Practical Ways to Leverage LinkedIn to Power Your Business

Current statistics show why learning how to use LinkedIn for a business that sells to other businesses (B2B) is a high-ROI investment. The platform facilitates professional networking, and 61 million of its users are top-management influencers, while 40 million hold decision-making roles. More than 50% of all social traffic to B2B websites comes through LinkedIn. Here’s how to use LinkedIn for a business like yours.

1. Networking
   Start by building a professional profile that clarifies what you do. Include contact information and the process your audience can follow to visit your business website. With a robust profile, you can connect with people better, including colleagues and friends. Don’t ignore new connect requests, as these are potential leads.
   To grow your LinkedIn community and increase your visibility, engage other people, and interact with their content. This includes adding thoughtful comments to their comments and responding to reactions and comments when you post something.
2. Publishing Content on LinkedIn
   Make a habit of posting full-length articles on LinkedIn to showcase your expertise in front of the senior executives and top-decision makers that connect with you. This group makes up 45% of LinkedIn users. Unlike traditional social media posts, these articles are meant to drive social engagement and create brand awareness. Regular posts that link back to your site are great, but they aren’t an alternative to full-length informative articles on LinkedIn.
3. Online Reputation Management
   An active social media profile, including your LinkedIn one, is good for your online image and search engine visibility. When Google users look up your company’s name or a topic associated with it, your LinkedIn profile will usually come up on the SERP along with other results. That makes it instrumental in damage control by potentially pushing any negative content about your company down the SERP rankings.
4. Lead Generation
   LinkedIn is a perfect platform to generate highly converting leads, whether you’re a B2B or B2C company. One reason for this is that 44% of users on the networking site earn more than $75,000 annually, so they have the purchasing power. These are some of the prospects you can target, along with the 40 million users that make key decisions for their organizations, such as hiring contractors and ordering products. Similarly, you can generate more leads by forming strategic alliances with LinkedIn influencers.You can accomplish all the above organically as well as with paid ad campaigns. To run highly targeted PPC ads on LinkedIn, you have to create a Campaign Manager account. You may then use it to manage your ads, including setting a budget and goals.

   More: 14 Ways to Supercharge Brand Loyalty for Small Businesses

5. Recruitment Tool
   It’s a lot easier to find talent on LinkedIn with the premium subscriptions on offer (50% of all US adults with a college degree are active on the platform). Here’s what your hiring manager can do with a Recruiter Lite plan:
   • Post vacant positions
   • Send 30 direct messages to professionals you’d like to hire
   • Use filters to search and locate the exact skills you’re after
   • Easily manage job candidates on LinkedIn

Do you need expert guidance for leveraging LinkedIn to help your business grow? Contact Business Forward Ventura County today, and our professional resources can help you develop practical strategies to optimize your LinkedIn usage.