This article is about how to use LinkedIn as an entrepreneur to promote your business, visibility, and brand. It will cover several areas I’ve used personally with great success, including the use of groups for direct marketing and increases in traffic. This list can be used by any entrepreneur or company owner who wishes to improve their social media platform.
Here are 7 Ways to Use LinkedIn as an Entrepreneur
1. Before you start working on your profile, it’s very important that you establish what you’re trying to achieve (and why). If you want people to use your product or service then make sure that’s clear right away. Don’t try to come across as something that’s not relevant; it does no good for anyone! And for heaven’s sake, don’t lie about anything! That only gets you into trouble and can do far more damage to your brand.
2. Having a good profile is the best way of establishing trust with current and potential customers. It’s also a subtle way of promoting yourself in a non-pushy manner, which is what many people are looking for in a social media platform. Make sure that you have at least three recommendations from past colleagues or employers on LinkedIn – they’ll be more willing to hand these out if you’ve established trust already.
3. A great tactic when it comes to marketing on LinkedIn is comment marketing. This involves finding interesting articles with discussion boards below them and adding your own comments from an entrepreneurial perspective. For example, if someone wrote an article about how to start a business then I would add a comment from my own experience on that topic. This can lead to great conversations with potential customers who may not have been aware of your company otherwise!
4. Invite people in groups that you’re a member of to connect privately if they haven’t already done so. In the message, offer them a free consultation or some free advice in which you will share some knowledge or expertise about your industry. Make sure to do this in a friendly and non-pushy manner, don’t try to force an immediate sale – simply make it known you’d be willing if they need help later on down the line. A direct connection is easier for you to market through than just ‘following’ somebody on LinkedIn!
5. Make use of LinkedIn ads when searching for new customers and potential business partners. They can be very effective when used properly and if you keep an eye on the statistics, you’ll be able to track exactly what is working in terms of your campaign. This will allow you to tailor future campaigns in a more effective manner that doesn’t waste any time or money!
6. One great way of establishing yourself as an expert in your field is by doing webinars via LinkedIn. This cost next to nothing but can bring in some quality leads and potentially even new business partners. Keep them short and sweet (between 30 minutes and one hour) and make sure they follow a logical progression; nobody wants to sit through a ten-hour lecture!
7. Remember your goal with social media is to establish trust, credibility, and a professional image, not to spam people! Spend some time working out what you want to achieve first before putting anything into action. LinkedIn is a great platform that can be used very effectively to grow a small business or start-up from the ground up.
3 ways you shouldn’t use LinkedIn as an Entrepreneur:
1. Never refer to your business in the first person!
Always refer to it as ‘we’ or ‘our company’, especially when writing content for LinkedIn. This only works if you have an established company with multiple employees, but even then it’s important to make sure that people know they are dealing with a larger entity rather than just one person.
2. Another big mistake is making use of over-the-top marketing methods on social media –
Especially LinkedIn. It comes across as being very desperate and can actually offend potential customers, so keep you grounded at all times! This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try new things though – always be testing different strategies to see what works best so you can become more efficient in the long run!
3. Avoid getting involved in any online arguments!
Simply disengage or ignore the user if they do not contribute anything worthwhile to the discussion; you’ll look like you can’t take criticism very well otherwise.
Conclusion:
Remember that LinkedIn is essentially an online resume – it’s just used for marketing purposes, says Paul Haarman. It may not be the most effective platform in terms of driving traffic to your website, but you can use it to grow your personal network and therefore increase sales with the help of referrals.
Be consistent in what you do and don’t spam people by trying to force sales or requests for business all the time! Otherwise, LinkedIn makes a great platform for finding new prospects and nurturing existing relationships within your network.
