Of all the social media channels that’s available right now, it is probably LinkedIn that’s mostly misused or misunderstood. Think about it, you are already sure of the main purpose of using Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram; even other platforms such as Skype and WhatsApp are clear to have a contribution in your business. Now, let’s see. What does LinkedIn really do for your business? Can it do more than just a job search site or an avenue to build the professional profile of the consumers?
LinkedIn is the preferred social media for B2B marketers, which Microsoft saw promising that made them acquire the company for more than USD 26 billion. However, many users are left hanging after create their profile. After finishing the step by step instructions in creating an account, some users will be trapped in the dilemma of “now what?” But little did many people know, LinkedIn still remain to be one of the key social media networking sites that offers content marketing opportunities for both business and individuals.
But before we discuss how LinkedIn can actually help you and why is it still relevant to use for your business, let us give you a crash course on the basics of LinkedIn.
What Is LinkedIn?
It’s a social networking website that is designed for the business community. It was founded in 2002 and was launched the following year. Its goal is to establish a connection between companies and potentials employees through job posting and building of CVs online. As of 2018, it has 562 million users with 260 million active users every month.
More than that, LinkedIn is also known as a content marketing website. About two years ago, LinkedIn launched its publishing platform to all members. This allows them to publish blogs and promote their content throughout the network and beyond, bringing a connection between businesses and the consumers.
Although Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram may have already added the “business” features to their respective platforms, LinkedIn has always been designed that way. It was initially, and will always be, intended for professionals, job-seekers, and businesses.
So, Why Should You Use LinkedIn?
There’s only one answer: Connections.
As mentioned above, LinkedIs was created to build a connection between the business and consumers. But, it’s also the best way to connect to other business from the same or from another industry. It’s called networking. From this vast connection, you can build a network that can help your business grow and can eventually help increase your leads.
Moreover, LinkedIn gives an avenue for organizations, company, and individuals to grow their reach and “link” themselves to a wide cloud of fields. With LinkedIn, you can join groups, collect educational information, promote your company’s events, share articles and visual contents, and ignite a conversation about a certain topic. It’s a great way to increase your company’s visibility more than your own website.
How To Get Started?
Ok, so now that you are aware of LinkedIn and what it does, let’s see how to get you started.
1. Set up your account. Just like any other social media sites, it is required to sign up for an account. But with LinkedIn, you also have to make sure that you will set it up properly. It’s like a supercharged version of your resume. You have to inform people of your expertise, experience, and professional capabilities. Take note to keep your profile picture formal and professional. Selfies are not recommended. And most importantly, complete all the necessary requirements when setting up the account. Otherwise, it’s useless.
2. Build your network. Signing up is not enough. You are on LinkedIn to grow your network, so you should. But you have to take it slow. It’s really tempting to send out invitations to everyone you know but this isn’t Facebook. If you are connecting professionally, you have to take in consideration the value of the people are connecting with. Make sure to only connect with people that you trust, know, and value professionally.
3. Be active. Joining and adding peers is still not enough. You have to be active in the discussions and post your own content if you can. As a company, you can create contents that will entice and engage the audience. In that way, you are already establishing your strength and credibility as a company.
4. Join Groups. If you want to be more relevant, start joining groups. It’s basically a way for you to communicate with different people of the same interest and same industry. Through this, you can learn more new things and also share new knowledge.
What’s A Company Page?
It’s okay to use your personal account for all these content marketing initiatives in LinkedIn, there’s no problem with that. But, it is going to be more effective for your business if you will create your own company page. It is basically an extension of your personal page but it is built under the image of your company – from the photo to the descriptions.
Creating a company page allows you to build a separate network and pool of followers for your company. Aside from that, you can also use your company page to post job openings, create a marketing content that will highlight your products and services, engage directly to your followers as a brand, and add another avenue to promote your business.
Most importantly, you can create news updates and events. If you want people to know more about your events, you can use your company page to promote it.
Go Ahead, Link With It
LinkedIn is not new anymore, actually. It’s something that’s been around for a long time but it has been taken for granted by many companies. But what we would suggest is to not ignore it completely. Other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter may be able to connect you to a wide range of consumer audience, but LinkedIn has the capability to give you exposure to a targeted audience that speaks and understands your language.
Do not hesitate, get linked.
