LinkedIn Strategies for Business

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What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is basically a social network, job platform and research tool all rolled into one site for professionals.
LinkedIn was founded in 2003 by Reed Hoffman as a way to connect professionals from around the world in a productive and successful way. Hoffman launched the site from his home, asking hundreds of his friends and colleagues to also join. He asked them to invite their friends and colleagues as well. LinkedIn had an amassed 4,500 members in the first month, with around 20 new members joining each day. (source: http://mashable.com/2013/05/06/linkedin-turns-10/)

2-graphThe Stats

• LinkedIn has over 225 members worldwide that include executives at every level of Fortune 500 companies.
• LinkedIn is the largest professional network online.
• Its headquarters are in Silicon Valley, California with offices around the world.
• According to Factbrowser, 53% of business-to-business marketers have acquired a customer through LinkedIn. Only 22% of business-to-consumer marketers have found customers through LinkedIn.
• Over 81% of LinkedIn users belong to a group while 52% participate in discussions within a group.
• 90% of LinkedIn uses believe the site is useful since it helps them connect with their industry’s customers, it’s more professional than Facebook and it lets them hire people they wouldn’t normally meet, as stated in Lab42’s recent infographic.
• 35% of LinkedIn users check their account daily.
Networking within your industry is easier than ever with the use of social media sites. Using LinkedIn is a more professional way for businesses to socially market online to thousands of potential clients than with Facebook or other online social media sites.

6 Reasons Why You Should Use LinkedIn for Business

LinkedIn is one of the most important social media sites for businesses looking to connect with other businesses. Whether you’re an accountant, a writer, a speaker or a real estate broker, you can build your connections with associates and professionals that are interested in what you have to offer.

1. Create an awareness of your business.

LinkedIn is the perfect platform to create an awareness of your online presence. With over 225 million professionals signed up on the site, businesses have the chance to network with a wide variety of contacts. You can use the different group or personal features within LinkedIn to improve the awareness of yourself as an individual and as a brand. Are you a graphic designer looking for your next big client? Use the features built in on LinkedIn to showcase your best work.

3-business-people2. Building traffic.

One little known fact about LinkedIn is its power in driving traffic and link building. LinkedIn, like most other social media networks has a sharing button that lets you share you content and your status updates from the homepage and in the communities or LinkedIn Groups you belong to. This allows your content to become viral. 

3. Generating leads.

LinkedIn is the best network for generating business leads. Potential customers can download interesting content you provide or you can drive traffic to pertinent sources you recommend. It’s a very personal way of engaging potential leads by engaging them with your content and turning them into clients.

4. Get new business by answering questions in your expertise area.

LinkedIn’s many forums is a great way to show others your knowledge in your expertise area. You can win new business and find prospective customers to market your business to. Your answers allow potential clients to find the information they need through LinkedIn’s advanced Answers search feature. Are you a top executive at your real estate business? Join in the discussions on the forums to showcase your expertise by answering questions.

5. Find the perfect business people to outsource services you need.

You are probably already asking colleagues and others for references for a great graphic designer or writer. LinkedIn is the social media site that makes it easy to find vendors to fill your needs. You can give endorsements as well, for those you have used.

11-share6. Network with peers in your industry.

LinkedIn’s Groups directory allows you to search for industry associations and networks you can become a part of. For instance, if you are in the cooking field, there are over 537 groups. LinkedIn also keeps you informed on local events that those you are connected to are attending. You could use this information to find only those industry events your potential clients are attending.
LinkedIn is an important part of any business social media strategy. It can be used to connect with current and prospective clients, to show your expertise and to keep informed on what is happening in your industry.

Top Tips for Creating, Managing and Promoting a LinkedIn Group

11-createLinkedIn is a great place to network on a professional level, to find jobs and answer questions. But did you know it’s also a wonderful opportunity to join together like-minded professionals in groups that can reach out and engage potential clients.

Building a LinkedIn group has many benefits for your business. Creating the group around a specific niche can:

  • Position your company as the thought leader of your industry
  • Builds awareness within your targeted market area
  • Can generate leads and interest in your services or products
  • Build valuable relationships not only within your industry but with customers

These are just a few of the many reasons creating and managing a LinkedIn group is very important to your business growth.

Creating, managing and promoting a successful LinkedIn group does take time. Here are my top tips for doing this.

Creating a LinkedIn Group

Many industries have not yet created a group in LinkedIn. If no one in your industry has, go ahead and create one.

12-communityYour group can be in one of several categories including:

  • Corporate
  • Alumni
  • Networking
  • Professional
  • Non-Profit
  • Other

Here are some tips to help you get started:

  • The name you use is Important. Choose a title that includes relevant keywords.
  • Choose a narrow niche or specialty. Having a well-defined niche will attract the right followers. Differentiate your group from others in your industry.
  • Create a webpage for the group on your own website. Buy the domain and have it redirected to a page on your own site. The page is a way to provide more visibility and engagement for your group. It can have as much or little content as you like.
  • Display the group inside the Group Directory and on your members’ profile pages. Also make it an open group with member approval.
  • Design a group logo.

Promoting your LinkedIn Group

  • 13-announcingNow that you have created your group, invite your contacts to join the group. Invite coworkers, former colleagues, professionals you have worked with and customers to join your group. Ask them to participate by asking questions, starting discussions and joining in.
  • Seek out experts in your industry to join and engage in the discussions.
  • Promote your LinkedIn group on your own website, in email newsletters and other social media sites. Get the word out that you have a group and show them how they can become a member. Create a group or page on Facebook similar to your LinkedIn group. Invite those members to join your network.
  • Integrate LinkedIn in your webinars or conferences. Use LinkedIn in your marketing efforts. Invite those at conferences, webinars and teleseminars you attend to join your group.

Managing Your LinkedIn Group

  • Be the leader of your group. You started the group. Position yourself as the leader by starting and responding to discussions.
  • Use the featured discussions to point out particular content. Get your discussions noticed by marking it as featured. This will pin your thread to the top of your discussion board.
  • Use the LinkedIn Group announcements feature. Send announcements of helpful content directly to your members’ email inbox. This is a great way to let your members know about upcoming webinars or free guides they can download.
  • Add your blog’s RSS feed. Importing content from your relevant blog will bring more value to your community group.->Manage news feed.
  • As the leader of the group you should monitor out members who spam the other group members with items not relevant to the goals of the group. Your members should act in a professional way and not post harassing comments. If you see this happening you can have them removed from the group.
  • Keep a calendar

14-listLinkedIn groups are a great way to join together experts and others to network and learn from. Keep in mind a few things for success when creating, managing and promoting your group.

  • Have a focus or reason for the group.
  • Make sure the content and discussions are informative, engaging and interesting.
  • Keep the name relevant.
  • Have moderators if your need help managing the discussions.
  • Promote the group inside LinkedIn and outside as well.

Time to Get Started

LinkedIn provides tremendous opportunity for connecting with likeminded business owners, clients and talented people who can work for you. Put your best foot forward with a professional profile and start making those connections.