REAL TALK for business owners and entrepreneurs:

It’s time we get our heads out of the weeds, put our Big Kid Pants on, and start thinking about the BIG PICTURE.

I totally get the magnetic pull to keep your head down for this season or focus on just keeping that head above water (mixing my metaphors, but you get it). I mean, EVERY message out there feels like doomsday with…“Recession” this, “downturn” that, The Great Resignation, Child Care Crisis, the 597th variant.

Yes, it’s a lot. Yes, it’s very real.

But I really want to help you shift your focus from ALL the problems to starting to think through the innovative solutions that can come from the opportunities these events present for your business and industry.

If you’re a truly dedicated business owner, I know you can do WAY more than just survive what feels like the era of “everything’s impossible.”
No, I actually believe the next 1-2 years can be your PRIME chance to reach heights you never thought possible.

And, spoiler? I believe LinkedIn can play a big role in capitalizing on this PRIME OPPORTUNITY.

But first, let’s look at the real facts behind what’s going on in the world right now.

3 Things Business Owners and Entrepreneurs are Facing in the Current Economic and Social Climate

1. People are “tightening their purse strings.”
   This one is definitely true, BUT that doesn’t mean people aren’t willing to invest. During economic climates such as the one we’re in, it’s natural for everyone to head to their bank statements and “cut expenses.” The key here is, do your clients + customers see working with you or buying from you as an “expense” or an “investment?” Now, this isn’t a question of whether it IS an expense or an investment. I know YOU see the value in what you do for your clients, but do your CLIENTS really see it? Even more than that, does the audience that consumes your content see that and believe it?
   
2. Paid marketing has taken a major profitability hit.
   In light of the iOS changes within the past year and a variety of other shifts in the marketplace, most businesses that have relied on paid marketing efforts in the past are desperately tweaking their strategies. Organic marketing is coming back to the forefront, but it can be REALLY frustrating as a business owner when your organic reach feels completely variable and out of your control.
   
3. Many are in their “reevaluate + redefine era,” which tends to mean more internal exploration and less external investing.
   Last week we talked about how I prefer the terminology The Great Realignment over The Great Resignation because it’s a better indicator of what’s actually happening in the workforce at the moment. But if it really is a collective “realignment,” that means there’s a lot of THINKING going on in the world. And whether your business serves other businesses (B2B) or works directly with the consumer (B2C), people tend to spend less when they’re in an internal exploration or a “what do I REALLY want phase?”
   

3 Ways Business Owners + Entrepreneurs can Leverage LinkedIn for Growth (when growth isn’t the norm) in the Next 1-2 Years

1. Get out of your echo chamber.
   Did you know that 30% of LinkedIn users are not on Instagram? That means out of the 830 million members on LinkedIn, roughly 249 million people could be an audience you’d never reach on Instagram. You might be thinking, okay I’m on LinkedIn, but I never use it! How many people are active? Statistics show that about 40% of those members are active daily. So, even if we take that 30% from the active members, you’re still looking at almost 100 million people who could be your next best client or customer. As a fringe benefit, those SAME conversations you’re tired of hearing on Instagram look a little different on LinkedIn. The platform is not quite as overrun by trends and overdone tactics, but rather is a place where people take part in elevated conversations with a desire toward making the workforce and the world even better.
   
2. WIN with organic reach + a powerful personal presence.
   If you’ve ever said something along the lines of, “Ugh, this algorithm is tanking all of my content” or “I don’t think my audience even sees my stuff anymore,” your business could really benefit from prioritizing LinkedIn. This platform, as opposed to other widely-used social media platforms, really allows organic reach to win. That means if you go in to build the Powerful Personal Presence you know you’re capable of with content that gives value and offers insight, YOUR CONTENT WILL GET SEEN and your network will grow because of it.
   Plus, people aren’t just going to LinkedIn to numb themselves out of boredom quite like they do on Instagram. Users are intentionally turning to LinkedIn FOR insight, treating it as a place to grow and expand their minds rather than a place to shut OFF. That means your potential audience on LinkedIn WANTS to hear your take on things.
   
3. Interact with people who are ready to do business.
   Remember how I mentioned above that LinkedIn users are heading to the platform to gain insight? They’re also on the platform with a business mindset from the get-go. These aren’t personal accounts that are selling to you and calling it “sharing.” The community on LinkedIn has clear intentions: they want to connect, network, and learn in a way that contributes to the growth of their career, company, or business pursuits. People on LinkedIn are READY to do business, and that means they may be more ready to invest in experts and pay to go further, faster. Plus, smart business minds see things more frequently as investments rather than expenses, which can really help your business during this economic climate.

Bonus tip: You never know what opportunities will come your way on LinkedIn, whether that’s more speaking engagements for your thought leadership or an out-of-the-blue remote full-time job that was the backup plan you never knew you really wanted.

Ultimately, the people who continue doing what they’re doing right now when it comes to marketing, creating connections, and making sales on platforms that were never really BUILT for that kind of thing may be able to keep their heads just above water in the 1-2 years following this big shift in the economy and the way the world does business.

But, I know you want more than that. You want to thrive. You want to excel. You want to find new opportunities rather than just banking on your old ones. And I know you can do that by leveraging LinkedIn for your business.

Ready to get started? I’d love to teach you the basics in my LinkedIn Bootcamp! The cool thing is, you’ve already got a ton of content that you can leverage on this platform once you learn the ins and outs of how it all works. Head here to get immediate access!