LinkedIn has a stunning 75 million members. All types of people use LinkedIn as their resume network, from presidents and CEOs to production line workers. Are you using your LinkedIn network to market your products and services to the masses? Here are some tips for marketing your business on LinkedIn.
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1. Use your network - Connect with your former coworkers and colleagues through the LinkedIn network. The person who was the line worker yesterday may now be the CEO at one of your target businesses. Get in contact with your colleagues and peers, make introductions and use that network to your best advantage.
2. Join discussions - There is a group for nearly every conceivable purpose on LinkedIn. Search through LinkedIn to find discussion groups about your fields of expertise. Become an active participant in these groups and establish yourself as an expert. To be the most effective, you need to be an active participant within the group, so make sure that you can devote the time and effort to cultivating your company's reputation.
3. Create a group - After participating in some of the discussions, make a group of your own. Being an administrator allows you to create subgroups and start discussions. You can poll the members of your group about important breakthroughs within the field. You can make job postings for the other member. Ask your current contacts and employees to be part of the group to provide more exposure for your brand.
4. Personalize your profile - Create a personalized profile. Add pictures and share your interests with other LinkedIn users. People want to have a sense of connection to those with whom they do business. Be specific with your offered services, but make sure that you are warm and compassionate with your presentation. Add some flair.
5. Promote yourself - Market your LinkedIn profile to others by putting links on your other social networking sites. Put a link to your profile on your business cards and within your email signatures. Make a link in the 'about' section of your blog. You want to make yourself as accessible as possible within the social marketing sphere.
6. Be active - Having the LinkedIn account is not enough, you have to be active. Social networks are not instant, they take time to cultivate. Attract new people to your profile by giving them great blog posts, updating your content and providing value to your community.
7. Answer questions - There are questions which need to be answered and you are in the perfect position to offer your expertise to the situation. Let others see the depth and breadth of your knowledge. When you offer answers on LinkedIn, there is a link to your profile and your company. If you have recently blogged the answer to a question, feel free to put links to that blog post. When you are looking for goods and services, ask questions and you will receive new contacts.
8. Links - Encourage your employees to link to the company's group and webpage within their profiles. Each of these links increases the number of backlinks that you have, potentially lifting your company within the page rankings. You do not want to be bold and dramatic, you want to let others know about the services which you provide.
9. Request Recommendations - Take the time to request testimonials from your clients and your colleagues. These show up on your profile and can sway potential customers toward you. When you encourage recommendations, you are letting others have a voice about your products, services and reputation. Remember to give honest referrals for others in return.
10. Use Keywords - Keywords are important because they make you more visible in the search engines. Place the emphasis on the services that your company performs rather than the name of the company itself. When you are looking for a great internet marketer, you search for 'internet marketing,' rather than 'Joe's Services.' Pepper key words and phrases throughout your summary so that others know about your great products and services.
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When you use the LinkedIn social network, you are connecting with millions of others. Your answers are seen by millions, giving you free advertising. By including LinkedIn in your marketing strategy, you are significantly increasing your company's visibility.
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