Numerous inbound marketers avoid using LinkedIn as their social media-marketing channel. They would rather use Twitter and Facebook. LinkedIn isn’t currently the most talked about or largest network; even so, few can compare to LinkedIn’s power of connecting people.
LinkedIn has the power to connect people who are serious about their industry as well as generate leads. A recent study conducted by Hubspot suggests that LinkedIn is nearly 300 percent more effective than Twitter or Facebook for lead generation. This has led many companies to adopt it if they weren’t using it, or shape up their profiles if they were.
7 reasons LinkedIn is a Must for Business
- Increases the Visibility of Your Brand
When your executives and employees add connections, answer questions and participate in the group discussions on LinkedIn, your brand becomes more visible. Not only that, your employees may be considered industry experts, thought leaders or the people to go to in your industry.
- SERM (Search Engine Reputation Management)
Companies and personal profiles on LinkedIn are usually ranked well and given high authority by Google, in relation to certain queries. These queries include:
- Company Name
- Employee Name
- Brand
- Google’s First Page Makes a Great Insurance Policy
Each piece of real estate you control on Google’s first page is like an insurance policy. You are protecting your company, employees and brand from SERM issues.
- Lead Generation
One of the main power tools of LinkedIn is its Groups. These LinkedIn Groups can allow you to access people related to an industry, geographic region or topic. This means that if you actively participate in the LinkedIn community, you have the opportunity to offer your content to help people find answers to their problems. This effectively assists you in generating leads and building a network.
For instance, if one of your white papers is able to help answer a question in one of the group forums, provide a link to it. Those LinkedIn users who download that white paper become part of your lead nurturing campaign.
It’s important to remember that effective networking is all about providing value, helping, informing and sharing with others. It’s not about promoting, selling and spamming. Participating in these kinds of activities, prior to earning credibility, only decreases the power of your company.
LinkedIn allows basic members to join as many as 50 Groups. When considering which groups to join, look for topic, industry and specific location groups containing the concentrations of people you are interested in networking with. If all you find in a group is members promoting their businesses, move on, because this group will not be beneficial for you.
- Recruit New Talent
LinkedIn is also a fantastic place to locate highly qualified potential employees. It’s easy to search using a keyword, company, geography and profile. In fact, studies show that the time to fill a position is decreased by 50 percent, with the use of LinkedIn.
- Targeted Ads
With LinkedIn, you’re able to place text ads in front of individuals that you consider qualified prospects for particular positions, such as CFOs, CEOs, Human Resource Executives, etc. Those searching for employment have the ability to choose specific industries.
- Product Feature
LinkedIn now allows companies to list their services and products along with links to YouTube videos and websites. Existing clients have the ability to review a company on LinkedIn, which has a two-fold affect: clients are engaged with the business and informed about goings-on.
Making the most of your LinkedIn profile is simple. Reach out to at least five connections weekly. The sole purpose of this communication should be on a personal level. Say hello, inquire what they have been concentrating on or congratulate them on a recent promotion, etc. You will be surprised at the positive, long lasting impact this will have on your company. Many times, just a simple, personal touch will lead to business relationships.