Leveraging LinkedIn for your business

Posted on May 18, 2011

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There are so many social media websites around these days, it’s hard to know which one is best suited to your requirement. According to the site, LinkedIn is the “world’s largest professional network with over 100 million members, and growing rapidly”. Read on for key points to get you started on your first foray into LinkedIn...

There are so many social media websites around these days, it’s hard to know which one is best suited to your requirement.
Facebook is great for keeping up with mates and building brand awareness for your business, yes, but the difference with LinkedIn is that it is strictly about business. You won’t have to wade through dozens of posts about what Steve did with the boys on Saturday night or how Sally is getting her haircut and wants to know if she should colour as well – LinkedIn is a legitimate speciality business tool.
According to the site, LinkedIn is the “world’s largest professional network with over 100 million members, and growing rapidly”. One hundred million members is nothing to be sneezed at and is proof of LinkedIn’s power.
Here are some key points to get you started on your first foray into LinkedIn:

Establishing a profile

• Information is key – make sure you load your page with as much relevant info about you and your business position as possible. But don’t make it too bland. Stand out from the crowd with catchy lines to ensure you engage with, and impact on, the person reading about you. Remember, your ‘summary’ is your elevator pitch – make it memorable and snappy or readers will get off at the next floor.
• Treat your profile as a modern resume – email your URL rather than snail-mailing a pile of paper (and make sure you personalise your LinkedIn URL, rather than offering up a forgettable string of auto-generated letters and numbers).
• Have you Googled yourself lately? LinkedIn profiles rise to the top of search results which enables you to have some control over the first impression someone gets of you.

As a day-to-day, general business tool

• LinkedIn contacts generally stay up to date so while your business associates are moving from job to job, from town to town, you can easily keep up with them.
• A LinkedIn search will quickly give you background on a potential hire (and reference checks), or a new client, or a potential sales target.
• LinkedIn keeps you informed of job opportunities, sales leads, freelance work etc.

Boosting your business

• Now that you have a profile, let’s really leverage the site. Join relevant ‘Groups’ and mingle with experts in your field.
• Use LinkedIn’s ‘Answers’ feature to ask business questions and get great answers. If you answer other people’s questions with business nous, you yourself will become an expert in their eyes, all the while building a strong business reputation.

Social media success, like anything, takes time to build and grow. But knowing where to start is half the battle. And, no, you will not make 20 sales today by joining LinkedIn, but it is another way to build that all-important brand awareness in an increasingly digital-savvy marketplace.