Why should my business use Linkedin?
February 19, 2018
Why should my business use Linkedin?
The second article in our series on the use of social media platforms by businesses focusses on Linkedin and why we believe this is another valuable tool that all businesses should be using as part of their marketing strategy.
Linkedin is one of the oldest social media networks. It is the world’s largest professional network and has survived some tough challenges, proving its strong grip on the professional social networking sector. Very few people we meet in business these days don’t have a profile, even if only basic. Some people even have two!
Like any social media platform, Linkedin attracts critics who question its usefulness. It’s true, there are a lot of spurious posts on LinkedIn, along with a few novice users who post non-business related content. However, as a marketing tool used well it has huge scope to drive traffic to your website, increase brand awareness and ultimately bring you sales. And here’s why:
Let’s start with some statistics:*
- As at 24 April 2017, Linkedin stated that there were 500 million users on its platform. While that figure is not necessarily a count of active users, there are some external sources that put active users at 252 million, with as many as 106 million unique visitors a month.
- It is used in 200 countries.
- There are 10 million active job posts at any one time on Linkedin.
- 3 million users share content weekly on Linkedin – many share it daily.
- There is data available on more than 9 million companies.
- 400 is the average number of connections that users have.
Now those figures are not as high as Facebook with 2 billion users or Twitter with 319 million users, but they are still pretty impressive. It would be difficult for any business to suggest that at least some of the users are not would be clients, business referrers, influencers or potential recruits.
Winning referrals across sector divides
At Encore, we have specifically won work through Linkedin connections. Other businesses we know of that have also secured work this way include accountants, solicitors, business development gurus, web designers and more. Linkedin is not sector specific – it is used by professional services, manufacturers, the housing sector, healthcare services, charities and more – it’s an open to all platform, meaning recommendations are not restricted to who knows who within a certain sector.
Data
The quantity and quality of data available on LinkedIn is phenomenal. Essentially, individual users post their CV online, detailing every aspect of their working history, their skills, current employer and more. The data provided can be especially useful for recruiters and head-hunters but it can also be useful for businesses looking to identify the right contacts within a target company.
The Competition
Increasing use of company pages combined with information that individual employees put in their profiles mean Linkedin is also a useful tool for competitor analysis.
How active are your main competitors on Linkedin? Who works for them? Who are the clients that they are engaging with?
You may be concerned that if you place lots of information on Linkedin that your own competitors could do a similar analysis on you. However, that is where keeping up-to-date with security settings allows you to mitigate the risks. Through these you can control:
- Who can see your account;
- Who can see your connections;
- Who can access your profile with just your e-mail address;
- Whether or not your profile appears on a company page
And more.
Avoid the ‘gatekeepers’
Ever found yourself being blocked from accessing a key person within a business due to a gatekeeper? The general informality around Linkedin means that it is perfectly acceptable to ‘link in’ with that person, sending them a direct message about why you could be a useful connection for them. We know many people who have gained valuable connections in this way where they have previously been denied such access in person.
Basic and paid-for profiles
The main features mentioned in this blog are currently included within the basic free Linkedin package but additional features are available for a subscription fee if you’d like a more comprehensive package.
Like most social media platforms, Linkedin is evolving all the time, adding new features to give you more access to data, the ability to really showcase your company and promote content outside your existing network in a highly targeted fashion so there are plenty of opportunities to use it, so long you use it in a targeted way.
We’ll be sharing our top tips to help you get the most out of using LinkedIn in a future blog. However, if you want to get ahead of the game, why not give us a call on +44 (0)7740 872852 and see how we can help you get things underway?
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