LinkedIn For Beginners

With customers spending hours a day online browsing social media, it makes sense to keep a strong presence on the platforms they are using. With all of the spent creating visible content, there is one popular platform that is often overlooked: LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a powerful tool when used correctly, and can be one of the most efficient ways to make connections and boost your business. Here are some ways to get the most out of LinkedIn.

Start With A Personal Profile:

One of the best things about LinkedIn is that it displays both company profiles, and the employees that work there. If someone is looking at your company pages and the employees that work for the company are not active, or not posting relevant content, it can reflect poorly on the company. While your personal profile does not have to directly correlate with the company you work for, posting or sharing content relevant to your field or position helps display what is important to you professionally, and where your strengths are. This is especially important to people who might be viewing your personal profile to get a better feel of company culture, what your role is, and where your expertise is. Keeping your page updated, even in little ways, shows that you are active and encourages other users to reach out to you.

Make Connections:

LinkedIn is not only full of other professionals, but also groups dedicated to certain topics or careers. For example, if you work for an eCommerce company, there are groups decided for professionals working at eCommerce companies. Finding these groups and creating connections through them is a great way to get new ideas, learn about new topics, and keep up with industry standards. Finding groups for your personal profession also helps you keep up with ways that you can improve professionally, and might even introduce you to someone who needs the services you and your company offer! Remember to always be respectful, even if you do not agree with what someone is saying in these groups. Calm, respectful conversations can help everyone understand one another’s point of view and can be a great learning experience.

Keep Up With Your Business Profile:

Individual profiles are a very important part of LinkedIn, but don’t forget about your company’s page! Like Facebook, you can create a company profile on LinkedIn. When creating or updating your profile, make sure to include important information, such as your industry, website link, and contact information. Adding personal touches such as a cover photo and profile picture helps validate that your profile is legitimate. After you create your page, you can invite admins at your company to help run it. Admins should post relevant content, share posts that reflect your industry, and share accomplishments. If you choose to have more then one admin for you page, make sure that they agree on content, when they should be posting, and what goals they have for your LinkedIn page. This helps avoid flooding your connection’s feeds with content, and also help avoid under-posting. If you have the budget, consider running ads on LinkedIn to get more exposure.

LinkedIn can be a great asset to help grow your business and build connections. Keep your tone and posts professional, reach out to potential connections, and be active for maximum success. What is your favorite LinkedIn feature? How has it helped you grow your business? Let us know in the comments!