Who Says LinkedIn Isn’t Sexy? LinkedIn As A Marketing Tool

LinkedIn is a professional social networking site where you can network with clients, partners, and others in your industry, refine and define your brand, advertise, create industry groups, and enter into discussions with business leaders like yourself.

Using LinkedIn As A Marketing Tool

LinkedIn is critical to business and professional networking. Over 135 million professionals are following over 2 million companies on the network. It is an important business tool because your profile and your company page informs clients and potential customers about your business and why they should do business with you. It is a social networking channel for professionals of various professions, without the distractions of games and other applications that are commonly found in other social networks. If you do not have a LinkedIn company page yet for your small business, you should start to plan to create one today.

Benefits of LinkedIn For Business

• Increase your Internet presence
  If you have a profile on LinkedIn and Google your name, your profile will be listed on the first page of Google. This shows that LinkedIn has some sort of search engine optimization arranged with Google.
• Upgrade your SEO Efforts
  LinkedIn has an option to display your websites and blog. Instead of giving boring URLs, give catchy keyword phrases which will describe your company. When using specific keyword phrases, your profile will rank above all others they search for your specific keyword.
• Improve Networking
  LinkedIn helps with networking. When you share your expertise and blog content with members of your group, they will knowingly or unknowingly share through word-of-mouth publicity to their friends and peers about your business. Sharing content and knowledge that you post online is made easier when you have a profile on LinkedIn.
• Showcase your expertise
  On LinkedIn, you can form groups and invite your colleagues and also like minded people. Similarly you can also join various groups that suit your business. Here, you can post questions and at the same time answer the queries posted by various members of the group.
• Advertise Cost Effectively
  Did you know that you can create direct Ads Campaign on LinkedIn? When you create ad campaigns on LinkedIn, you are targeting specific groups of professionals who have a need for your type of business.
• Meet potential customers
  LinkedIn has an interesting feature called ‘Events.’ Here you can create an event and invite your vendors, clients and potential customers. Even if you are not hosting an event but are planning to attend a business event organized by someone else you, can post it on LinkedIn. This is an opportunity to meet prospective clients and also a great way to promote your business.

Difference between Member Profile and a Company Page

To use LinkedIn as a marketing tool, it is important to understand the difference between the two. A member profile is the profile of any individual while a company page displays the company’s profile. LinkedIn encourages you to have both a member and company profile, because a Member Profile is all about personal branding, while a Company Page will showcase your products or services i.e. your business brand. When done effectively, a member profile and a Company Page will be consistent and blend with one another. This combination will give a complete picture about you and your business to prospective client.

How Is LinkedIn Useful to Small Business

Small Businesses need to begin to embrace social media. LinkedIn is a great channel for staying connected with people who you already know. But you want to know how is LinkedIn useful for your business. It is a great resource to make new connections and also find new customers. LinkedIn has many paid and unpaid services that small business owners should use to their advantage. Some of the services offered by LinkedIn include

• Company pages
• in Mails
• LinkedIn Ads
• Premium Services

Two B2B LinkedIn Starter Tips

1. Online recommendations and word help to get new clients/customers
   Ask your customers to write recommendation on your LinkedIn profile.
2. Be active in LinkedIn groups
   You can post questions and answer ones posted by other members to showcase your knowledge in your domain.

Want to Learn More About LinkedIn? Download our Free LinkedIn TipSheet!