Getting over the LinkedIn ick
Find work, new clients and get confident (not corporate)
If you follow me on social media (and if you don’t, why not…?) you’ll know I’m what you’d call a LinkedIn ‘stan’. I’d go so far as to say I’m a bit in love with LinkedIn.
I found the past two roles I’ve done as a journalist on LinkedIn, and I am approached often by potential new clients on there, too.
But it wasn’t always this way.
As a journalist, LinkedIn was always the ‘corporate no-go platform’. We journos hung out on Twitter, in Facebook groups, and (gasps) in person. We didn’t need to post about our work on stuffy snoozefest LinkedIn.
It’s hard to remember now when this shift happened for me, but I think it was around the time I retrained as a coach and began to see the platform as something other than a place for people in suits to share Apprentice-style musings on the world of work.
The more I hung out there the more I enjoyed it - and when work began to come in through it, I knew I had to take posting there more seriously.
If your skin is now prickling with the ‘LinkedIn ick’, I hear you. It does still have a lot of ick.
BUT
If you are looking for work and/or new clients and trying the same things over and over but not being active on LinkedIn, then I’d argue THAT is the missing part of your client/job hunting puzzle.
Whether you’re staff looking for a new staff role, a freelancer looking for clients or a freelance journalist looking for commissions, LinkedIn has a lot of opportunities that I beleive you don’t see anywhere else.
Using LinkedIn requires practice. I’m not saying you need to jump straight in at the deep end. But paddle, then splash about, learn to swim around. Because (and I’ll say it again) if the usual things aren’t working, and you’re not LinkedIn-ing, then that’s the place you need to start flexing your ‘I’m great, hire me!’ muscles.
I’ve been running a workshop today about LinkedIn for freelance journalists and we talked a lot about the LinkedIn ick. The ick of posting, of being ‘out there’ of asking for recommendations.
Here are three things to try, to begin to banish the ‘ick’:
1: Ask yourself what the ick is really about. Is it because you’re nervous to share thoughts, or you just don’t fancy being on LinkedIn. Are you worried about others judging you? (Let Them!)
2: Lurk - but lurk with purpose. If you’re scrolling, scroll pages and groups in your niche and industry. Lurk with purpose, see what others are posting in your industry.
3: Dabble with a comment or a repost. Rather than going full on into your own post, which might feel super ‘ick’, comment on someone else’s or repost a post with a few lines of your own thoughts.
But if you want to find new work, and be recognised as someone who has a niche, then it’s worth a dabble. And I’m not saying to jump in the deep end. This isn’t doing a marathon with no training - have a little jog, find your feet, try it on for size.
It’s also about being on there in case you want a change, or a change comes. If you suddenly need to look for work, then it helps if you’re already active on LinkedIn, rather than adding to it in a panic because you’re job hunting or need new clients.
A bit like going to the gym… the more you go, the more it becomes your ‘normal’ and then you begin to see results.
And the ick? Well, it starts to fade because you get used to turning up and you start to enjoy it more than you resist it.
If you’re a freelance journalist and keen to get over the ick, I’ve created a workshop for you! It’s on May 9th and we’ll dig into how to use LinkedIn to find work.
Happy Friday - and if you dare to post on LinkedIn, feel free to tag me!
xJenny
I love LinkedIn!!