Control the controllable: 5 things you can do right now to beat the LinkedIn blues

Should you focus your efforts on social media lead generation when it feels so hard to get traction?

I'm sure you've heard a lot of chat about how tough generating engagement on LinkedIn is at the moment. From my side, impressions are lower than they have ever been. I'm still seeing content creators with brilliant personal brands who are absolutely smashing it (or who appear to be if you look at the engagement they get - although let's not forget that we don't know how many leads that's translating into).

But I'm also seeing content creators with brilliant personal brands who are whispering in the corner about how little reaction they are seeing to insightful, educational content that would genuinely help their ideal customer.

It's exhausting. Add to that the state of the world, the cost of living and the impending juggle of the school holidays and it's enough to make you want to curl up under the duvet instead! Some days I'm definitely feeling that urge, so if you are too, you're not alone.

Here's what I do know, though.

When times are tough, focus on what you can control. The things that give you the best possible chance of success.

📅 Your routine. The searches you run for the most relevant people to get your business in front of. The number of connection requests you send out each day. The number of DMs you send. The number of days each week you show up on social media and share your own content. The number of days each week you run those searches, send those DMs etc. That investment will pay off if you keep at it.

📱Your scroll. Using tools like Sales Navigator helps you escape the LinkedIn scroll hole. Focus your time on building relationships, not on seeing how many more comments X got than you. Your mental health will thank you.

🏪 Your public facing assets. Think of your content and your social profile as your shop window. It needs to be there, it should be tailored to your ideal customer, it should showcase you as the expert in your field.

But you're not just relying on that shop window to get contracts signed - it's there to support the process. The magic happens in the DMs, at events, on webinars, on calls, so focus on the conversations that will make those things happen, not just on prettifying the shopfront.

🎤 Your touch-points. If your usual organic content isn't having the desired result, think broader. What would get you in front of your ideal customers? Is it showing up on video, hosting a zoom webinar, an in-person speaking engagement, a podcast, a newsletter, a collaboration?

You can't dictate your impression numbers, but you can start throwing your hat into the ring for things that will get your name into the right circles, and use your social media to support those.

⏰ Your turnaround time for reaching the right people. Social media is a long game. Consistent, strategic organic social does get results. If you need results faster, ads can do that for you. And don't limit yourself to LinkedIn, even if that's where you usually prospect. Meta ads are a great, more cost effective way to reach your people.

And if you need any help, I'm just a DM away!