Five Crucial Ways You Can Use LinkedIn to Boost Your Small Business’ Success

LinkedIn has almost 650 million users. Why is this a big deal? Well, LinkedIn is known as a “Facebook for business-minded professionals.” This statement means that this group is primed to think about business and the opportunities a platform like LinkedIn could bring their way, whether it be related to employment or entrepreneurship.

Also, LinkedIn is a place where users are continually being exposed to business-related content, and are interacting with professionals who can provide some benefit, whether it be industry-based content, a connection, or a product or service. This attitude is the perfect reason why LinkedIn should be a priority for your customer acquisition and business development strategies. 

So, how can your small business use LinkedIn to boost your sales and customer engagement aside from just creating a company page or updating your profile? Check out our tips below.

Distribute Quality Content

Three million LinkedIn users share content each week. This data reveals that professionals that use LinkedIn like to read and engage with content that adds value and is relevant to their industry. 

As a result, LinkedIn is excellent for sharing quality content to attract potential customers. So, look at your current industry, do some keyword research, and list out relevant topics that your customer base may be searching for. 

Then, create engaging content that links back to your product or service page. Not only are you introducing customers to what you do, but you are also positioning yourself as an authority within your respective industry, which can increase the trust between your business and potential customers.

Use Income Data to Help Price your Product or Services

On LinkedIn, you are more likely dealing with a more affluent and educated group of consumers. Therefore, if you are using LinkedIn to market a product or service, take advantage of the social media’s data regarding income to price items and determine discounts or incentives. 

Approximately 45 percent of LinkedIn users earn $75,000 a year, and 24 percent have an income between $50,000 and $74,999. So, use this information to guide your sales and pricing reveal efforts if you are using LinkedIn as your primary social media platform for selling.

Don’t Forget to Market Internationally

If you are using your content to market your good or service on LinkedIn, don’t forget that more than 70 percent of users on the site live outside of the United States. So, neglecting to speak to international markets within LinkedIn is a mistake. Take advantage of this by translating blog posts and other readable content into other languages. Also, post content during downtime in the United States, to coincide with peak times in other countries. Fortunately, LinkedIn allows you to cast your net wide when it comes to reaching a global audience.

Practice “Social Selling”

People buy from other people, not business pitches, and LinkedIn gives you the platform to truly make connections with individuals while sharing who you are and what you do. Your connections on the platform can quickly become prospects. So, use LinkedIn to practice “social selling” and ask them how you can help on the platform while expressing interest in what they do. This act establishes a relationship and allows you to offer your content as well as your product or service as a solution.

Ask for Introductions and Join Groups

Who are your customers? Well, the chances are high that many of them are on LinkedIn. So, look at the demographics (industry, location, and personal attributes), and create a customer profile. From there, you can begin to use your customer data and determine the type of LinkedIn user you should target. You can then ask trusted contacts for introductions, and join groups that are directly related to your industry. LinkedIn has a robust search feature where you can search by industry, keywords, and even specific companies. Use this information to your advantage.

Final Thoughts

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for finding your ideal customers and clients. However, excelling on LinkedIn takes more than filling out your personal profile and creating a company page. Creating and sharing relevant content, determining your ideal customer, using LinkedIn to find these individuals, and asking for introductions can help you connect with professionals who can become loyal customers and even trusted brand ambassadors.

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