How to Make the Most of LinkedIn: 4 Top Tips for Therapists

Let me ask you a question: Are you one hundred percent confident that, as a busy therapist, you’re really making the most of Linkedin?

Are you certain that the time you do invest is paying out the kind of dividends you were expecting when you first created your profile?

Are you getting what you need when it comes to strengthening your brand as a therapist, enhancing your reputation as an expert and achieving both your own personal goals and those of your practice.

If you’ll indulge me in a moment of assumption, dear reader, I’m guessing that you answered in the negative to at least one -if not more- of the above.

Why?

Because you’ve taken the trouble to read this far already, that’s why.

After all, as a self-employed therapist in private practice, you suffer from that age-old problem of too much to do and too little time to do it in. So I don’t for a minute expect you to spend any more of your time reading this guide if you’re already confident that your Linkedin game is on point.

So yes, fellow therapists, we’re all here for the same reason.

We’re overworked, pushed for time, and yet still recognise what a tremendous tool Linkedin can be for helping us to increase our reputation, seek new opportunities, and grow our practice.

The big question then, of course, is how do we fit it all in?

Simple.

We can all start using Linkedin more efficiently and more effectively by following these five easy-to-follow steps:

Table of Contents

1. Set Time Aside to Work on Linkedin

They say you’ve got to spend money to make money, and in many ways, the same goes for your precious time.

When you dedicate a set amount of time to spend on making the most of Linkedin, you’re going to be far more productive and focused than you would be if you simply checked in whenever a spare second allowed.

Think about it:

With your schedule as packed as it is, how many times have you relegated Linkedin use to those odd spare moments when your mind is on other things?

Perhaps you log in while enjoying your first morning coffee.

Maybe you use the social networking site as a way to still feel productive when the dreaded afternoon slump drains you of any real motivation.

Or it could be that you simply steal a few five minutes at the end of the day just so you can check ‘Linkedin’ off your never-ending To-Do list.

Whatever the case may be, you hardly feel like it was time well spent, do you?

In all likelihood, you find yourself going back, time and time again, filling up more minutes just so you can feel like you achieved something.

Set some dedicated time aside, however, and the increased attention and effort you can devote to Linkedin means you’ll be more focused on achieving your Linkedin goals, thus saving lots of valuable minutes that you can spend working doing what you do best:

Helping clients.

2. Make the Most of Linkedin With a Game Plan

You didn’t reach this point in your career without having some sort of action plan in place, so why would you dive straight into the world’s biggest professional network without a clear idea of why you’re there, what you want out of it, and how you’re going to get it?

I’m not suggesting that you need to come up with the War and Peace of social networking strategies. Something simple and to the point will actually do the job even better.

Define your goals, gather your resources, then put them into action and start enjoying far better results than you would if you were meandering aimlessly through an endless network.

3. Remember: Less is More

Since most things on Linkedin can be achieved at the click of a mouse, it’s easy to get carried away in joining every group and sharing every post that comes your way in the belief that the wider your cast your online net, the more you’re likely to catch.

That’s probably fine if you’re planning to set yourself up as a generalist rather than a specialist, but if you want to use Linkedin to develop a reputation as an expert in your field, it pays to be selective.

When someone is drawn to your profile based on that reputation, they’ll expect to see that very same dedication to your cause that made you such a reputable figure in the first place.

Being passionate about many things is never a bad thing of course, but save most of those passions for other social networks so that when people do come to you for news, insights, or knowledge on your specialist area, they get exactly what they want from you without having to wade through a whole bunch of non-related topics first.

Besides, imagine how much time you’ll save by narrowing things down and focusing more on a few things rather than spreading yourself too thin across countless Linkedin groups.

4. Make Your Contact Requests Personal

Making connections on Linkedin — Instead of sending lots of connection requests on Linkedin, be selective for better results.

As with most things in life, making new contacts on Linkedin is all about quality over quantity.

It’s about reaching the right people at the right time to really help you achieve your goals, whether those goals involve generating new clients, selling your latest book, or finding new opportunities as a therapist.

To achieve this, resist the temptation to throw out the same old, templated contact request to as many people as you can. Instead, use your time more efficiently by honing in on just several key figures and approaching them with a personal message explaining clearly why you want to connect.

I’m willing to bet money you achieve better results with the latter than you ever could with the former.

How to Make the Most of Linkedin: Key Takeaways

To finish then, here are a few key points for you to take away and start using today in using Linkedin more effectively, even when you’re pressed for time.