4 Advantages of LinkedIn for Small Businesses
December 30, 2021 By Karen Layman, aka Karen
LinkedIn offers many features that are useful for any company, no matter the size. However, there are some features that work in small businesses’ favor. Here are 4 advantages of LinkedIn for small businesses:
1. Make Connections
Growing your small business can be challenging at times, but LinkedIn focuses on building connections. Using LinkedIn allows business owners to make connections in their field and find leads without making “cold calls”.
If a connection is already interested in a similar business, they may be quicker to listen to a sales pitch. You can offer your services and show interest in their company. This tactic is called “social selling” and according to LinkedIn, it accounts for about 45% more sales opportunities per selling quarter.
Building relationships with potential customers, adding value, and following social selling best practices can help you connect better with them. This also helps you avoid many of the ways businesses annoy their potential customers.
2. Keep Up With Current Trends in Your Industry
The advantage of LinkedIn is that it is a great place for you to keep up with your industry. LinkedIn offers an easy way to stay in the loop about current trends and patterns.
Be sure to follow hashtags that relate to your industry. This is an easy way to see content related to your field. Follow companies and leaders in your industry to stay in the loop. Be sure to share content, too! Just make sure you are using the right hashtags for your business and avoiding common hashtag mistakes!
This drives engagement and encourages connections. And, don’t forget about your competitors – take notes on who they’re reaching and how. This will help you analyze your own business and help you grow.
3. It Establishes Your Authority
You want to be a place where people go to find information because they trust you, right? LinkedIn is a great place to nurture that. In order to build trust, you need to show your authority on a subject. An easy way to do that is by sharing content and resources that clients find valuable.
When sharing content, be sure your resources and articles look professional. It’s important that they solve a problem or help a client with issues they may be facing. And, don’t forget to offer your professional opinion on the resource! This is important because it sets you apart from others and shows your knowledge.
You can also publish your own original content in the form of a status update, or using the LinkedIn Publisher feature. Make sure your content is client-focused and useful to your clients. Sharing useful content and planning it out are just some of the things your business should be doing on social media.
4. It Helps Build Your Brand
Establishing your brand on LinkedIn is crucial to building a relationship with clients or potential customers. Building relationships with clients and potential customers is important because they are more likely to buy or use services from brands they trust. LinkedIn can be the tool you use to build trust.
This can be hard to achieve in today’s fast-paced digital world, but it is doable. First, make sure your personal LinkedIn page is professional and fully complete, with no sections forgotten. People want to connect with people, not a logo.
However, you will need a company page on LinkedIn as well. A company profile on LinkedIn will help you achieve a few things. First, it offers opportunities for your business to be found in searches. Second, it guarantees that your business looks legitimate on your profile as well as your employees’ profiles.
LinkedIn is a great social media platform for businesses to use. It helps connect you to the customer base and builds credibility. Hopefully, these 4 advantages of LinkedIn for small businesses help you begin to establish and grow your small business.
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