As an entrepreneur, you’re likely already using social media to market your business and share updates. But are you getting the most out of an often-overlooked channel: LinkedIn?
Let’s dive into how to leverage LinkedIn for your small business and take advantage of everything it has to offer.
Establishing Your Business on LinkedIn
Many people think of LinkedIn as a channel to build their personal brand and look for jobs, but it’s also an impactful tool for establishing your business presence and attracting new customers and partners.
LinkedIn is a potent (and free) tool for small business owners, and dedicating two to three hours each week — only 15–30 minutes a day — to growing your company presence can help to attract new customers and increase sales.
This platform can be used to expand your network, build new relationships, and communicate your brand and mission. You can use the channel to share updates, post thought leadership pieces to establish your credibility, and promote new products and services. A strong LinkedIn presence can also help you hire new employees and stay connected with existing customers.
To make the most of LinkedIn, start by ensuring your profile is current and accurate. Create a company profile page, telling your story in a robust “About Us” section to help with SEO. The best part? You don’t even need a company website to set up a LinkedIn page, so it can be one of the first things you do to establish your brand’s online presence. In fact, a company profile page can drive just as much traffic and sales if it’s properly set up, and active LinkedIn pages receive 5x the page views.
Building Your Professional Network
A strong profile isn’t enough to make an impact on LinkedIn. The best results come from posting consistently and making connections. These can be employees, customers (or potential customers), industry partners, vendors, and others in your geographic area.
Spending time to build, maintain, and grow your LinkedIn presence directly impacts your company's growth. LinkedIn is a leading platform for lead generation, and 77% of businesses say they saw the best organic growth from this channel.
Those results come from building your professional network and making connections. Like a spider web, the more connections you establish, the more you’ll discover, and your network and reach can grow continually. The more connections you have and the wider your network expands, the more likely your profile and content will be viewed.
Here are a few tips to grow your LinkedIn network:
- Sync your email contacts. The quickest way to jumpstart your community is by syncing your email contacts and email list with LinkedIn to see who has already signed up. These people you already know and may do business with are natural connections to start your online presence.
- Grow your reach. The true beauty of LinkedIn comes from finding second-degree connections and beyond. These are people with whom you have mutual connections but may not know yet. LinkedIn makes it easy to find these people with connection suggestions, or you can look for people who share mutual connections.
- Tap into alumni networks. Nearly every college or university has a LinkedIn presence. Find your alma mater and look up alumni you may have lost contact with or people you want to know. Sharing the same school is an instant connection to start an online conversation.
- Join industry or local groups. Find groups based in your area for small business owners in your industry or other relevant topics. Join the conversation to stay on top of new ideas, and build connections with other people in your area.
- Follow hashtags. Many thought leaders and small business owners include hashtags in their posts. Follow relevant hashtags for your business or industry to see what people are saying and find relevant people to connect with.
- Take courses. LinkedIn offers a huge variety of classes and can be a great resource for improving your entrepreneurship skills. Taking courses can also introduce you to industry leaders and other valuable connections.
LinkedIn isn’t just for posting resumes — it’s a powerful resource for growing your small business. Take advantage of this free resource by making connections and leveraging all LinkedIn can offer.
Disclaimer: Fundbox and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
