LinkedIn deserves to be ranked among the big three of social media sites, right alongside Facebook and Twitter. But LinkedIn is actually more important for your small business because unlike its rivals, this social-media site focuses specifically on business.
In other words, you won’t have people on LinkedIn posting about how good their oatmeal tasted this morning.
Stephanie Buck, a writer for Mashable.com, recently wrote an illuminating post about how important it is for businesses to turn to LinkedIn for marketing. Here are some of her key points.
Share your successes
As a small business owner you work hard. You have a right to share your success stories. Besides, promoting your company’s successes will also encourage others to look at your business as a successful, thriving company. That’s good marketing.
Buck recommends that small business owners post regularly about their new product lines, hires, and milestones on LinkedIn. She also recommends that owners include links in these posts to their external websites or to their YouTube channels.
Once business owners post these news bits, their updates will automatically show up on the activity feed on their company overview page and on the homepages of those LinkedIn members who follow them.
Find new workers
If your small business is growing, you’ll undoubtedly need to hire new employees. LinkedIn is a great place to find new workers.
When posting new job announcements on LinkedIn, not only will you be attracting the attention of an ever-growing network of business professionals, you’ll also be telling your fellow business pros that you are, indeed, growing. This, too, is positive marketing for your small business.
Expert advice
Buck also points out another benefit of posting regularly on LinkedIn: You can uncover great advice on both marketing and running a successful business from other pros who’ve already done this.
LinkedIn attracts some of the most successful owners of small businesses in the world, and many of these business pros are happy to share their advice and tips with others. Don’t be shy: Ask your fellow LinkedIn professionals for their tips on how to keep a small business bustling in today’s challenging economy.