LinkedIn has been known as an online recruiting tool since its introduction in 2003. But not anymore! These days, people use LinkedIn for business purposes such as networking with like-minded professionals, keeping up-to-date with industry trends, and potential business leads.
LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world, recently passing the 756 million users’ threshold worldwide. In addition to a hiring tool, LinkedIn has become a sales and marketing platform to grow your business. To create and promote your brand, you can use the connections and networking opportunities LinkedIn offers. It helps you to build a reputation, develop a meaningful network, and gain insider knowledge from your industry’s proven experts.
It is time for you to enter and use LinkedIn to leverage your network to be more visible, involved, and be equipped with market intelligence to accelerate the growth of your company. This guide will take you through some of the potential marketing opportunities with LinkedIn.
Let prospects locate you easily
Refine your profile before you can start generating business on LinkedIn, so prospects can find you. Find out what keywords will be used by your prospective clients as they search for the product or service you sell. Use those keywords in your profile to land a position in the top five searches on LinkedIn. For example, use headings with keywords. The LinkedIn headings should be synonymous with your profession and the business you do. Emphasize and elaborate on your skills.
Let prospects connect with you
Through keywords, your profile lands a place in top searches along with numerous other profiles that will show up. How to make prospects want to click on your profile? Win reactions using one or two keywords and attention-grabbing headlines. Complement the headline by adding your image to the profile. People would like to see the face of the person to whom they connect. Your profile needs to talk about their requirements so that they consider taking action however you like.
Emulate your business networks both online and offline
Import all your offline and online business contacts on to LinkedIn to maximize benefits. Widen your reach by connecting with every new and existing client. Remember every network is a web of connections that leads to new connections. Also, keep making diligent efforts to put frequent updates to maximize the aggregate value of your LinkedIn network.
Personal touch
When a new connection is established, personally welcome and acknowledge them. Take few minutes from your time and write a personal reply in order to develop relationships.
Posting at the right time
Posting helps to create an audience on LinkedIn when done on a regular basis. Brands that publish once a day get more traction than those that publish once a month. No matter how much you write, articles posted at the correct time make the most impact. Analytics can be used to understand what time works best for your business.
