LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional social media network and one that you should be using to build your business. What makes using LinkedIn for marketing so great is its ability for networking and making new connections with people in your industry. Whether it is looking for a new job, new clients, employees, LinkedIn can help you do it.
This is a social media site that you must absolutely use if you are serious about growing your business. Here are five simple tips when using LinkedIn for Marketing to help you make the most of this social media platform:
Complete Your Profile
If you want to make the most of LinkedIn’s networking opportunities then you need to have a fully completed profile. There is no room to move on this one because LinkedIn research has shown that people with fully completed profiles are 40% more likely to receive opportunities through the site so it’s a no brainer. Your profile is where you can make a first impression. Think about it, you may not get to meet these people face to face so it’s important to make a good impression with a fully completed profile.
You need to make sure that you have a professional looking photo. It is all about making that great first impression whenever a potential client views your profile. Make sure you also use relevant keywords to your job in the professional headline and summary because it will help you show up in any searches. Detail your skills and experience and try to get recommendations from previous clients or even teachers for that matter.
Expand your Contacts
Connections are what LinkedIn is all about. They form the backbone of any LinkedIn marketing strategy. When you first join you can choose to import your entire contact list. Whilst this is a good start you should always be looking to grow your contacts list. The amount of contacts you have is important but so is the quality of those connections.
In order to grow your connections you need to send a request to someone. When doing this make sure you send them a personalised message so they know who you are and why you want to add them.
Research Opportunities
LinkedIn has an amazing ability to help you find opportunities in your industry. All you need to do is use the advanced search option to look for specific groups, jobs, and prospects. Join relevant groups in your target market and make your profile visible for the search engines to index.
LinkedIn is one of the best ways to find new job opportunities. A Lab42 survey has found that top executives primarily use the site for networking and promoting their business. 24% of entry level employees said they use it for job searches and 23% used it for co-worker networking. In fact, in the US alone 77% of job openings appear on LinkedIn. This is a social media platform you need to make the most of if you want to build your business.
Stay Active
If you want to make the most of your experience on LinkedIn then you need to stay active. Be a part of conversations. Join groups and contribute something of value to them. These activities should all form part of your LinkedIn marketing strategy. Share information about events you are holding and news that is relevant to your industry. Visit other people’s profiles with your privacy settings switched off so they can see you’ve viewed their profile. Generally, they’ll view your profile in return and you may get a new connection from it.
When you join any relevant groups make sure that you are active by answering questions, asking questions and just contributing in general. This is another great way to make new connections and potentially get new clients when using LinkedIn for marketing.
Nurture Relationships
Nurturing the relationships you make is one of the most important things you can do on LinkedIn. When you want to make a new connection, send a personalised message with your invitation and nurture the relationship. The way you nurture a relationship on LinkedIn is by helping them whenever they need it. If they are looking for advice on something then offer your expertise. If they landed a new job then send them your congratulations. LinkedIn can help make this easier for you by automatically alerting you to any new changes being made from your contacts.
In Conclusion
LinkedIn is one of the most important social media platforms you can use to build your business because of all the networking opportunities it provides. It is a great tool but it requires you to be proactive and responsive. In the long term the results will be worth it.
Do you already use LinkedIn? If so, how have you found it as a tool for networking and marketing?
Christian Michaels
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