LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social media tools for B2B connections and marketing.
Here, we bring together five different LinkedIn specialists to give us insights into their key tips to get the most out of LinkedIn, for more information or to learn how these experts can help you, we recommend that you contact them direct.
LESLEY ANDERSON, Hedgerow Marketing
To make the most of LinkedIn, people need to understand how it really works. It’s THE most effective platform for B2B leads, generating over 200% more leads than Twitter or Facebook, according to a 2018 study of B2B marketing professionals. However, that assumes people take it seriously as part of their marketing strategy and understand how LinkedIn works. To maximise the potential on the platform, I would recommend that people complete their profile to achieve the ‘All Star’ status. LinkedIn gives priority to these profiles, so it’s worth doing.
3 building blocks on LinkedIn are:
Connections – look for potential clients but also people who are close to your potential clients, such as accountants, solicitors, HR Managers, financial advisors who could all refer you to their clients. Treat it like the amazing virtual network it is, and accept invitations to connect from as wide a base as you can
Community – like posts by all means but try to comment as this raises your visibility to people outside your network AND indirectly improves your status with LinkedIn; the platform rewards active membership by showing your posts to more people
Content – post your own content (not just shares) at least once a week. After all, would you go to a network meeting and stand with your back to the wall, not speaking to anyone?
'To make the most of LinkedIn, people need to understand how it really works.'
SIMON DOLLEY, Anthera Marketing
There are lots of different rights or wrongs with regards to finding LinkedIn success, however there are three tips we would recommend that can make a difference.
Have a plan.
Think about what you want to get out of LinkedIn. Is it to get more business? If so from whom? Are you looking to work wit specific types of business or even specific people? Plan out how to get your messages seen by the right people and make connections with people who work with your target markets and/or target individuals.
Be yourself.
Be genuine, be truthful but also illustrate what makes you different from everyone else. Don’t be afraid to blow your own trumpet but also don’t over-promise, you will soon be found out. If you use your own voice, people will start to learn what is special about you and your business and how you interact with customers and suppliers.
Engage with people properly.
Don’t just go on and randomly like, like, like – although this can help with the algorithms – it doesn’t help you build up relationships with other users. Comment on people’s posts, ask questions, answer questions, give advice and become recognised as an expert in your given field. It is just like walking into a pub you go into every day but don’t talk to anyone. What is the engagement going to be like? Minimal. Whereas if you ask how people are, chat to the bar staff, play pool, help out. Each time you go in there every will welcome you like Norm from Cheers. Social media is no different, so engage with people.
Mark Field, DM Informatics
Create a business page
Many of us have a personal LinkedIn profile. As valuable as it is, a person profile is about you. A business page, on the other hand, helps promote your business. Business pages offer a number of advantages and you can add information such as your business logo, cover image, 2,000 word description of your business, up to 20 specialisations, a video, company size, industry and links to various sources to name but a few. Having a business page will help your search engine rankings and ensure your business has a credible web presence. And they are free to create.
Use Showcase Pages
A business page is dedicated to your business and brand but that’s not all that LinkedIn offer business owners. You can create what are known as showcase pages. These are individual pages that promote and represent a specific product or service. You can even customise them for a certain campaign or event. LinkedIn allow you to create up to 10 showcase pages for free so think how you can leverage these free pages to show all the different aspects of your business to your target audience.
VIC WILLIAMS, The Audacious Training Company
There a many things they recommend we do, but here are 3 which are foundational to how the algorithm views you:
Identify – Who are you? What do you do? What are you interested in? Where do you work and who are you connected with? All these questions and many more are continuously asked by the system to try and define your identity and then be able to put information in front of you in which you may be interested in. That could be in the form of posts or articles from your connections or it could be posts from groups you are active in. Developing your identity begins with your profile so make sure it tells your story.
Content – How many times has your content been viewed, liked or shared? How often do you post relevant content which can be identified with your identity? What type of language do you use? What type of post or update it. Is it text, image or video? Have you @mentioned anyone or used hashtags? This is all used by the algorithm to build a more complete picture of your and what you may want to see, including who you may want to connect with.
Behaviour – What posts or articles have you liked? What posts or articles have you commented on? Did you comment and like a particular post? How relevant is the content of that post or article to the picture that has been built of you? What type of content do you spend most of your time consuming? This again all feeds the algorithms picture of you and what you would like to see, hear or read.
These 3 foundational principles are key to your success on LinkedIn.