5 Ways Your Business should be Using LinkedIn

In 2011, LinkedIn became the first pure social networking site to go public when it burst onto the NY Stock Exchange with its initial public offering of stock set at $45 a share. By end of day, the stock price surged 109%, the site’s value hit $4.25 billion and social media was validated as serious business.

While Facebook and Twitter are used for both business and social networking, LinkedIn is used exclusively for business. Since its launch 8 years ago, LinkedIn has grown into the world’s largest professional network with more than 100 million professionals in over 200 countries and territories.

LinkedIn As Part of your Business’ Strategic Plan

LinkedIn’s value to the individual professional is far reaching and well known. LinkedIn can bring job opportunities, help you connect with industry leaders, and stay abreast of industry news. What may not be as widely recognized is LinkedIn’s value to businesses. If you’re a business leader, be sure you’re using LinkedIn for the following:

1. Share Corporate Information - Post company announcements, events and new products work as part of an overall engagement strategy
2. Identify key contacts and evaluate prospective clients - Research your prospective clients to gain a competitive edge and identify direct decision makers
3. Position yourself as industry expert – Posting frequent status updates, participating in group discussions and answering others’ questions establish your company as an industry leader and “go-to” resource.
4. Gain Insight - Use LinkedIn Questions to solicit advice and gain perspective from your connections and the LinkedIn community. Conduct market research, find funding, question industry experts and draw on the collective knowledge of your connections.
5. Recruit talent – By exploring LinkedIn profiles, you can identify and connect with top candidates, whether they’re actively job hunting or not.

You should have one profile for yourself and one for your company. Ask your employees to create LinkedIn accounts if they haven’t already done so and to list their positions with your company in their profiles. (BTW, selecting “Full View” in their settings will help improve your company’s blog, Facebook Fan Page, and website ranks in Google.)

Of course, to get the most from your LinkedIn marketing efforts, you’ll want to publicize on your other channels. Include a link to your profile on your web site or blog, in individual blog articles, in e-mail signatures and also on business cards.

Having a social media presence is absolutely necessary in today’s business environment. Implementing an effective social media marketing plan that includes LinkedIn is an investment of time and resources that is sure to pay off.