14 Strategies For Marketing On Linkedin

If I were forced to choose between using only one social networking site for
my business, from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social networking sites,
I would choose LinkedIn, hands down.  I still love these other social
networking sites, but LinkedIn is by far the most powerful for your business and
career.


 
Why LinkedIn Is #1
With the average household income per user hitting $109,000, which is much
higher than Twitter, Facebook, and the other social networking power houses, you
know you are dealing with people who mean business.


Being that it is the largest business networking site in the world, there is
a mindset shift when users log on to LinkedIn compared to logging on their
cousin sites, Twitter or Facebook.


The mood changes, the messages are more professional. Conversations are
geared toward partnerships and transactions, as opposed to how funny you looked
in your birthday pictures, and everything is centered around advancing careers
or building businesses.


LinkedIn Means Business

 Everyone talks about the power of Facebook ads but the
LinkedIn ad platform is even more powerful considering the demographic is made
up of decision makers.


My point being, if you aren’t using this powerful site to market your
business yet, then it’s time to start taking it more seriously and step your
game up.


There are a number of ways to market yourself and your business online, but
here are 14 LinkedIn tips that will drastically increase your marketing
potential:

1.
  Complete Your Profile


 

Your profile is the heart and soul of your online business brand.  It
usually ranks in the top 5 of Google search results for “Your First and Last
Name”.  When others do a search for your name to learn about your product,
service, company, or previous work experience, then you’d better have a rock
solid profile or that first impression could drastically tarnish your
value.  Make sure you fill out your profile 100% for starters, then go on
from there to make it sexier.





 2.
  Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Profile. Just like your website,
if you want your LinkedIn to capture search traffic you have to make it
SEO-friendly. Describe your company in clear language consistent with
descriptions on your website and social media accounts. Optimize for the same
keywords as your website, but feel free to be more technical or
industry-oriented, advises Marketing Land’s Jim Yu. Post shareable, quality
content, videos, and linked calls-to-action to improve user experience and
search engine rank.







3.
  Leverage LinkedIn News Feed.
A challenge for many content marketers is simply getting eyeballs on your
content. LinkedIn news feed provides direct distribution channel for your
content marketing, explains ClickZ's Roger Katz. Content posted on your company
page will be delivered daily to your followers’ pages. They won’t even have to
search for your content. By streamlining content distribution and facilitating
content sharing, LinkedIn truly proves its value as content marketing tool.


 


4.
  Build Followers.
LinkedIn news feed is only as good as the people who follow you. Your
followers are the ones who will regularly receive your content and you want to
make sure they are your top content marketing targets. Aim to develop a
following comprised of businesses who are potential qualified leads. Begin to
build this community by including calls-to-action to follow your company page in
all your content. Embed LinkedIn follow buttons on your website. Promote your
LinkedIn on your other social networks. Slowly but surely you will build a
  quality following that will enable you to leverage LinkedIn to its fullest
potential.


 


5.
  Join LinkedIn Groups. This is a simple way to engage your
desired audience. Because LinkedIn groups represent a specific segment of the
professional community, joining them gives you direct access to a target
population. Use this forum to build relationships, communicate relevant, useful
information, and position yourself as a likable expert.







6.
  Start conversations. Posting informative content isn’t the only
way to engage an audience and build your brand. Ask questions, answer questions,
participate in group discussions, suggests Social Media Today. If you contribute
often and provide valuable advice, you will eventually be identified as an
industry thought leader.


 

7.
Follow a
Company. 

This LinkedIn feature offers numerous benefits to content marketers. To
begin, it is the first step to building relationships with prospects. Comment
and share their content to plant the seeds. Maybe reach out to them for an
expert opinion quote or guest post on your site. Second, it is a great way to
learn about your target audience and identify their needs, goals, and culture.
This will equip you to create relevant, quality content which delivers
  legitimate value and effectively engages businesses.



 8.
  Tap Into Your Own Employee Network.



 Don’t stop at sharing content on your own company page. Encourage employees
to share company blog posts, articles, or other content pieces on their own
LinkedIn, advises Jim Dougherty of Vocus. This widens the scope of your content
audience, hopefully increasing brand awareness, social connections, website
traffic, and ultimately conversion.




 9. Add
Your Company Profile

 LinkedIn is constantly enhancing its platform and one of the things that has
been lagging, until recently, was the company page section.  Now, it allows
you to add a video, share more information about your products and services, and
give more insights about your company and the people working there.




 10.
  Connect With Twitter


I sometimes find that I get more comments and interaction on LinkedIn from
the same update I published on Twitter.  The updates (even when synced from
Twitter) seem to “stay on top” longer than they would in your Twitter
stream.  The more interaction you get, the more others see it as well (it’s
similar to Facebook in this regard).


Make sure to connect your Twitter account to LinkedIn.  Others talk
about why this is bad because a lot of your messaging won’t be targeted for your
LinkedIn audience (especially when you use “@” symbols and hashtags), but for
the most part, my message is staying at the top of mind for my connections on
LinkedIn and for me that’s a powerful thing.


11. Add Advanced Applications
 

I love the fact that LinkedIn has rolled out a number of applications to help
you promote your business or your personal work better.  It doesn’t matter
what industry you are in, there is an application for everyone that can help you
get your message across better, and improve the overall experience of your
LinkedIn profile.  Go to the applications section on your profile to see
which ones you could start using today, and make the most out of the new ones
that come out in the future.



 12. Connect With
Everyone


A number of LinkedIn newbies or purists will say, “You should only connect
with those you already know and trust, so you can make recommendations to others
when they want an introduction.” Believe me, I understand where these users
are coming from, but how do you expect to expand your opportunities and options
when you shut off communication to the rest of the 85 million plus members on
  LinkedIn?


Think about it, you already know all of the opportunities that your closest
connections can share since you talk to them more frequently.  It’s time to
use LinkedIn like a live networking event and introduce yourself to others, make
new friends, and start helping more people connect.  Also, start accepting
invitations to others who add you, as the more connections you have, the larger
  your expanded network grows which helps create more opportunities in the long
run.  


13. Customize Your Websites
 

This is a basic thing that everyone should do.  It’s simple. 
Creating a call to action attracts more attention then having a generic link
that says “My website”.  Make it look and sound sexier so when people come
to your profile they feel inspired to click on your links and go back to your
website.


 

14. Be Compelling

 Work on making yourself stand out to keep people from falling asleep when
looking at your LinkedIn profile. An extremely boring profile that showcases
zero personality or compelling attributes is a sure way to a leads shortage. Add
an interesting story in your summary, have a video recommendation pop up in the
first few seconds, or at the least tell people who you are, who you help, and
how you help them so there is some direction for people when they land on your
profile.


 

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for sharing content, but do you have a
platform on which to publish?  

The key is to find the right one research it and leverage it.

Use these tips to get started building something powerful with your Linkedin
Marketing strategy today.