

Start with setting some actionable goals and identifying why you are using LinkedIn.

As with all social media platforms you should be using LinkedIn with purpose. For example, you might be choosing to use LinkedIn to develop relationships with people you meet while networking and keep in touch with your network. This is my primary reason for using it.

However, you might choose to use LinkedIn to:

• Get more leads and follow up on potential leads
• Warm-up potential clients and Keep in Touch
• Recruit and Find Potential Hires
• Advertise your Business
• Develop relationships with people you meet networking
• Keep in touch with old contacts
• Demonstrate your expertise in a subject area

02. Write a plan (strategy).

Next, create a strategy for your LinkedIn usage and plan out what you are going to do to achieve your goals. This might include identifying what type of leads you want to attract, what niche you are going to focus your content on, what information and content you are going to share and how your LinkedIn Strategy fits in with the rest of your marketing and networking strategies.

03. Set a Time Limit.

Once you have decided on your goals and written a strategy/plan regarding how you will achieve those goals you then need to set a target time limit/timeframe. I usually set aside 25 minutes a day and block it out in my calendar.

Whatever you choose, pick a time frame (based on how important LinkedIn is in your overall strategy) and schedule this time and stick to it. It is also important to remain focussed during this time and use this time well. It can be easy to mindlessly scroll.

If you are using a Social Media Planner or Networking Planner you can make sure you have a to-do list or action points to work on as well during the time you are spending on LinkedIn.