It’s
been almost twenty years since LinkedIn
first appeared, and yet so many of us still assume that it’s only useful when
you’re looking for a job. Since 2003, the site has held thousands of online
resumes and began to change the way we think about recruitment. But so many
businesses are still missing the key advantages and opportunities LinkedIn can
provide. It’s much more than a site for CVs.

Complete Your Pages

However
large or small your business, it’s definitely worth completing your business’
LinkedIn page. Company pages are ranked highly on search results, so the more
in-depth your page, the more people will know about your business, particularly
if it gets flagged up to them. LinkedIn will also provide data on your Company
Page – similarly to Facebook in terms of marketing, which will allow you to
view metrics and information about your followers so you can better understand
the type of person viewing you on LinkedIn.

Make
sure you also complete your personal LinkedIn page alongside your Company Page.
Potential clients and customers like to know there’s a person behind the brand,
and they can learn more about you and your credentials at the same time. It’s valuable
having published content, infographics and links to any other online content
forming part of your profile as well, to further engage viewers with the level
of expertise you have in your field.

Form Connections

LinkedIn
has 562 million users and, as with any form of networking, it’s not just about
who your connections are, but who your connections know (and who they know, and
who they know etc etc). LinkedIn has a unique ability to tap into connections
and grow your brand through word-of-mouth. Joining groups that relate to your
industry, or starting your own, will encourage brand visibility and increase
your followers. As your followers increase, you will become more recognized.
Statistics provided to Hootsuite
from LinkedIn tell us that companies with completed pages gain followers six
times faster than those without.

If
you create a group, you can quickly become recognised as an expert in your
field by sharing relevant content, information and news stories, as well as
offering advice and opinions where relevant. Like other connectivity sites, if
what you talk about under the banner of your Company Page is relevant and
informative, followers will flock to you.

Start Sharing as Your Business

As
with any successful marketing campaign, visibility is everything. You should be
sharing via your Company Page, but make sure you aren’t just dropping adverts
into the ether. Think about what you like to see from sites you follow on
social media – no one wants to be bombarded with adverts every five minutes.
Instead, ask yourself who your audience is. The demographics from LinkedIn
should give you an idea of who views the Company Page. Once you know that, you
can tailor your content to include links and references to engaging content.
Remember, over-promotion is a pitfall of many social media sites – don’t fall
prey to it.

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