Not a LinkedIn Enthusiast? 5 Tips to Maintain a Presence with Little Commitment

Like many in sales and marketing positions, I consider myself a LinkedIn power user. It allows me to stay connected with prospects, publish insights, post ads, etc. However, social networks can be incredibly time consuming, which is why I'm sharing 5 tips to help you maintain your personal LinkedIn presence with little commitment.

First, let's start with a few reasons why staying active on LinkedIn is important. 

You will:

• Maintain credibility with prospects and customers 
• Keep in contact with all business connections 
• Stay up to date on industry news 
• Track your competitors

That being said, here are 5 tips to maintain a LinkedIn presence in just a few minutes a week. 

1. Make sure your profile is up to date

The most important aspect of LinkedIn is for other professionals to find you easily. Make sure your name, title and company are accurate. Add a recent picture so people can see who is on the other side of the phone. 

2. Connect with each professional you met with that week

Had a few conference calls or presentations last week? Connect with everyone you interacted with. You never know when they may become a valuable connection!

3. Join a group or association 

There is likely to be at least one group on LinkedIn that you can really benefit from being a part of. Using the search bar, find a group in your industry that would be useful to join. Check back once a week or receive a weekly email digest to stay up to date on the latest conversations, or participate yourself. Some example groups may be:

"Young Professionals of Minneapolis"

"Minneapolis Information Technology Professionals"

or "Area Association of Realtors"

4. Follow Influencers

Influencers are leaders in their industries, geographies and seniorities. They publish content about broad topics of interest such as leadership, management, hiring and firing, disruption, and how to succeed. There are not many places you can read such authentic content from high power people.

Their posts can be found under Interests > Pulse, and are labeled Influencer.

To follow an influencer, simply use the search bar or look at the posts listing. Some influencers I follow:

Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and Barack Obama 

5. Like and engage with others' content

Your LinkedIn 'news' feed is the main listing on your homepage. Many of your connections will either share interesting articles or post a career update. Engage with this content by liking or commenting to show that you are interested in what they are up to.

By following these tips for just 5-10 minutes each week, you will be more informed and connected with your industry and network.