Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Business

LinkedIn can be a powerful social media tool to promote your business. A recent study revealed that LinkedIn is 277% more effective at generating leads than Twitter and Facebook. B2B companies in particular benefit from using LinkedIn. A recent survey revealed that 77% of B2B companies sampled acquired a customer through LinkedIn.

Here are some helpful tips in using LinkedIn to promote your business.

1. Quality over quantity: When acquiring contacts and building your network over LinkedIn, consider quality over quantity. Simply piling up contacts is not a sufficient strategy. Connect with relevant people and companies that can serve as potential strategic partners and prospective clients. LinkedIn allows access to the premiere professionals of their respective fields. Take advantage of this and connect/ follow people from whom you can learn or that may serve as mentors.

2. Post updates: LinkedIn gives you the ability to share information through status updates. This is a great way to keep your connections informed about your business or share useful information. You can also post projects that you have developed or are currently working on. This gives you the opportunity to showcase your skills and unique aptitudes. 

3. Recommend and endorse others: This feature is important to use. Endorsing and recommending others who you have worked with often encourages them to do the same for you. You are not only helping them gain more credibility and clout, but developing your own as well. 

4. Create a company page: Not only can you post as yourself but similarly to Facebook, you can create a company page through LinkedIn. You can post updates and share information as your company and recruit followers to your company page. There are nearly 3 million unique company pages on LinkedIn. To stand out and increase your exposure, consider using sponsored updates. Typically, only followers can see your company updates. However, with a sponsored update, people outside your company's following can also see your update. LinkedIn allows you to create targeted campaigns within a specified budget. It is a great way to extend the reach of your posts.

The Tao of Social Media

There once lived a young, curious fish. He was inclined to ask his older and wiser friend many questions.

"I always hear of this thing called the ocean," the young fish said. "What is it?"

"Why, the ocean is that which surrounds you on all sides," replied the older and wiser fish.

"That cannot be," protested the young fish. "If it truly surrounded me on all sides, I would be able to see it!"

"You cannot see it because the ocean is both within you and outside of you."

"But how can I tell if it exists if I cannot see it," asked the bemused young fish.

"You cannot see it, but you can feel it," replied the older fish.

This ancient Chinese parable was written to describe the ineffable force that connects all things, the implicate order of reality- the Tao. Simply put, Tao is essence.

Now that I've got your attention, let's discuss the Tao of social media. And getting to the essence (or Tao) of social media is about understanding connection and engagement.  The purpose of using social media for your business is to connect with and engage your audience, create word-of-mouth activity for your business, generate leads and convert those leads into sales. 

Social media has revolutionized the way we connect and share information. As social media has evolved, it has become increasingly recognized as a fixture rather than a trend. It is embedded in many dimensions of our day-to-day life and has profoundly affected the business sphere. 

Consider the following stats regarding social media:

- 77% of B2C marketers say they have acquired a customer through Facebook

- 34% of marketers have generated leads through Twitter

- 77% of B2B marketers have acquired customers through LinkedIn

- LinkedIn is 277% more effective at generating leads than Facebook or Twitter

- 84% of B2B companies are using some form of social media marketing 

- Social media produces double the marketing leads of trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail or PPC.

- Social media lead conversion rates are 13% higher than average lead conversion rates

Understanding that social media is here to stay, consider some of the benefits of incorporating social media into your marketing strategy:

1. Increased leads 

2. Increased lead conversion

3. Sales growth

4. Increased exposure, word-of-mouth

5. Increased traffic, improved search engine rankings 

6. Expand strategic alliances/ partnerships 

From the emergent perspective, no longer are traditional marketing efforts sufficient. In fact, people are more impervious to advertising and being sold then ever before. In making their purchase decisions, people are reading blogs, checking out review sites and reading what their friends are posting on Facebook and Twitter. 

Social media and digitization has in part empowered consumer behavior. Rather than relying primarily on the seduction of advertising, companies find they are competing in a testimony-driven community where products and services are openly shared, proselytized and in some cases persecuted. People share information about the products and services they like and use and in some cases those they do not favor. This word-of-mouth activity rewards companies that create value and arguably begets more integrity in markets. Of course this form of social exchange has always been basic to human life and business; but never has it been so empowered, expedient and ubiquitous in real time. 

Though crafting a social media strategy may be daunting to those who have yet to adopt it as part of their marketing strategy, a good place to start is creating a Facebook page for your business as well as a Twitter account. If you operate a B2B business, LinkedIn can be even more effective in creating strategic alliances and attracting clients. 

Again, remember the function of social media marketing is to create connection and engagement that ultimately contributes to word-of-mouth activity for your business, attracts leads and converts those leads into sales. So what are some of the ways to achieve this?

1. Create contests and reward offerings through Facebook. Using landing pages can also be helpful along with distinct calls to action. An example of a call to action is subscribing by email to receive a free ebook or white paper. 

2. Post interesting and engaging content that will compel your followers/ fans to share the information and participate on your page

3. Offer useful content that informs rather than sells. Especially if you are a B2B, creating and sharing content through blogs, video, ebooks, white papers can be helpful. 

4. Use mixed media such as photo and video. Infographics can also be useful in condensing information into concise, palatable imagery that is more engaging. Consider posting videos through Instagram, YouTube. You may even consider a video podcast. 

5. Let your followers and customers participate. Examples include allowing followers/ fans to vote on new products, services, etc. Listen to them- social media is not only a platform to dispense but to receive. You can gain valuable insight from your fans/ followers. 

6. Form key relationships with potential strategic partners that offer complementary products/ services. Such partnerships can create more leads. LinkedIn is particularly effective in achieving this. 

Through your social media efforts, be authentic. Do not attempt to project a false image, don't be afraid to show your or your business's unique personality. 

The Benefits of Social Media Marketing

A shroud of mystery sometimes surrounds social media marketing. Traditional marketers and companies are not always aware of how to employ social media to benefit their business. Some may question its efficacy and even the more faithful may fail to measure their social media campaigns and how they assist the company's sales performance. Yet, businesses that recognize how to use the power of social media are quick to declare its benefits. No matter your perspective, it is clear that social media is embedded into the modern social and business spheres. Social media is here to stay and businesses must learn to use its power (for good of course!).

Businesses must foremost understand that social media is used to engage and connect. It allows businesses the opportunity to directly interact with fans/ followers resulting in the exchange of ideas and information. This results in a number of benefits for the business spanning promotion and even market/ consumer insights. For instance, a business may receive feedback on a new product or idea.


Let's consider further some of the benefits of social media marketing:

Sales Growth
Studies have shown that social media, particularly when used over time can help bolster sales. For many, this may seem the only benefit worth discussing. After all, what is the purpose of marketing if not to sell? But, more than ever, consumers do not like to be sold and are disenchanted with advertising blitz. Marketing in today's climate is more dimensional and dare we say meaningful. Effective marketing is about creating relationships, generating word-of-mouth so that a company can share its value. It is this value that enriches lives and society as a whole. The social media platform is a great way to develop such relationships and these relationships ultimately beget increased sales activity. Examples of relationship building through social media may include direct fan interaction over Facebook or creating strategic alliances or client relationships through LinkedIn. Increased sales are also connected to other benefits imparted through social media which we will discuss below.

Increased Exposure
By expanding your social media following, you will invariably increase the exposure of your business and build brand recognition. By creating worthy content, you will also encourage followers to share information with their friends and family not only through social media directly but through their actual in-person interactions. This word-of-mouth proliferation helps to generate exposure and galvanize buzz about your business.

Strategic Alliances/ Partnerships
More and more, businesses are using social media to create new business partnerships. Such partnerships may help you expand your product/ service offering, save costs within your supply chain, become an outsource agent for similar or complimentary businesses and so on. The point is, social media can be used for creating relationships not only at the consumer level but through B2B channels as well. 

Increase Traffic/ Search Engine Rankings
A social media presence can improve your business' online presence and help bolster search engine rankings. Both through improved search ranking and through the fan base you establish, you can generate more traffic to your website, augment email subscription lists, etc.