LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals with over 120 million users. It’s designed for making contacts, sharing ideas and generating leads. You can also use it to build your company’s brand. Here are 10 easy ways to use LinkedIn to brand your business.
1. Answer Questions
LinkedIn has a questions section just like Yahoo Answers where you can answer question and share your expertise. Search for questions related to your business and provide helpful answers. This gets you credibility and exposure.
2. Choose a Spokesperson
Make one person in your company the LinkedIn spokesperson. It really helps to put a human face on your business. LinkedIn users like the personal touch. It also makes it easier for you to have just one person handling it.
3. Update with Promotions
Whenever you update your profile, it sends a message to everyone you’re connected with. This means that when you add a promotion or special offer to your profile, the site automatically advertises it for you.
4. Join Groups
Search for LinkedIn groups that are related to your business. Choose a few that are active with lots of users to join. Commenting on groups is a great way to interact with people and spread awareness of your brand.
5. Start a Group
You can also start a group for your brand. Offer exclusive incentives like freebies or discounts to group members only. Get a discussion going and find out how people feel about your products and services.
6. Add a Video
On Linkedin brand pages, there’s a page called Products and Services where you can upload photos and videos. Instead of just uploading photos, make videos that show your products in action. Showing is much more powerful than telling.
7. Tell Everybody Offline
Use all of your offline promotional material to get people to your LinkedIn profile. Put your profile URL on all of your print materials and offer incentives if you want to grow your connections faster. Leveraging existing customers is a great way to boost your brand on social media.
8. Request Recommendations
‘Recommendations’ is a feature that gives you testimonials from people you’re connected with. You can ask for recommendations from customers, clients, colleagues or anyone else you know. They boost your credibility by providing social proof.
9. Promote Your Events
If you have any offline events, promote them on LinkedIn even if you don’t expect any of your connections to join. This shows that you’re active in your community or industry, which is excellent for branding.
10. Combine Social Media Sites
When someone asks a question on Twitter, post it along with your answer on your LinkedIn profile as well. Do the same with Facebook and any other sites you’re using. This shows your expertise and also provides you with fresh content.
The important thing to remember is that LinkedIn is for professionals. It’s not widely used by everyone, or at least not yet. Keep all activity on the site strictly professional and focused on building relationships.