How does marketing with LinkedIn work?

LinkedIn is a social network for business people. It is the leading business network site online. We’re often asked by clients whether their business should have a presence on LinkedIn. Here are our thoughts.

Your LinkedIn profile page should represent you as an individual, your business experience, qualifications, and examples of your current and previous work. It is a way of describing yourself and creating a profile page which identifies you as a professional in your field. It is also the place where you can gather recommendations and endorsements from other people in your network.

Make sure you add your company website address and any other social media links that you use for work. If you want to, you can create a page of your company, but this may not be so successful. LinkedIn works as a network of people and you will be searched for by colleagues and acquaintances in your own name rather than the business name.

Starting and leading a group is a great idea. It is a way of bringing people together to discuss points of interest, but it is also a way of positioning yourself as an authority on a certain subject, or within a certain industry.

Try to keep your LinkedIn page up to date and add the most recent successful projects. You would be surprised how much business is done using this platform, and increasingly, people are finding the services and products they need via this network.

You don’t have to invest in subscribing and paying the monthly fee, but if you feel that the additional benefits this provides will help you reach a larger audience of potential contacts, then it is worth it.

In addition to having your own profile, one area that is often overlooked is the sharing of articles, information and webinars. These have made some leading business individuals extremely successful and LinkedIn has helped them increase their following. They are also regarded as authorities in their field of expertise. Consider offering webinars, discussions, or posting articles on LinkedIn for others to see, read and comment upon.

This is a platform that is more than just a work network. It is an opportunity to learn from others, to find out who is successful, and to identify potential customers, business partners, and business opportunities. And most importantly it is a way of promoting your professional identity to a vast number of business people.