6 Best Ways To Use LinkedIn For Small Business

LinkedIn is a social network that allows you to post regular updates, similar to Facebook or Twitter. These updates will be visible to your followers on their news feeds and your company page.

Similar to Facebook, individuals have the ability to like, comment, and share your posts with their followers on LinkedIn. All of these engagements contribute to increasing the visibility of your posts and consequently boosting your business. Graze serves as an exemplary company that regularly shares captivating updates on LinkedIn.

When considering what to post, it is important to approach LinkedIn differently from your Facebook or Twitter profiles. Begin by sharing company updates, particularly if you have achieved an award or introduced a new product. Let the LinkedIn community know about these accomplishments!

You can share blog posts from your website and provide updates about your company culture, such as interviews with current employees.

One way to expand your audience is by sharing relevant news stories related to your industry. By asking your connections and followers for their opinions on a story or how they typically utilize your product, you can stimulate interaction and discussion.

When you are posting on LinkedIn, consider the following factors:

Including images or videos in your LinkedIn posts can increase engagement. According to LinkedIn, custom images typically result in a 2x higher comment rate, while videos get 5x more engagement. You can mention another person or company using the @ symbol to increase visibility among their followers, similar to Facebook. Using hashtags can help you tap into wider, searchable discussions, just like on Twitter. Remember to reply to comments on your updates as social media is meant to be a two-way conversation. Avoid connecting your LinkedIn account with your Facebook or Twitter profiles to prevent automatic publishing of Facebook posts and Tweets on LinkedIn. Each social network has different requirements and strategies that work best for them.

Since LinkedIn is a business networking site, the updates typically have a more serious tone compared to the content shared on other social networks. Therefore, it is advisable to maintain a professional approach when posting on this platform.

While it’s fine to express humor if it aligns with your brand, it’s important to remember that LinkedIn is primarily used for professional networking and not for sharing funny memes.

LinkedIn offers a significant advantage by providing numerous benefits and the opportunity to connect with potential customers without incurring any advertising costs. Utilize LinkedIn effectively for expanding your professional network and establishing connections within your specific industry.

1. Identify relevant LinkedIn Groups centered around discussions related to your business and participate actively in these conversations. If your field is online marketing, consider joining the Digital Marketing group as it can prove valuable for your engagement.

If you are a small business owner, you have the opportunity to utilize your personal LinkedIn profile to participate in discussions and establish yourself as a knowledgeable leader. Demonstrating your expertise will contribute to enhancing the overall credibility and authority of your business.

By engaging in discussions and following influencers in your niche, you can stay updated with industry news, gather inspiration for your own content, and also contribute to ongoing conversations.

4. Cultivate recommendations and endorsements

What benefit does it bring to you when someone you previously worked with ten years ago endorses you on LinkedIn for “business strategy”?

Endorsements and recommendations on LinkedIn are akin to testimonials, representing the support and validation of your skills by your connections. These endorsements and recommendations can potentially enhance your chances of securing new business from potential clients.

First, it is important to understand that recommendations are brief, narrative descriptions of a person’s abilities and performance. In order to receive more recommendations from others, take the initiative and be the first one to ask.

Take the time to write a well-thought-out recommendation for someone you hold in high regard, rather than hastily providing generic feedback. By doing so, you can expect to receive equally thoughtful recommendations in return, which will enhance the credibility of your profile.

To provide endorsements is an even easier task. By simply clicking, you confirm that a person is skilled or proficient in a particular area. How can you increase the number of endorsements on LinkedIn? The same principle applies, it is advisable to give endorsements in order to receive them.

5. Search over 500 million professionals and ask for introductions

By all means, the search features of LinkedIn are incredibly valuable for small business owners as they can access a database of 500 million professionals, including information about their contacts, companies, industries, employees, and more.

The advanced search feature enables users to perform searches based on various criteria such as keywords, geography, company name, industry, relationship, language, company size, and seniority. This functionality is referred to as excellent demographic and firmographic segmentation, also known as targeted marketing.

To illustrate, imagine you are the proprietor of a small marketing agency. You are aware of your greatest achievements coming from clients within the computer software sector. By utilizing the LinkedIn advanced search feature, you have the ability to conduct a search for any individuals connected to your 2nd degree connections who work in the software industry within your local area.

If you narrow down a list of 25 connections on LinkedIn, you can do so by specifically focusing on individuals who hold managerial or ownership titles, while still maintaining the distinction between 1st and 2nd connections based on direct or mutual connections, respectively.

As a busy small business owner, having a targeted marketing contact list consisting of only 15 people allows you to efficiently allocate your time by focusing only on researching and messaging the contacts/companies that align best with your business.

Before reaching out, ensure that you communicate the fact that you have thoroughly researched the person or organization and confidently express your belief that there is potential for both parties to benefit. (Refer to the “Messaging tips for LinkedIn” section below for helpful tactics in sending effective messages.)

6. Messaging Tips for LinkedIn

In addition to obtaining leads from LinkedIn, it is also possible to directly communicate with them on the site.

You have the option to contact your connections on LinkedIn in two ways. Firstly, you can use the “Messaging” tab at the top of any page or click the blue “Message” button on a connection’s profile. Secondly, for individuals you are not yet connected with, LinkedIn provides messaging through InMail. In order to use InMail, you need a Premium subscription, which offers a certain number of credits based on the level of subscription you select.

In order to increase the chances of your messages being read, consider implementing these useful tricks.

Catch their attention in the subject line.

InMail messages are the only type of messages that require subject lines. Catchy subject lines are crucial to ensure a response and prevent your email from being ignored or deleted.

Keep the email short and sweet.

The aim of LinkedIn messages is not to convince someone to collaborate with you, but to initiate a conversation for future discussion. It is important to consider that time is valuable and people do not want to spend it reading lengthy messages from unfamiliar individuals on LinkedIn.

Personalize your message based on their profile

If you are sending messages to individuals, it is important not to send a generic message to everyone on your list. In fact, almost half of B2B decision makers will not even reply to your InMail if it is not personalized specifically for them. Some ideas for personalization include having a connection in common, shared interests, or having attended the same school.

To encourage someone to engage in conversation, one effective strategy is to focus the discussion on them. By asking questions and referencing details from their profile, you can create a sense of importance and make the person feel valued. Adding a personalized touch can have a significant impact.

Use the word “because.”

Studies have demonstrated that simply having a stated reason for doing something led to a 55 percent boost in conversion rate.

End with a call-to-action.

Instead of saying yes directly, it is often easier for many individuals to ask for guidance on the appropriate person to discuss a particular matter with.

Avoid sending on weekends.

When it comes to work-related matters, a considerable number of individuals prefer not to engage during weekends. To illustrate, the probability of a LinkedIn message being opened on a Saturday is 16 percent lower compared to other days of the week, hence it’s important to choose your days wisely.

Side notes

Social media essentially revolves around genuine communication and establishing authentic connections. Rather than simply joining LinkedIn because it’s popular, it is advisable to utilize these valuable LinkedIn for business tips to effectively establish your credibility, foster relationships, and generate potential sales leads.