The Value of Being LinkedIn

LinkedIn might not be the sexiest or most popular social network, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it entirely.

With a smart strategy and a little bit of effort, your business can rock LinkedIn and reap major benefits.

Here’s why:

LinkedIn for B2B Marketing is Killer

Many of the profiles on LinkedIn are barely active, but from a certain perspective, that’s actually an advantage.

You don’t need to be nearly as active on LinkedIn as you do on Facebook and Twitter to reach the people that matter to you.

The most active LinkedIn users tend to be entrepreneurs and business owners…

And you already know they’re hungry, because they’re doing the work that not everyone is willing to do.

For B2B (business to business) solutions providers like marketing consultants, copywriters, business management trainers, and the like, your LinkedIn strategy can connect with hot prospects far more easily in that network of business-minded folks.

Use the built in blogging feature to prove your expertise and potentially reach new clients, and make sure your profile is current and compelling.

Blasting mass messages to all of your connections might not be the best strategy, but sending selected personalized messages is a very effective way to connect, since most of those active LinkedIn business profiles are actually hoping new people will make connections.

The level of competition and viability of the prospects makes LinkedIn the perfect B2B tool.

Recruiting is Easy

LinkedIn’s intended purpose was to be a professional network for employers and employees to connect.

It still works pretty well for that.

Job postings on LinkedIn attract the hungriest talent, and it’s easier to research applicants since they often link to other online profiles.

You can recruit great talent with less effort than ever before.

Engagement is Higher

Since there’s not nearly as much random content on the average LinkedIn feed, active users are much more likely to see your content than they are on the bigger, more popular networks.

In fact:

LinkedIn drives a significantly higher percentage of traffic back to company websites than either Facebook or Twitter.

The audience on a professional social network is far more specific, and therefore easier to target, than general social media websites.

Here’s what that means for you:

Your targeted, well written posts are going to get more clicks, more shares, and more comments.

Perhaps LinkedIn isn’t going to be at the center of your overall social media strategy, but it should definitely be included. At the very least, have a profile that links back to your blog posts and website.

You’ll be surprised at how much it helps.