Does the question, “What is the use of LinkedIn” still come in your mind? or how do I create a company LinkedIn page? No worries, there are many like you. Many people have the notion that LinkedIn can only be used for job search. Yes, that was the case when this social media site was launched in 2003, but with time, things have changed. These days, LinkedIn is used for various business purposes like staying updated with the current industry trends, building relationships with like-minded experts, and finding new leads who could turn into permanent customers. If you are thinking to join, then have a look at the different ways to use Linkedin for your business.
LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world. It recently crossed the threshold of 500 million users across the world. Moreover, LinkedIn has become a popular sales and marketing platform. Over 30 million organizations use LinkedIn for business purposes. Not just because it is a popular social network for hiring people, but also because over 690 million members, more and more brands are using this channel to connect, network, and promote.
Different Ways to Use LinkedIn for your Business
Use LinkedIn as a Networking Tool
One of the significant ways to use LinkedIn for your business is to use it in the form of a networking tool. To take full benefits of the networking capabilities of LinkedIn, you need to do these things:
- Connect with people
- Build a great profile
- Communicate with others
Connect with people
In LinkedIn, there is no limit to whom you should get connected. Are you following someone’s blog? How about connecting with them on LinkedIn. Want to work for your dream company? Connect and interact with people who work in that company. Searching for new job opportunities or want to generate leads. Accept every request you receive and build new connections. Make sure your profile is set to public, and always keep it open to connecting. You can never imagine what new opportunities your LinkedIn network will create.
Build a great personal profile or Business page
It is not just enough to connect with people. You must also invest your time in building your personal profile or your business page. In simple language, it means:
- Write a brief, mistake-free introduction that differentiates you and your business
- Use a professional photo and your business logo
- Fill every applicable field
- Attach media, including white papers, blog posts, etc.
- Try to build a strong profile that gives readers a clear idea about who you are, complete it with contact info, etc.
Intermingle with the content of others
It is not enough to use LinkedIn as just a publishing platform- it is important to interact with others and build significant connections if you want to take full benefit of the networking ability of LinkedIn. Along with sharing your own connect, you must comment on other people’s posts too. If you post your own content, ensure that you respond to comments also.
Ask questions and initiate discussions
Join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your business.
Use LinkedIn as a Publishing Platform
If you are among those who do not know how to use LinkedIn for business marketing, then you will be surprised to know that it is a great resource for content creators. You can not only post status updates and link back to the content on your website, but you can also use LinkedIn as a publishing platform and develop exclusive content for your LinkedIn audience. It is the only social media channel that can be used as a publishing platform for your articles.
Many of you might ask why to publish articles on LinkedIn when you can publish it on your website or blog?
Good question.
Publishing an article on Linkedin drives social engagement and at the same time creates brand awareness, instead of just driving traffic to your website. When you publish an article on LinkedIn, everyone in your connection will be notified about it. That is a big advantage. Also, 45% of LinkedIn articles readers work in upper-level positions like VP’s, managers, C-suite, directors.
One of the major benefits of LinkedIn for business is it provides analytics, so it is easy to find out which blog or article is grabbing maximum attention from the audience.
Using LinkedIn for Online Reputation Management
The first and foremost rule of online reputation management is to have your control over the results that appear on the first page of Google search results when somebody searches for your business name. Definitely, like everyone, you too want content from your website to rank, but it is also one of the best practices to claim all social media profiles you can in your business’ name- even if you do not plan to be much involved on them. This is so because social media profiles, mostly show up on the first page of Google search results for an individual’s or business’ name. In this regard, make sure that you create a business page for your company, to claim that important place on the SERP. The more results you will be able to gather, the better. This way, if you ever had any bad comments, your social media profiles will push the negative comments to the next page.
Generate more leads, drive conversions
Whether you own a B2B or B2C business, you can generate maximum leads and drive conversions on LinkedIn. You must consider these:
- LinkedIn users have purchasing power: about 44% earn more than $75,000 in a year
- If you have a product to sell, you must find people who can purchase it on LinkedIn
- You can find new clients through LinkedIn: 40 million LinkedIn users are in a decision-making position, and thus have the power to hire your company or license your software.
- You can create strategic partnerships: About 61 million LinkedIn users are considered as senior-level influencers
- You can do this organically, obviously, or you can move to a Sales Navigator plan.
By upgrading to a Sales Navigator plan, you will get:
- Understandings into your current leads including the growth of the company, change in job, and much more.
- Advanced search functionality that lessens your dependency on the decision-makers
- Find automated lead recommendations
Use LinkedIn for finding new talent
One of the major benefits of LinkedIn for your business is you can use it for finding new talent for your organization. It provides premium subscriptions that make it simple to find new people. With a Recruiter Lite Plan, you can:
- Post about job openings in your company
- Send 30 direct LinkedIn messages to people whom you find apt for the role
- Use advanced search options to find what you are searching for
- Sort out and manage your candidate pool
- Track the candidates and open roles easily
If you are just starting your business and do not have an HR or hiring manager, then Recruiter Lite can be of great help. It can even help you save a lot of money that you would otherwise spend on hiring an employment agency to meet your hiring needs.
Conclusion
No matter whether you want to grow your network, manage your business’ online reputation, attract maximum social traffic to your site, or scale your business, LinkedIn can be a useful platform for your business. Using LinkedIn marketing strategy can help you to grow your network, find new leads, and build a professional reputation for your business. Consider adding a LinkedIn badge to your blog or website, so that your customers can find you easily and connect with you in no time.