LinkedIn is an important tool for small businesses trying to expand their network, with more than 165 million members in the U.S. and over 660 million members globally. Both B2B and B2C businesses can benefit from using LinkedIn to grow their network and stay ahead of the curb. Read on to learn more about how to use LinkedIn to grow your business.
Create A Strong Profile
The first step of your LinkedIn journey is building a personal profile. To build trust, you need to fill your page out as completely as possible. Put in a bio, photo, and updated resume. Potential clients, employees, or customers will feel more comfortable connecting with you if your profile lets them know a little more about them. Also, the more information you put in, the higher the likelihood of finding a meaningful point of connection with a stranger when reaching out. If you both graduated from the same school, for example, then that’s an easy point of commonality to break the ice. You could begin with a message like, “I see you went to UT too, always great connecting with a fellow Longhorn!” You should also include trust-building elements, such as asking your connections for endorsements.
Offer To Help
After you’ve created your profile page, you can start reaching out. There are certain rules you should keep in mind. Firstly, always research the people you’re trying to connect with. Are they the right fit for your business? What does their profile share that may help you construct a tailored message? It’s important to take the time to create a personalized message. A message that is clearly copy-pasted can be a huge turn-off for prospective connections; if you haven’t given them the time to research what they do, why should they give you any of their time?
A good sales pitch should be about them. If you’re a digital marketing firm emphasizing SEO, check out the prospect’s Google ranking, and then send them a message about how they could improve their SEO if they would like to chat with you. This kind of message is a lot more likely to get a response than something generic where you ask them to tell you their problems. You’re the expert, and it’s up to you to identify the problem you will solve for them.
Create A Business Page
Depending on what kind of business you run, you should also create a page for your business. As a solopreneur, you probably only need a personal profile. If you run a local business with a specific brand, however, you may want to dedicate a page to your company. The same rules apply across all social media platforms, so keep your branding and messaging consistent with your other online assets (website, other social media profiles, etc.) when setting up your profile. It’s important to build trust by linking to your website and other social profiles; the more substantial your online presence, the more legitimate you are.
Contact Us Today
LinkedIn can be a great tool to reach out to prospective clients and grow your online presence. Affordable Digital Marketing is a top digital marketing firm in Hollywood, FL. Call Affordable Digital Marketing to expand your business today!