I have heard many people say that LinkedIn is a platform for finding jobs. Yes, you can find a job on LinkedIn, but it does much more. LinkedIn can be a fantastic tool to start or grow your business if used correctly.
These are some things that have helped us use LinkedIn more effectively for our business.
1. Add a nice profile picture of yourself with a light background
Your LinkedIn display picture is usually the first thing people will look at when they come to your profile. Make sure it is welcoming while still communicating your personality and professionalism. We have found it more effective to use our individual profiles on LinkedIn rather than a company page.
2. Add a headline that describes who and how you can help
Your headline is shown to people under your name even before they click on your profile. You want it to attract the people to whom you can add value. By mentioning who they are, you grab their attention and how you can help them arouses their interest. If it looks too much like a sales pitch, they will most likely steer clear of you.
3. Describe what problem you solve in the about section
It is good to put some information about ourselves in the about section. Still, people do not go on LinkedIn to read biographies. People are generally on LinkedIn to find and interact with people that they can help or that can help them. When you talk about their problem and briefly how you can solve it, you show that you care more about them than yourself. In this section, avoid talking about their symptoms and cover the real problems they face.
4. Make use of the featured section
The featured section in LinkedIn is a great place to talk about your achievements and the offering without making them the whole focus of your profile. Remember it’s about them, not you. The featured section allows you to add links of content you have produced, co-produced and any other mentions by others. When completed correctly, this section gives you credibility.
5. Post original content or interact with other people’s content consistently
Posting content on LinkedIn is good because LinkedIn still has good organic reach compared to other platforms. LinkedIn allows you to post text, photos, videos, documents and articles. We have found videos and documents to work well for us on LinkedIn. Try to make most of your content valuable to your target audience without asking for their business. The sooner you can get people interacting with your content; the more likely your post will be shown to even more people. Interacting with other people’s content can sometimes be as effective as posting original content. The best way to achieve this is by adding relevant and valuable comments to people’s content. You can ask questions that other people may have as well and keep discussions alive.
6. Start and build relationships
LinkedIn is a great place to start business relationships with people that you do not even know personally. You may have been at an event with someone and not had the chance to speak with them. It will not be weird to send then a connection request with a short message reminding them about the event you both attended. Sending connection requests to completed strangers is also commonplace on LinkedIn provided you have connections or interests in common. You can then build relationships by being genuine in your interactions with them and their content.
7. Use it as a market research tool
LinkedIn is a fantastic market research tool. The platform allows you to search for people or organisations with specific demographical criteria. The search function will enable you to search for keywords and find out what your target audience is saying about particular topics. This information can then inform the content you create and the products or services you provide.
Please let us know which points have been most useful for you in the comments.