LinkedIn is commonly considered a tool to find a job, and to research a company or an individual. But LinkedIn also lends itself to business-to-business marketing and has proven to be an effective way to promote your business. Many B2B companies have been successful at generating leads from LinkedIn.
Getting Started
After you have completed your personal profile and developed your company page, research groups to join. Don’t just target groups in your field but also groups that your target market is in. Joining groups in your prospects’ industries lets you understand their issues and be a resource for them in your area of expertise. Consider creating a group to host discussion about industry developments and business issues.
Leverage Your Groups
Use your LinkedIn groups to become a valuable resource for your peers and your prospects. Share information within your industry and area of expertise. People want to understand how their peers have tackled a specific problem. Be active in groups where your ideal customers would be. Add value by engaging in discussions and sharing tips or industry news. Offer webinars, white papers and case studies to accomplish this. Provide these resources through your website and capture contact information when they request information or sign up for a webinar. When you exhibit your credibility, you generate awareness of your brand and people will consider working with you.
Grow Your Network
Every business needs to network whether it is at conferences, through networking events or one-on-one. Strengthen your network by adding people you meet into your LinkedIn network. Ask them to connect with you but be sure to make meaningful connections.
How Endorsements Help
The new Endorsement feature can also be considered a networking tool for savvy social media marketers, because a LinkedIn endorsement is an easy way to get on someone’s radar. First, add skills to your profile, placing the ones you feel are the most important first. These are the qualities that people will be endorsing you on and they will see the top most skills first.
Keep the Chatter Going
Whenever you have some sort of activity on LinkedIn, whether you have commented on a group discussion, made a change to your profile or endorsed a connection, that activity shows up in your own newsfeed and if you are endorsing others, it shows up in their newsfeeds too. This gives your personal brand a little more exposure to others and puts your name back on the radar of those you are connected to.
Why Have a Company Page
Company Pages on LinkedIn give you an opportunity to have a presence on LinkedIn beyond a personal profile that exhibits your company’s persona. Make it easier for customers and potential customers to find you by filling out all the fields on your company page and including industry specific keywords. Enhance your credibility by featuring your products on your page and seeking recommendations for them.
Other Tips To Leverage LinkedIn For Your Business
- Focus on your individual or company accomplishments rather than talking about what you do. There are lots of people and companies that “do” the same thing, but everyone’s accomplishments are unique.
- Use People and Company Search in LinkedIn to identify individuals and businesses that you want to connect with. Leverage your current connections to facilitate adding new ones.
- Integrate LinkedIn into your other marketing communications such as your website or e-newsletter. Include a link in your online communications that goes to your LinkedIn page. Having all your communications work in concert makes your presence, reputation, and lead generation that much stronger.
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