Are you spending hours on LinkedIn, hoping for leads, but ending up frustrated and with nothing to show for it?
You don't have to spend an hour a day on LinkedIn
Many of my clients come to me spending 30 minutes or an hour a day on LinkedIn without seeing results. Sure, their engagement and follower count might be creeping up, but their client roster is not yet full.
Further, they know LinkedIn is the right platform for their business because its the platform where their ideal clients “hang out”. Nonetheless, they feel incredibly frustrated by their lack of tangible results (i.e. inbound messages, discovery calls, clients booked).
If you experience this problem, too, you’re likely logging in with the best intentions; however, when you spend time on LinkedIn today, it looks like scrolling through your feed, engaging with some content, sending a few connection requests, and perhaps posting some thoughts you had during your morning walk or shower.
Despite these consistent activities, you don’t have the results you’d like - calls booked, email list sign ups, and clients signed. And despite your consistency, your activities likely feel random and disconnected.
(Check out this related post about why you don't actually need to post 5x a week on LinkedIn to get leads.)
That's because despite using the many features LinkedIn offers - posting, commenting and engaging, following and connecting, and direct messaging - you don’t have a clear strategy guiding you. Without a roadmap, LinkedIn can quickly become a time-suck rather than the lead-generating tool it can be for your small business.
Wasting time on LinkedIn causes other issues
This wasted time on LinkedIn can also spill over into other parts of your business. Perhaps you feel that focusing so much energy on LinkedIn means other key responsibilities, like client delivery or business development, are taking a backseat. Spending hours online makes it easy to fall behind on client projects, leaving you overwhelmed and feeling like you're dropping the ball on important tasks. It’s a vicious cycle that adds stress to your workload and detracts from what matters most — serving your clients.
On top of that, using LinkedIn without a clear strategy can make it feel like you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall, hoping something sticks. You might be trying different approaches — posting about your services one day, sending direct message pitches the next — but without getting “bites” from potential clients, it’s hard to know where to focus. The lack of results can be discouraging, leaving you second-guessing yourself and your time spent on the platform.
Your activities on LinkedIn should be strategic, not spontaneous
Everything changes when you start spending your time strategically instead of spontaneously on LinkedIn. Imagine having a clear plan for each time you log in, knowing exactly what to do to build meaningful connections and generate leads. You’ll spend less time aimlessly scrolling and more time focused on high-impact activities that drive results.
Once you have a solid strategy, you’ll feel relieved knowing that LinkedIn isn’t taking away from other important areas of your business. You can confidently execute your LinkedIn tasks in less time, allowing you to focus on delivering for your clients and growing your business. You'll know that your time is being spent wisely. You'll say goodbye to committing "random acts of LinkedIn" (as I like to call it) for good.
Take my former client Chris, a small business owner who was spending hours on LinkedIn but couldn’t seem to find any real traction. He had been initiating many conversations, but they weren’t getting replies he knew they should. After following my process, he started sending thoughtful messages to his connections and getting replies. As a result, he had more time to focus on her clients and grow her business. The stress of wondering if LinkedIn was worth it disappeared, replaced by confidence in her approach and a steady flow of new leads.
Solving this problem empowers you—you know exactly where to spend your energy on LinkedIn to get the results you want for your business.
Five practical strategies to spend less time on LinkedIn
Here are five ideas that you can use to spend less time on LinkedIn while still generating leads effectively:
Develop a lead list – Instead of having to remember who to follow up with, rely on your leads list to know exactly who to follow up with, and when.
Use templates – Instead of starting from scratch when you want to write posts or messages, leverage templates (like the ones I share with my clients) to quickly get the brainstorming process started and inspiration flowing.
Plan your content in advance – Instead of creating content in the morning a few days a week, batch create and schedule your posts a month in advance so you don’t have to worry about posting throughout the month.
Engage with intent – Instead of randomly liking or commenting, focus on interacting with posts from potential clients or key influencers in your industry.
Set a daily (or weekly) time limit – Dedicate 15-30 minutes daily to LinkedIn, setting a timer to ensure you stay focused and don't get lost in your feed.
(In this short post, I share how my Profile to Pipeline framework simplifies your small business's lead generation efforts so you can maintain a simple and effective lead generation strategy on LinkedIn.)
Spending hours on LinkedIn without seeing results can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be that way. By focusing your time on intentional, high-impact activities, you can see real progress without sacrificing other parts of your business.
Success stories like Chris's show that when you follow a plan, you not only free up time for what matters most, but you also build confidence and start seeing consistent results. Implementing strategies like using a lead list, setting time limits, and engaging with purpose can transform your experience on LinkedIn, helping you build valuable relationships while still running your business efficiently.
How I can help you
When I start working with a small business owner, we always start with organic marketing efforts. We begin by optimizing your profile so that you clearly explain your credibility, who you serve, how you serve them, and what action the profile viewer should take.
Then, we create a custom LinkedIn strategy for you so that you can feel comfortable navigating LinkedIn and find right-fit clients for your business. We learn how to use DM outreach and content to bring the right clients into your orbit so you can consistently grow your business. And lastly, you implement the strategy with my support.
Learn more and get started here.
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