5 Ways to Grow your Business using LinkedIn

5 ways to grow your business using LinkedIn 

LinkedIn is one of the fastest-growing social media networks, with an average of two new accounts being created every second.  Its value as a B2B marketing tool is integral to its popularity, but unlike other social media networks, business users must have a public face.  On Facebook and Twitter you can hide behind a logo, but on LinkedIn, you are visible and that can be daunting for small business owners and their staff.

In an effort to help alleviate fears and remove the overwhelm of marketing your business on LinkedIn, here are our top tips for growing your business using this powerful social network.

1 – Complete your LinkedIn profile

As the saying goes, people do business with people.  On LinkedIn, your profile acts as a type of CV, showing off your accomplishments, musings and interactions online.  You and your colleagues’ LinkedIn profiles are integral to how your brand and company are seen by prospective customers and employees.  It is the place to boast about your achievements so use it wisely.  Fill it in completely, and then optimise it as you see how your profile appears in searches over time.  Don’t forget to continuously update it with new skills and examples of your work.

2 – Complete your LinkedIn Company Page

According to statistics published by LinkedIn, 46% of the social media traffic visiting B2B company sites comes from LinkedIn.  That’s a lot of potential traffic for your website, and since completed company pages receive twice as many visitors as incomplete profiles, you can see how important it is to fill out your company page information!  Make sure to use a version of your company logo as the page’s profile image, and use a cover image that portrays your brand in the right light, then dig deep and complete all of the information required to hit LinkedIn’s 100% target.

3 – Post regularly and consistently

LinkedIn’s own statistics suggest that posting to your company page at least once per month is enough to gain six times more followers than pages which post less often.  We suggest posting at least once per week to keep your followers engaged and to help you to attract new followers.  To maximise engagement include a link and an image as statistics show these are key to improving how followers interact with your posts and company profile.

4 – Get your team onboard

The fastest way to increase the reach of your company page posts on LinkedIn is to engage your colleagues and employees.  Encourage them to like, comment on, and share your posts whenever they see them in their news feed.  Statista shows that 42% of LinkedIn users have between 300 and 999 connections – that is a lot of potential reach when your employees share your company’s posts.  Think outside of your team and invite your partners and customers to follow your company page and encourage them to share your posts. 

5 – Share far and wide

Getting great results from your LinkedIn marketing efforts will require you to integrate it with your other marketing channels.  Cross-promotion is key to increasing your company page followers and improving your reach.  Include a link to your page in your email signatures, on your website and other social media pages.

You can also consider increasing your reach by utilising LinkedIn’s paid advertising campaigns.  These allow you to get your important messages to a target audience in the same way as other paid social media marketing but, because of the B2B nature of LinkedIn, it offers some great additional targeting options.

If you are still struggling with the idea of promoting your company on LinkedIn, consider outsourcing to an expert – someone who will guide you through the pitfalls and help you to build your business on the world’s biggest B2B social network.