When I first ventured into LinkedIn, I was as green as they come. Like many, I was faced with the overwhelming vastness of the platform, the potential opportunities, and the immediate overwhelm.

Navigating LinkedIn seemed like steering a ship through stormy seas without a compass.

Initially, I faced the paralysis of choice: What should I say? Which features should I use? How do I build a supportive community of professional aspirations?

After numerous trial and error sessions, countless hours of refining my strategies, and some memorable conversations, here is my biggest LinkedIn lesson: Focus on one thing.

Let me share with you what I mean, supported by my own experience.

LinkedIn offers a plethora of actions: joining groups, publishing articles, endorsing skills, and more. It's easy to get overwhelmed. But remember, it's not about trying everything—it's about mastering one at a time.

Let's dissect this based on your goals:

My early days on LinkedIn revolved around trying to sign clients. What I realized was that the more discovery calls I had the more clients I was able to sign up. In a way, it was a numbers game. After some introspection, I understood that understanding my offer and identifying my target clients was crucial. By focusing on this 'one thing' – understanding my offer and its fit for my target audience – reaching out and opening conversations became easier because I knew who I was looking to speak with and I knew exactly how I wanted to help them.

As I grew, so did my aspirations. I starting aimed to help clients create more brand visibility. After several attempts at various tactics, one strategy stood out: creating more evergreen training content. By demonstrating skills consistently and interacting with people who engaged in the content, I realized that content was able to both increase visibility and solidify authority. So I started to focus energy on content strategy and implementation.

Some people who I have helped with LinkedIn were looking to expand their opportunities. So I helped them position their profile around key skill-sets around the job postings they were interested in. I also helped them initiate conversations with recruiters to chat about making recommendations and demonstrating genuine curiosity about other people's roles and companies. By engaging with and understanding others I have seen how it invariably led to discussions about opportunities and collaborations.

Reflecting on my own LinkedIn journey, every step was a learning curve, every connection a new story, and every challenge a lesson in disguise. While there are numerous ways to leverage LinkedIn, paralysis by analysis is a real threat. Remember, instead of spreading yourself thin, channel your energy on one strategy, perfect it, and then move on to the next.

The digital realm of LinkedIn is vast and full of potential. But the true magic lies in the art of focusing. As I've journeyed, so can you. Pick your 'one thing', excel at it, and watch opportunities unfold.