As a contractor or wannabe contractor, being visible on social media channels like LinkedIn is vital to your continued success. That means not just being visible when you find out your contract’s coming to an end and you urgently need a role. Time and time again we see a LinkedIn account – whose contract clearly hasn't been renewed – lifting their head above the parapet and posting for what looks like their first time in months. It can look a little something like this:
“Hey. You might not remember me, but has anybody got any roles?”
It’s true. No one likes a “pop-up”. When you’re online shopping and a new window automatically appears to interrupt your experience, it’s jarring to say the least. So, don’t be a “pop-up” contractor who appears on people’s feeds with the best intentions, but doesn’t achieve the required results.
You need to be consistently visible on LinkedIn and it needs to be as routine as brushing your teeth. That way you’ll constantly be positioning yourself as the authority in your niche, you'll be omnipresent on your ideal client's news feed, and you'll be front of mind when they have a piece of work that needs delivering.
But there’s just one small problem.
In the life of a contractor, how can you constantly market your business when multiple responsibilities are pulling at you? There’s no denying that contracting is busy and sometimes it can feel like “something’s got to give”. Oftentimes that “something” is your own marketing. Don't worry, we’ve all been there. A contractor is typically a one-man band and is their own sales, marketing and fulfilment engine, so we’ve seen many a contractor shelve their marketing when life gets busy.
But what if I told you there was a way to maintain your marketing activity on LinkedIn, even when times get tough?
Social media has become an integral part of many aspects of our lives, so it’s no surprise that staying active and engaged on social media accounts is a daunting task. Though being “always on” can feel like the best way to stay connected, there’s a better way to manage your time: utilising a social media scheduling tool. These tools can help you plan ahead and spread out your posts across multiple social media accounts and platforms, allowing you to stay focused with other tasks at hand. Social media scheduling tools take the hassle out of managing your networks while still giving you the ability to create meaningful content and engage with your audience. Here are some examples.
With HubSpot's Social Media Management Software, you can manage your social media accounts in one place with a unified platform that allows you to publish content directly to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with great convenience. In addition, you can also connect your blogs seamlessly and automatically share latest blog posts when they get published on Hubspot. Social media scheduling is made easier too with suggestions for the optimum times to post so that you can reach out to the maximum number of potential customers effectively. The campaigns tool associated with this Hubspot software also helps you track related marketing assets which helps measure effectiveness easily.
The Oktopost Social Media Management Platform was designed with the modern B2B landscape in mind, offering businesses an intuitive solution to manage their presence on key networks. This comprehensive platform allows users to easily schedule large volumes of social content without the hassle, track performance metrics in real-time, and maintain seamless integration with marketing hub platforms. As your business expands its reach into the world of social media, Oktopost will be an invaluable asset in streamlining your process.
Hoosuite is the world's first social media management platform and has been evolving their software to enable businesses to leverage multiple platforms for customer outreach and customer service purposes. They have also developed comprehensive analytics and insights to help organisations of all sizes gain a better understanding of customers. Social media scheduling tools from Hootsuite make it easy for companies to put their strategies into action and get ahead of their competitors. Through their presence at the forefront of social innovation, Hootsuite is helping organisations get the most out of their social media investments.
It’s no secret that social media scheduling tools have revolutionised the way that brands, businesses and entrepreneurs plan, create, and execute their content strategies. Popular 3rd party tools like Hootsuite have made it easier to post updates across multiple social media platforms simultaneously, saving time and providing valuable insights. However, while they can be useful resources, it’s important to remember that by posting your content through 3rd party apps you risk limiting your reach as links are often shortened by the app itself.
Because a contractor's time is limited, how you spend time on your marketing is vital. Before you think about using a 3rd party scheduling tool you need to consider if your business can handle a limited reach on your posts. Fortunately, LinkedIn have released a new feature recently that could enable you to still write and schedule your posts in advance, without being punished by the algorithms.
LinkedIn is the go-to social platform for professionals looking to network and find opportunities. You can connect with other colleagues, establish yourself as an expert in your field, and create a LinkedIn profile that functions as a type of digital resume.
LinkedIn has recently enhanced their platform by adding a feature that enables users to schedule posts directly from within the platform. This can be hugely beneficial for those trying to stay active and visible on LinkedIn. Since the algorithm prioritizes users who post often, scheduling posts directly on LinkedIn can make it easier for individuals to maintain their online presence without having to put in extra effort every day - allowing them more time to focus on their delivery as a contracting professional.
LinkedIn’s new scheduling tool allows you to select the proposed date and time for your post, while providing a view of all your existing scheduled content
Posting regularly on LinkedIn is a proven method of developing interest in your services (our Academy members can vouch for that), but it’s only half the battle.
After a recruitment agent or potential client stops scrolling and you arrest their attention, the next thing they’re going to do is click through to your LinkedIn profile (everyone wants to “meet the author”).
So, if your LinkedIn profile isn’t optimised, taking advantage of every LinkedIn feature available to you, your lead will go cold and you’ll be back to square one again.
If you know your LinkedIn profile’s seen better days, and you want it looking like it belongs to a contractor who gets taken seriously, join our Circle community for free and find out directly from contractors who generate leads from LinkedIn every day.
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