Much has been written of the need to embrace social media in business – correctly of course – but in amongst the usual suspects, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is incorrectly pigeonholed as just ‘the place for job hunters.’
The thing is, whilst LinkedIn is a good place for job hunters, it is also so much more than this. It can open up so many doors to new business, especially in the B2B sector.
Your LinkedIn network has real value and therefore your network on LinkedIn should be considered part of your net worth. Build it, engage with it and use it, but do it with a clear strategy in mind.
There are, of course, so many tips out there but if there is one to observe it is to resist the heavy sell – following the old 80:20 rule, I always suggest post that are 80% industry info / knowledge sharing and 20% sales. Be human too and reflect the personality of your business and its character. Taking this approach, you will quickly gain respect, personally and for your company, as well as being seen as an authority on your subject.
Other tips include, connecting with people pre and post-meeting – yes, seek them out and make a point of learning about them. Connecting is not just about numbers and being nosey, it shows you valued the meeting enough for you to seek to know more about them. The same is true for people you meet at events; get to know them and let them know you remembered meeting with them. It is surprising how these little touches lead to something good.
Day-to-day, make sure you push out all online media inclusions out via your LinkedIn profile, as it not only spreads your messages more widely, but presents your products and services with that all-important third-party endorsement.
Of course, always distinguish between your personal and company accounts, but make sure you don’t post personally anything that can come back and bite you, with it being in contradiction of what your company face presents. It is harder to get followers on a company page, which can lead to apathy in favour of your own personal profile, but instead see it as a challenge and be proactive. A good tip is to include links in posts to read full articles on your own website – that way you gain traffic, help encourage a dialogue with your network and more importantly drive traffic to your website!
LinkedIn is useful – search the Internet and you will find loads of help, hints and advice, in far more depth than here, but for a better option – call Jooce and find out how we can boost your company’s LinkedIn page and more importantly your brand!