LinkedIn: Who Uses It for Small Business Marketing?
It used to be that this profile-based social network was used primarily by high income, university male graduates who were strictly career-oriented and largely childless. Nowadays, it’s used by a somewhat broader demographic spectrum, though career goals still seem to be the primary focus.
Nowadays, LinkedIn is a predominantly professional networking tool which can put you and your business in front of millions of potential clients for your business products and services. Are your services “business-to-business” ? LinkedIn is an essential tool for small business marketing. Your LinkedIn profile needs to connect with potential clients and communicate what you have to offer them. Clearly. Succinctly. And Compelling…
LinkedIn Statistics
- Total number of LinkedIn users = 380 million
- Total number of LinkedIn users in USA = 170 million
- Male LinkedIn users = 56%; Female LinkedIn users = 44%
- Percentage of online US women that use LinkedIn = 28%; online US men that use LinkedIn = 27%
- Percentage of LinkedIn users that don’t have a Facebook account = 13%
- Percentage of LinkedIn users that don’t use Pinterest = 83%
- Percentage of LinkedIn users that don’t visit Twitter = 59%
- Percentage of millionaires that use LinkedIn = 41%
- Percentage of LinkedIn users that make household decisions = 90%
If you’re a business professional of any sort, you need to have a basic profile on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Basics for Small Business Marketing
There are some LinkedIn basics for small business marketing that will help you get your small business products and services in front of millions of potential clients.
Think of LinkedIn as your powerful Resource Box on an article you’re sending to a directory. You want to have the perfect bio blurb on your profile — one that is customer/client-focused – tells your reader what he wants to know about you — not one that “showcases” your superb skills. Ready and waiting, tell your new prospective customer or client what she needs to know about you and how she can benefit from a business relationship with you.
If you’re not on LinkedIn, you may be automatically discarded on the spot. If you are, you want to reassure the searcher that you’re the perfect business professional he needs.
You can also garner and build reciprocal recommendations (basically, high-value testimonials) from existing customers and clients and other professionals you’ve dealt with.
Join groups and follow industry leaders and existing subscribers or clients to engage in conversation. Keep in mind, however, that if you want to chat for the sake of chatting, Facebook or Twitter is your better option. Keep it focused on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Tips and Tricks
- Match your profile bio to your résumé or CV, whenever possible
- Match your résumé or CV to your intended audience’s needs and interests
- Upload your résumé or CV to LinkedIn, tailoring it either to the type of customers and clients you wish to attract. (Use a résumé if you’re simply job hunting. Use a CV for executive or graphics-based positions, or showcasing your abilities as a sole proprietor.)
- Use the same photo on all your social networks, including LinkedIn, if you’re concerned about branding.
- Use a simple headshot without background distractions if you are looking for contracts or job positions. Make sure you are looking frankly and directly at the camera.
- Make sure the “headline” you’ve given yourself tells what you do and is keyword-optimized
- Select “full view” for your profile settings
- Use a custom URL (your name) instead of LinkedIn’s default URL
- Create a LinkedIn “View My Profile” badge
- Add a personal message when adding a new contact, letting the person know how you know them (even if you think they’ll remember)
- Get into the habit of checking the Jobs section daily if your business is service-based. LinkedIn can be your fastest (and surprisingly easiest) way to upgrade your client base (and your fees).
- Include past websites, companies, affiliations, professional organizations and educational institutes.
Best Use of LinkedIn
- Impressing people (landing a job or client; closing a high ticket sale).
- Supporting your public, professional profile with data it’s hard or inappropriate to fit in, anywhere else.
- Showcasing awards, accomplishments, credentials.
- Achieving results from connections, since LinkedIn participants exhibit a higher level of being action-oriented.
According to author Guy Kawasaki, people on LinkedIn with “more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.”
LinkedIn as a Small Business Marketing Tool
Want to transform your LinkedIn Profile into a powerful marketing tool? Read this article at Social Media Examiner: How to Transform Your LinkedIn Profile Into a Marketing Tool
Want some coaching to get results with networking at LinkedIn? Check in with Cathy Jennings from No Pressure Networking and ask her when her next 30 Day LinkedIn Challenge is scheduled. To get an overview, see this article at her blog: Do This and You’re 40 Times More Likely to Receive Opportunities Through LinkedIn.
And remember,
No sales without marketing! No marketing without relationships. That’s a Social Biz.
To your social biz success,
Kate
P.S. If you’d really like to dive in and do a course in social media marketing to launch your social biz success like a rocket, take a look at the course I recently completed: Lynn Terry’s Social Marketing Results. While you are doing the course, join the Social Marketing Results Group at Facebook and get more tips and tutorials while you watch Lynn build her business with social media marketing.