7 Tips to Using LinkedIn for Business
Viewed mostly as a social network for job seekers, LinkedIn is ideal for home business owners as well. But many home-based entrepreneurs and freelancers don’t use or maximize LinkedIn and all it’s great features. With over 250 million users, LinkedIn is a must for home business owners. Here are tips to maximize LinkedIn to build your business.
1) Complete your personal profile. On LinkedIn, the power is the quality of connections, not the quantity. Incomplete profiles, especially those without pictures are viewed as unprofessional. LinkedIn walks you through the process of adding information in all the important areas making it easy to create a complete profile. Use a professional or high quality photo, as people are less likely to connect if there is no picture of you. Use keywords and content that will attract your target market in your summary, experience and other sections of the LinkedIn profile. Request a personalized URL that uses your name.
2) Create a company page. This is slightly different than a profile, but it’s a great way to focus on your company and have people “follow” it. Like a profile, you want to complete all the information, including a logo and keyword targeted content about your business.
3) Ask for recommendations. Testimonials can significantly improve your business growth. They instill confidence in prospective clients and customers making them more willing to hire or buy from you. While you can get testimonials for your website, also ask for recommendations from clients or customers at LinkedIn.
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4) Share business news. Are you launching a new product or service? Will you be hosting an event? People like to work with businesses they feel connected to, and one way to help them feel connected is by sharing news and inside information.
5) Be active. Social media can be overwhelming. There are so many sites you can join, all of which require active participation. In many cases, some social media profiles end up not getting the attention they deserve. But a dormant social media page is worse than no social media page at all. Tools such as Hootsuite can help you post blog or other content to LinkedIn as well as other social media sites. However, LinkedIn is much different that other networks. You don’t post what you had for breakfast (unless it was with a powerhouse like Bill Gates) or cat pictures. LinkedIn is a professional network. Post news and information about your business and industry trends.
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