How to Promote Your Brand on LinkedIn
Social media marketing has proven to be extremely successful, and it is increasing in efficiency with each passing year. While most people are familiar with marketing their brand on Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn often gets overlooked. However, LinkedIn marketing can be just as useful. With over 135 million users (as of Nov. ’11), your brand is sure to reach a few new potential customers, but here are some tips to reach as many as possible.
Begin by updating your own personal profile. It should be a given that your brand profile will be fully filled out, but it is also a given that serious customers will do some snooping. This will probably include looking at the owner’s profile. If the customer can find out a little background about the owner, they will be assured that this person is honest and trustworthy. In turn, the company will appear honest and trustworthy.
LinkedIn can add credibility to your business in other ways as well. Ask some satisfied customers or colleagues, either former or current, to write recommendations. These recommendations will appear on the profile page of other members causing your brand and name to gain some exposure. However, try to ask people who will not be too over the top with their writing. This can often come across as staged or insincere causing the reader to lose faith in the brand.
One interesting feature of LinkedIn is that you can poll your network to ask any question you want. As long as you make certain that the question pertains to your industry, you can receive some great feedback. You can learn about what potential customers want or expect, and it drives a great deal of buzz because it allows people to interact.
Do not underestimate the power of groups.
Find groups that are relevant to your brand and be an active participant in them. Each time you post a comment or answer a question, your name and picture will be displayed. This increases the chances of other members seeing and clicking to your profile. You can even add a signature at the end of your comments that promote your account.
After you have gotten the hang of participating in other groups, try creating your own. This is an important step after you have a fan base. It is a place for questions to be addressed, links to be shared, and discussions to be had. Communication is a great tool, and this is where the conversations can start.
LinkedIn can do wonders in spreading your brand’s name. If you do not feel as though you have the necessary skills to make it work for you, contact a social media agency. Social media consultants like Top Tier Media can either get the ball rolling for you or can be hired as part of the business to handle all the social media outlets you choose to utilize.
