I know LinkedIn doesn’t have the sex appeal of Instagram and isn’t as fun as Snapchat during the holidays (or ever), but don’t discount it – LinkedIn can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal! Here are three ways you can grow your business over the holidays with LinkedIn.

A Christmas Carol for LinkedIn

Just because LinkedIn is the Scrooge of the season doesn’t mean you should leave it shivering in the cold like Tiny Tim (was that too many holiday metaphors in one sentence?). Try dressing your LinkedIn profile up for the holidays with a new picture and background image.

Background image

Many people will create a single background image and call it a day. But it’s one of the most important visual branding tools LinkedIn offers, so why not make the most of it during the holidays? Heck, you could even have Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah background images and really change things up.

Also, make sure to add your contact info on your banner. Your profile will get noticed with a new holiday image – and that could lead to more phone calls and emails. If you aren’t a graphic artist yourself, then have a new holiday LinkedIn header made on Fiverr.com (that’s what I did).

Glamour shots

Add a little fun – and personality – to your LinkedIn profile by adding a picture of yourself in a Santa or Elf hat. If you do use Snapchat, there are about a gazillion holiday filters you could use and upload on to LinkedIn! If you don’t, there are a number of free online image editors that will let you “decorate” your photos with holiday images. I used this free photo filter to do my holiday pic.

Christmahanakwanzika is the one time of the year that I relax my “LinkedIn photos should be businesslike and reflect your industry” rule. Have a little fun!

Send a post of good cheer

Chances are you are already creating new content specific to the holiday season (like this blog post for instance). Why not repurpose it with LinkedIn Publisher?

When it comes to LinkedIn Publisher guidelines, you’ll notice they aren’t much different than those for regular blogging:

• The title should be catchy and holiday oriented
• Your main visual should be holiday themed
• Insert good keywords or search terms in your title and in the content
• Add quotes and/or video for visual appeal

And since it’s the holidays, make sure to add a “gift” of some sort: a free download, a fun video, access to a cool app. This could, of course, be your own product — but you could also share something you think is cool that you think your audience would enjoy too, like this awesome duet between Bing Crosby and David Bowie.

Lest old acquaintance be forgot

The holidays are a great time (and give you a good excuse) to get back in touch with long lost connections on LinkedIn. I would recommend creating two messages – one for folks you know (business acquaintances, old and present clients, networking connections, friends) and one for folks you are connected to, but don’t really know.

Message to “Friends”:

Your “Message to Friends” could look something like this:

Happy Holidays “First Name”,

It’s been way too long since we connected in real life (Facebook and LinkedIn don’t count!).

Since it’s the holidays, I decided to reach out and see how things were with you. Has it been a good year? Did you do everything you wanted to? What were some of your greatest achievements this year?

I’ve love to talk some time soon and catch up. Do you have any free time over the holidays? Or should we see what the New Year holds for us?

Check out my calendar (link) and let me know if there is a time that works for you.

In the meantime, check out this awesome duet between Bing Crosby and David Bowie. (Now there’s an odd partnership that really worked – at least for one song!)

Have the happiest of holidays!

Message to “Unknowns”:

Your “Message to Unknowns” could look something like this:

Happy Holidays “First Name”,

I was just going through my connections on LinkedIn and saw we were connected. But I can’t really remember why!

Would you like to reconnect over the holidays? I’d love to get to know you and your business more – and see if there isn’t some mutually beneficial project we can work on together next year.

In the meantime, check out this awesome duet between Bing Crosby and David Bowie. (Now there’s an odd partnership that really worked – at least for one song!)

Happy Holidays!

Since we tend to have a little more downtime during the holidays, why not make the most of it? Wrap your profile in holiday cheer, send tidings of good will through LinkedIn Publisher and warm up those old and slightly chilled relationships by reaching out to your connections. Make this holiday one to remember (on LinkedIn!).

What do you like to do to boost business over the holidays? Don’t forget to subscribe to Café Quill and connect with us social media to let us know some of your best networking tips!