LinkedIn generating revenue for small business, too

Use LinkedIn to Grow Your Small Business

Even small businesses that are social media marketing savvy often overlook LinkedIn. This professional social networking platform has developed an untrue reputation of being best suited for large corporations. However, small businesses can find many opportunities on LinkedIn with not only customers, but can also help you find the best talent for your company.

LinkedIn is a free social media marketing platform, but it will still require an investment of time. Businesses on LinkedIn have a company page that need an interesting profile and frequent updates, as any other social media platform, but the effort is rewarded with a good ROI. Reports show that 53 percent of B2B businesses generated revenue from LinkedIn leads. Engagement with related industry groups and even competitors is important on LinkedIn. Here are the five steps to getting you started on LinkedIn on the right foot:

Company Page

Just like on Facebook and other social media sites, your LinkedIn page will be your company’s representation online. Create a compelling introduction to the world and then link to it from other places like your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, website, and even electronic business cards and invoices. When adding a new social media platform to your digital marketing plan, don’t forget to integrate all platforms and marketing strategies as much as possible.

Join Groups

LinkedIn is a great platform for business owners to connect to share and receive thought leadership. Most industries have groups you can join to stay up to date on movements in your markets. This will also make you more recognized in your industry.

SEO

Social media is still impacting SEO. A LinkedIn profile is a great way to optimize your SEO as the social media profile will rank in the search results. When creating your profile, be sure to use keywords and phrases that customers would likely use to find your or your competitors and watch your business rise in search engine rankings.

Content

As with Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media platform, LinkedIn needs interesting content that provides value to the reader. Social media is not about the hard sell, but rather focuses more on becoming a thought leader in the industry and joining a larger conversation. When creating content, keep in mind that you are doing so for your business even when posting content on your personal profile. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn is solely for business purposes (so those weekend cookout photos should go to other social media sites).

Endorsements

LinkedIn is different from other social media platforms in that on this platform you can recommend others’ skills and experience. You can endorse and recommend people in your industry and in your network and they can do that for you. It is like digital word-of-mouth that reaches around the world.