January 03, 2013

While the buzz is still mostly on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other “popular” social networking sites, LinkedIn often gets overlooked when companies are creating online marketing strategies.

And although most see it as a tool for job seekers and recruiters, its following of 175 million professionals means businesses should not ignore LinkedIn. It is a critical channel for connecting with prospects, customers and industry experts, and should be an essential part of any company’s social communications strategy.

A LinkedIn Company Page will help ensure that you're reaching the right people in the community with the most relevant content. People are swarming to LinkedIn with the sole purpose of reaching out and connecting with businesses and business professionals. As a business owner, you can use LinkedIn to generate new business leads and connect with others in your industry.

Here’s how you can take advantage of LinkedIn to build your brand:

  1. Update, Update, Update - Regularly interact and engage with your connections by sharing company news, interesting trends, events and industry developments. Inactive profiles with stale information can be detrimental to your brand.
  2. Build Authority - Answering LinkedIn’s Questions & Answers and participating in group discussions is integral to developing your presence on this business social networking site. It is an effective way to develop stronger connections and boost sales.  In addition, it will help position your corporate team as industry experts and the go-to people in your field.
  3. Potential Leads  – Make use of LinkedIn’s advanced search feature to connect with the right people. It allows you to identify individuals in certain industries or working for specific companies, and you can create a tailored message to invite them.
  4. Recommendations – Your company page has a useful feature for people to make recommendations about doing business with you and sharing their experiences.  If you can get clients to recommend you and your work, it will help build your authority within your specific industry.
  5. Market Research - Poll your audience via LinkedIn Q&As to get their opinion on new product and services, what they like about your brand and where you could use some improvement. This allows you to pick your audience’s brain without spending a lot of money to do it.