Linkedin has never been considered as powerful and popular as Facebook and Instagram. However, the potential from advertising on Linkedin should not be ignored. As a business-focused networking site that allows you to keep in touch with colleagues, companies, and people within your niche fields of business, this platform provides great opportunities to market if you are specifically targeting a B2B environment. In the last couple of years, Linkedin has implemented some changes to make it more appealing as a promoting platform. In order to use Linkedin as an effective tool, you need to consider how to use it differently than you would other social media platforms.
Here's some tips on using Linkedin to promote your business and to target potential clients:
1 - Create a company/business profile
A company page allows you to effectively separate your individual profile from your business. This page allows you to publish important information about what your company does, etc. This is the first step to using Linkedin as a promotional tool. Follow this link to learn how.
2 - Build your brand
Use Linkedin to keep tabs on what is being said about your company on Linkedin and Twitter. This information is important because it allows you to respond quickly and also gives you an idea of the impact of your brand.
3 - Participate
Join groups relevant to your company and participate in discussions. Whenever you participate, you are showing up to other industry professionals, so be sure your comments are well thought out. Consider these helpful tips on ways to participate. Also, consider adding a short signature with your company information on your posts, so people can more easily reach you. One of the best ways to participate is to answer questions related to your business and expertise. This can be a great way to appear as an “expert” to people who are looking for your specific knowledge and who might be inclined to contact you for more.
4 - Update your status
Create and publish interesting status updates. Be sure to relate your status with relevant topics within your niche. This is a very simple and effective way to stay active online and generate brand awareness. Note: Publishing articles is a feature you can do from your personal profile, but it is not offered for business profiles. If you want to stand out as an industry “thought leader” based on your knowledge, skills, or expertise, consider using the Articles feature as well as making status posts for your business.
5 - Advertise on Linkedin
For B2B marketing, consider starting a targeted advertising campaign. You can run different types of campaigns depending on your goals as well as target your ads based on geography, job function, seniority, industry, and company size, and by industry. You can advertise posts from your business, or even run advertising using their in-mail feature. In-mail is helpful if you want to appeal to potential business partners with a personal email in their inbox, instead of as a post on their feed. This is an extremely useful tool if your target demographic is geared toward a specific job title. By visiting the Linkedin business center, you can learn about all the marketing options available.
Linkedin is a great tool to utilize for social media outreach for both your own personal profile as well as your business. If you use it correctly, it can increase both your brand and your own profile connections and business relationships.