Making LinkedIn Work for You and Your Business

LinkedIn isn’t just for people looking for jobs — it’s one of the most powerful tools for building credibility, visibility, and real connections in your community. This week, Doug Jenkins of the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce talks with Laura Seelinger of LSX Partners about how you and your business can get more out of LinkedIn. They cover the biggest myths and mistakes people make on the platform, how create authentic posts, and simple ways to build habits that keep your presence active and engaging. 

Laura will also be taking part in the Great Lakes AI Week Conference (Nov 4–6), where she’ll share how technology and tools like LinkedIn are reshaping business communication.

Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Transcript

0:00:02 - (Doug Jenkins): Hi everyone, and welcome to Chamber Amplified, brought to you by the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. I'm your host, Doug Jenkins. If you're looking for ways to grow your business, navigate new challenges, or just stay in the loop on what's happening in our community, well, you're in the right place. Every week we're talking about the issues that matter the most to you. Whether that's attracting great talent, marketing effectively solving IT issues, and everything in between.

0:00:25 - (Doug Jenkins): We're giving you the tips and updates that you need to succeed. This week we're diving into LinkedIn. It's been a popular topic that I like to bring up from time to time. We'll get into why. We're also going to talk about why many businesses are still missing opportunities there. My guest is Laura Seelinger from LSX Partners, and she's helping us cut through some of the confusion about how to actually make LinkedIn work for you. Things we'll talk about why it's not just for job seekers.

0:00:51 - (Doug Jenkins): Really does go a long way in boosting your visibility and credibility locally, not just from a business standpoint, but from an individual standpoint. We'll break down both of those the biggest myths and mistakes that businesses often make on the platform. We'll talk about that and we'll also talk about some simple ways to strengthen your presence so that you're part of the conversation and not left out of it. If you've ever wondered whether LinkedIn is worth the effort or not, or maybe you've been thinking about, you need to jump back into the game.

0:01:18 - (Doug Jenkins): Well, we're going to dive into all of that today. Also want to remind you to rate and review this show if you're listening on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify. It really does help spread the word. Now let's get into it. Glad to have you with us. This was just a chance introduction. This is why I love working at the Chamber of Commerce. It's like chance introductions lead to podcast episodes and all sorts of different things. But I just happened to be, I was listening, looking to connect with some of our members on LinkedIn and on social media in general and just kept finding that they didn't have much of a presence there and based on some other conversations I've had, seems like a place that they need to be.

0:01:56 - (Doug Jenkins): And you're here to help us sort all of that out. So appreciate you joining us. Let's get into the myths about LinkedIn first, because I think maybe LinkedIn has a bad rap as a social media platform and I think I found it to be one of the more positive places for interactions on the Internet. So let's maybe get into what Linked is and what LinkedIn is and what it isn't.

0:02:20 - (Laura Seelinger): Yeah, I would say. I'm sure a lot of people who have used it really only went on there and updated a profile when they wanted to start looking for a job. Right. Or like creeping on some people doing those sorts of things. But it's not really a platform that you only use when you are wanting to make a move or you want to get something out of it. You should treat it as a platform of connection and conversation. So I think, yeah, the biggest myth is that you Only get on LinkedIn when you're looking for a job.

0:02:56 - (Laura Seelinger): It can help you in so many ways, especially for the audience that the Chamber has. And that connection, I mean, you build a connection within the Chamber, you can kind of emulate that on a different scale. Scale. A digital scale, on the LinkedIn platform.

0:03:12 - (Doug Jenkins): All of that said, I've been horrible about using my LinkedIn page as of late. And so I'll be taking the advice of this podcast to jumpstart my own profile once again. One of the things that I found interesting is the people who use LinkedIn. Well, some of it is self promotion, and I think that's sometimes where LinkedIn gets a bad rap. But a lot of times they're putting out some interesting ideas that there's not really another great way to do that. Yeah, you're kind of highlighting yourself for, hey, I've got this idea, or here's something I have a thought on. But that's all of social media and all of us are on social media.

0:03:50 - (Doug Jenkins): Why should this be any different?

0:03:52 - (Laura Seelinger): Yeah, so let's. As you were just saying that I was thinking about, like, self promotion, I treat LinkedIn like the same way. I would go into a Chamber event and talk to people. I don't go up to them immediately and say, hi, I'm Laura Seeinger, and here's all my service offerings. Right. I like, listen, I create. We. We have a connection. Depending on what the event is, it might. We might. I was at a women's event, a luncheon, just a couple hours ago, so we were talking about that topic.

0:04:27 - (Laura Seelinger): You. You really have that relationship piece. So, like, when I go on the platform, it's, yes, you have promotion as a blend in what you're talking about, but it's really sharing your expertise. And I think another myth that I didn't mention is it's just like you're buttoned up super professional platform, right? Yeah. I said this back when I did LinkedIn trainings for companies, and I think it was like 20, 2016 or something.

0:04:59 - (Laura Seelinger): I saw someone who literally had a profile picture of them, a selfie in a hot tub. I will not recommend that. Maybe not the way to go. However, the, like, the kind of community aspect and it's not as buttoned up in my, you know, suit jacket platform as it used to be. I post selfies on there. I. I take selfies when I'm out and about or as I work on a. A beautiful patio. A lot of us work remotely in different ways. Capture where you're at, capture those connections, and you create more of a.

0:05:35 - (Laura Seelinger): Like, it's your personal brand that you're really diving into and sharing with people. And for me, I want to work with people who vibe with me. So let me put my vibe out there so no one's going to be surprised by it.

0:05:47 - (Doug Jenkins): Well, in that way, like you said, it's no different than if you're at a physical networking event or anything like that. You are first and foremost putting your personality out there. So why would that want to. Why would you want that to be any different on LinkedIn? I guess it's kind of like we all live our Instagram lives or what it is. People maybe think about it that way, but really, if you're just showing that side of your personality. I think that's the part where I struggle when it comes to LinkedIn is making that shift to being how I am in real life. And I think people who know me know I like to joke around and I don't take a ton of things too seriously. And on LinkedIn, I'll fall into that trap of here is my super professional post. That's my key of. You're watching the video. This. My keyboard's to the right. That's why I started to drift that way. But here's my super professional post about something we're doing at the Chamber, which I guess that's where I struggle, is that doesn't feel authentic to how I actually talk and to how people know me. And so bridging that gap between how people actually know me and do business with me to what how I appear online can sometimes feel a little awkward.

0:06:53 - (Laura Seelinger): Yeah. Yeah, that's a really good call out.

0:06:54 - (Doug Jenkins): And you didn't realize this is going to be LinkedIn therapy for Doug today, did you?

0:07:00 - (Laura Seelinger): I mean, I. I've been on LinkedIn I. In my career in the social media space and LinkedIn is one of those, right? It's not the same as, as doing Instagram for a company. But like I did LinkedIn for myself. I did LinkedIn for, I mentioned companies, we would manage their company page and then also do programs for all of the salespeople or business development and everything like that. So I've been in the platform for my entire professional career.

0:07:30 - (Laura Seelinger): I still sometimes think to myself, you know what? No, that doesn't, that's not enough, Laura. And I really, as I sit down to write a post, like, yes, I have my professional, you know, bits of it. But even a post that I, I think I published yesterday, it started out like, hello. Like, that's what I would say if I was talking to you like, hello, Doug, right? Your marketing is a mess right now. Like, I'm gonna be straight with you.

0:07:59 - (Laura Seelinger): And I would say it like that. And that's how my LinkedIn it out. Because again, I want my personality to be out there. I'm a straight shooter. I'm not going to just, you know, tell you, tell you what you want to hear. And I also like, add in the quirkiness. So if you're, you know, when you go into the networking event and people know you and they laugh with you and you, you give your, your little, you know, jokes and whatnot, weave that into what you're saying. It's, it's, you want it to be about you.

0:08:31 - (Doug Jenkins): And to that regard, I guess that's kind of the flip side of the coin is you're putting your vibe out there. And I think some people might hesitate. Like, well, what if people don't like that? That actually is a good thing because that probably prevents you from getting into a business relationship where you aren't on the same page with the client, they're not on the same page with you, your personalities don't mesh.

0:08:50 - (Doug Jenkins): You're almost weeding out people who wouldn't be a good fit for your business anyway.

0:08:55 - (Laura Seelinger): Exactly. Yes, that's definitely something. I mean, in today's world, we, we want to work with people who are aligned with like what we believe and you know, who we're going to get along with. Why would you go into something like you said, and then have a relationship where you feel like you can't be yourself or you feel like you're stuck in something if it's a long term thing. That's a really, really good point.

0:09:24 - (Doug Jenkins): So let's talk about the business side of this. We've talked a little bit about how we do it as individuals. But if you have a business. I think a lot of people think about it on professional services, I'm selling something B2B things like that. But I do think that there is merit to having, if you have a retail restaurant, whatever your business is having some sort of presence there. What would be the reasons for that non Traditional quote unquote LinkedIn Business to be on there?

0:09:51 - (Laura Seelinger): Again, you're positioning yourself in the different communities that you serve. So. And when you say business, Doug, you could be. There's different ways you can do this. And I really would recommend a blended strategy. So I'll use myself. For example, I have my consulting company, LSX Partners. I have a company page how and I, I post on it. I'll be honest, not as much as I should. I need to like make sure I have that strategy together.

0:10:27 - (Laura Seelinger): But the reason I haven't is because it's the person that if you're in sales, if you're in financial advising, if you're a realtor, your people are, are interacting with you. So I recommend a blend where yes, have your company page there, have it professional. Make sure you have a logo, everything's filled out because then that's a part of your personal profile. That's in your experience and you are kind of a walking billboard when people click on your profile for your company, but then do that messaging via your personal profile. So you know, mention the service based business but then you say like maybe it's, I don't know, a boutique in, in your town or it is that restaurant that serves certain audiences have that page.

0:11:25 - (Laura Seelinger): But you can still have the strategy where you post certain things on the page and then you as the owner or as the business development director as you know, whatever it is the role you play, you constantly post on your own profile as well and then tag your, your company page. So you're still promoting it, but it's a lot, it makes a lot more sense or it's easier. It's all, it's easier from a perspective of, you know, if you are the business director or business development director for you to go ahead, take a selfie at the event you were at and post that makes a lot more sense from your personal profile where you're still promoting everything versus your selfie on the company profile.

0:12:13 - (Laura Seelinger): So by doing both things you're still promoting your business, but you're doing it in two different capacities that make sense and maybe feel more comfortable doing so. Yeah, I hope that like answers that a bit.

0:12:26 - (Doug Jenkins): No, that makes complete sense and I think that helps get into the content discussion of you. I think people will fall into a trap of, well, I posted this on my business Facebook page, copy pasted onto my LinkedIn business page. And you probably have two different audiences there. And maybe you could talk a little bit about what people should consider when posting to Facebook versus a LinkedIn post.

0:12:49 - (Laura Seelinger): Yes, well, I mean, we all have different audiences on Facebook versus LinkedIn, right? So I think it depends on what the content is that you're sharing and how you would adjust that. So let's say you have the downtown restaurant and you host different events or something. You're gonna post on Facebook maybe a picture or video from the event that you have, and you can tag different friends and you can maybe add a funny quote in there. You're gonna get comments from people and it's gonna be.

0:13:28 - (Laura Seelinger): You might seem more robust. You're gonna get more engagement there. And then on LinkedIn, you could still share maybe that same video or same photo. And, and instead say like, we, our space brings together people from all across the area from, you know, finance, financial services to, I don't know, you know, to advertising. And you kind of say what your space provides. It provides connection. And so you're sharing the same thing, but maybe you're getting a little bit more personal on Facebook, tagging your friends and whatnot. And then you're saying, what does this do? In a different message on LinkedIn.

0:14:12 - (Laura Seelinger): But I would also say I kind of went into it a little bit with the company page and the personal. Yeah, when I worked with companies that had like my agency managed, you know, the company strategy and we would post on the company page and every post that we had planned would have almost like thought starters for the sales team and the business development. Like, hey, on Tuesday we're publishing this.

0:14:44 - (Laura Seelinger): Here's the main nugget that this is about because I mean, sometimes some people weren't still going to want to read the article that we're sharing or whatever. Like if it's a blog post that we're promoting. Hey, sales team, this is the main nugget that we want to share. But each of you talk in a different way. You have different clients like that you see sell to, you have, you know, all of those different things.

0:15:07 - (Laura Seelinger): Just when you share this company post, you know, press share on LinkedIn, share that company post via your personal page. Here's some thought starters. You might want to share about the main nugget and like, kind of give them a draft that they can, you know, edit as they please. That same again that was like almost 10 years ago. That same concept still works today. Even, like for myself, I can post on my company page something a bit more basic or it's going to a blog post, and then I only focus on a small piece of that in one of my shares via my personal page. I could share the same company post 3 times over the next 6 weeks and no one will know.

0:15:48 - (Doug Jenkins): That's, that's a good point, is you're able to kind of parse that content out a little bit. Speaking of content and having the material, I think this is probably where most, the trap most people fall into. I don't know how many times I've said that phrase today. We're going to say three, let's keep it under that, under four. But people worry about making time to do this one. Let's talk about why it's important to make the time for it. And then also we can talk about how you and LSX partners are able to help people in that regard as well.

0:16:20 - (Laura Seelinger): Yeah. So I kind of think the best way to make time for LinkedIn is I don't know what people's different routines are. For me, I wake up early and I take a decent amount of time, maybe a half hour in the morning, I read through my emails, I see what I need to get done that day, right. I have my to do list and then I go on LinkedIn and I engage with some people. Weave your LinkedIn time into whatever habit you already have. You know, like the term habit stacking. If you want to start doing something, tack it onto something that you already do all the time you have, you know, so you already have the time for it. So I would recommend someone, you know, as they're checking their emails or as they always hit the wall at 3pm to take the 15 minutes and go on the platform. So that's for the engagement piece. Now for the posting piece. That's probably the part that's the hardest because how many times has everyone sat. I've done it. I've sat down at the computer and been like, I need to post today. What am I going to post?

0:17:27 - (Laura Seelinger): What has helped me is creating kind of like a weekly plan. I. My personal goal is posting five times a week. Now, anyone on here that's not posting, I'm not going to tell you to go from zero to five. That's like saying, oh, you haven't run a mile in five years. There's a marathon next week, right?

0:17:50 - (Doug Jenkins): No marathon. I'm not even doing a 5k after. Not running for a while.

0:17:54 - (Laura Seelinger): Exactly. So I think the first goal should be I'm gonna post once a week. So how do I look at this month? What are some of the topics? What, what am I an expert in? What do I want to share? Write those down. And I don't know how many members who listen to this are comfortable with AI chat GPT, right? Or I, I love Claude, which is another platform. You can use those tools to help you create some sort of calendar or create like thought starters. Now this is not me saying copy paste what chat GPT tells you.

0:18:30 - (Laura Seelinger): Everyone will be able to notice that people who know AI writing know when someone's using it, but use it as your partner to really brainstorm and help create those things. So again, what I do is I have Mondays, I'm going to post about this topic. Now that doesn't mean I'm talking about the same thing every time, right? Like Tuesdays is my truth bomb Tuesday that I just started. So I'm going to just like drop some truth bombs about marketing every Tuesday.

0:18:59 - (Laura Seelinger): So instead of me sitting there thinking, what am I going to talk about? Oh, today I'm going to talk about something that I've seen people struggling with, you know, and for example, Fridays are always my like connection engagement. So while I had a lot of these come up, so if you go to my profile, this isn't sticking to my dailies, but like Friday would be where I post about the networking events that I went to that past week and highlight those and tag those people. Because you don't, you don't want it to be just the self promotion we talked about. You don't want it to be Laura offers fractional marketing services. And then the next post is the same thing. The next post is the same thing. It needs to be like, yes, I want people to know what I do because that's the whole, you know, point to be honest at the end of the day.

0:19:47 - (Laura Seelinger): But I also want that connection and when you kind of share those things out, other people are going to see my network. I tagged a post, I tagged some people in a post of an event earlier today. I have like five new connections, right? Because I shared that and now it's, it's like, you know, you always see like your third degree connection on LinkedIn or secondary connection. Think about it like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of thing.

0:20:14 - (Laura Seelinger): When you tag someone, you're now in there, like your post about them is now in their feed. So now instead of just connecting with the 500 people that you are connected to on LinkedIn and showing that message. Now it's if you tagged those three people, now it's they're 500 and they're 500 and they're 500. So really weaving that in helps. So I went on a little tangent there. But my advice would be to have your calendar once a week. And if you're just starting out week one, I'm going to talk about maybe my services, because I do need to talk about that. People don't know that yet.

0:20:51 - (Laura Seelinger): Week two is going to be about my what I believe in. When it comes to insert. What you see, like, what I believe in marketing is like, you, you don't need to just do things to do them. You like, I'm not going to take your business because you say you want social media. I'm not going to take your check and say, cool. My belief is I want to give you something that's actually going to work. So even if that means I'm. You're not going to come to me, I hate to see people waste money on marketing and not get anything out of it.

0:21:24 - (Laura Seelinger): So what is your what, like, what's. Your. What do you live by when it comes to whatever service you offer? That could be week two, Week three could be maybe a connection post sharing some of the events you went to. So just plan that out. That is really like what's called content pillars and that's deep into content strategy. That's what I offer. It's what are those four main topics that everything I say should ladder up to and you identify, like, I work with companies or individuals, identify what those content pillars are.

0:22:02 - (Laura Seelinger): That and then create a calendar of what topics are each day and ensure they all go up to a content pillar. Because then, you know, the messaging you're sharing is actually going to make a difference in your business because you're not over here talking about, you know, something that's not even connected to what you offer.

0:22:21 - (Doug Jenkins): Last thing before we wrap up here is you got me thinking about the habit of just building LinkedIn into your habits. And like, I would almost. I know we have to be on Facebook. I have tried to be on Facebook as little as possible over the last couple of months because it just, it's not a fun place anymore. It used to be fun and I almost feel like LinkedIn is kind of more fun. It's more positive, for sure. Like, I would much rather see who people I know, like, what are they up to? And like, yeah, all right. I'm not gonna get the updates about the family and the kids and how things are going there. But at least I'm getting something like, oh, they're up to that. That's cool. I'll thumbs up that. I'll make a comment on that. Like I don't care about the thoughts on everything else and shouting it into the void.

0:23:05 - (Doug Jenkins): I would almost replace like the doom scrolling with just hopping on LinkedIn and like, oh, hey, that's cool. Like that's cool. Like doing that. I don't know what your thoughts are on that. Maybe that's you got on your. Your rant. I'm getting on mine now. We're getting it all out there today on Chamber Air Amplified.

0:23:21 - (Laura Seelinger): One thing I do want to say, because this is very real, is when you do start to post, don't be discouraged that you only got two likes. Yeah, because LinkedIn lurkers are a thing. I've. I mentioned I'm posting five days a week and it's kind of started like, okay, the same people are liking them, you know. But then I was at an event last week and someone said, you are killing it on LinkedIn. Like, I'm going to reach out to you when, like my business is in the right time, but like I got to get some stuff together the next couple of months.

0:23:55 - (Laura Seelinger): Has she, did she ever like anything I posted? No, but she sees it. So that's my message. Don't get discouraged by engagement because lurkers are real and the lurkers will turn into potential clients, probably.

0:24:10 - (Doug Jenkins): Laura, this has been a great conversation. I feel like we could go on another half hour about this, but we'll wrap it up here. If people would want to continue the conversation with you though, maybe find out a little bit more about LSX Partners and everything that you're doing. What's the best way to get in touch with you other than LinkedIn?

0:24:26 - (Laura Seelinger): Yeah, I should say LinkedIn. Right. Find me on LinkedIn. Just type in Laura Seeinger or the URL for LinkedIn is LinkedIn.com in/l ceilinger. You can also find me on my website, LSX partners.com. i have a contact form there. I'm also on all the other social medias. Find me on Instagram if you want more cat pictures. That's what you'll get there. You won't get many cat pictures on LinkedIn, so pick your poison there.

0:24:54 - (Doug Jenkins): That's a good point. LinkedIn, if, if cat memes are your thing. LinkedIn is not the, the platform for that. So I really appreciate it. This has been a great conversation. Thanks for time taking time out to do this today.

0:25:07 - (Laura Seelinger): Yeah, of course. Thank you so much, Doug and I. I look forward to, you know, following along and hopefully connecting with a lot of members.

0:25:17 - (Doug Jenkins): A few key takeaways from from today's conversation. First and foremost, I know we've talked a lot about LinkedIn here on the podcast. A promise of not being compensated by them or anything, although if they want to reach out about an endorsement deal, I'm all ears. I just think it's a useful platform that I see a lot of businesses struggling to use and use in an effective way and I think it can really make a difference. So that's why we keep coming back to it.

0:25:39 - (Doug Jenkins): Takeaways from what we talked about with Laura LinkedIn not just a job board, it's your digital storefront. Whether you're a business owner, a manager, an employee, if you show up constantly, it builds that credibility. It shows you as a thought leader and more than just someone looking to make sales. It helps you establish those connections in ways that other platforms can't, and probably in a more positive way, too.

0:26:00 - (Doug Jenkins): Also, small changes make an absolutely big difference. Make sure to update your picture, update your headline, make your sure your about section is up to date. All of those things really go a long way. And then you make a thoughtful post once a week or so. That's going to raise your visibility pretty quickly. And the platform rewards authenticity and engagement. So commenting or sharing local news, especially about news of industries that you're associated with, that really helps build your network. It establishes you as a leader in your field.

0:26:30 - (Doug Jenkins): You need to take advantage of it. If you'd like to hear more from Laura, by the way, she'll be speaking at the Great Lakes AI Week conference that's going on November 4th through 6th. She'll be sharing insights on how technology, including AI and tools like LinkedIn, is reshaping businesses and their communications and strategies. Well, that wraps up this episode of the Podcast. Chamber Amplified is a free resource from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, made possible by the support of our members.

0:26:56 - (Doug Jenkins): Their investment drives everything that we do, whether it's business advocacy, leadership programs, and providing you with timely local information. If you want to strengthen our community and grow your business, well, I'd love to talk with you. Just let me know that you're interested. If we can talk about how an investment in the Chamber not only benefits you, your business, but the community as a whole. If you have an idea for a future episode, share it with me. Send me an email@djenkinsindleyhancockchamber.com thanks again for listening. And don't miss the next episode of Chamber Amplified.