We all see a lot of businesses on LinkedIn, but why choose this social media platform to promote your business? With over 830 million members, LinkedIn provides a range of opportunities to a global workforce.
Many people believe LinkedIn is just a tool for job hunters and recruiters, but there is so much more to it! LinkedIn can also be used as a fantastic tool for lead generation, connecting with your target market and approaching potential target businesses for mutual benefit.
It’s no wonder LinkedIn is promoted as the most popular social networking platform for B2B! Let’s find out more about why it’s so successful.
Like any business, you want to be successful and to stand out from the competition. To do this you need to identify your ‘unique selling point’, or USP as it’s often referred to. One of the reasons for LinkedIn’s success and popularity is its focus on professionals engaging in a business capacity (no holiday or weekend pics)! This is a place to talk business, engage with like-minded people and learn from experts within your industry. This is LinkedIn’s USP. There’s no other platform that targets explicitly this niche and demographic.
We like to describe LinkedIn as “Facebook wearing a tie”. The features and usability are designed to be similar to Facebook to encourage people to use the platform, but the content is about professionalism and careers.
LinkedIn is effective in targeting specific and niche audiences as there is so much data that businesses can use to generate successful leads. When you sign up to LinkedIn, all members with a personal profile will give details such as their working history, past and current job titles, education, location and more. This is valuable information for businesses because you can use detailed targeting to help your marketing campaigns reach the right people.
LinkedIn as a platform is like a networking event. Some people are there to show off, some people are there to generate leads and some just to learn. By knowing how your audience uses the platform, being aware of the content types they like to engage with and by connecting with them, you can enhance your customer relationships and highlight the benefits of using your business.
Personal profiles on LinkedIn in general have a much higher following than business pages. People want to connect with other people. Remember, this is like a networking platform! The human touch is key. Encourage your employees to use personal profiles on LinkedIn. This is great for your business because:
Employee posts can also appear more authentic. For example: if an employee is promoting your business and saying how much they enjoy working for you, this looks genuine – rather than you simply claiming that all employees are happy. Not only does this give positive reinforcement to your brand and that you are a good employer, but it can make it easier to attract new talent to the team when you are in the recruiting process.
Even though personal profiles are important, business profiles on LinkedIn are still vital! You should aim to provide high-quality content for your audience (it’s not just about selling to people or other businesses) to add value to your connections! What are the benefits of following your company page?
There’s no denying it – LinkedIn is the best B2B social networking platform for businesses to be active. With the handful of the benefits listed above, it’s easy to see how it can positively affect your business. If you’d like help with your social media strategy then get in touch so we can provide you with a detailed and tailored paid or organic strategy that can help you achieve your business goals.
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