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How to use LinkedIn to promote your business

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3rd Sep 2010
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LinkedIn is widely considered the most 'professional' social network, but many companies have yet to exploit its full potential. Below are some top tips to help your firm maximise its presence on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is arguably the social network for professionals. Research shows its members have more brand loyalty than any other network, including Facebook. Yet brands have not yet found a way to exploit its popularity.

Like Facebook, over the last year or so, LinkedIn has taken steps to increase company involvement, by rolling out fuller business profi le pages, for example. But the more social aspects of the network, such as groups or LinkedIn Answers still require a more individual approach.

Top tips for businesses using LinkedIn

  1. Fill out your company profile
    Your LinkedIn company (and personal) profile is likely to rank quite high in web searches, so make sure it is as up to date as your website.
     
  2. Use widgets to integrate other tools
    LinkedIn makes it easy to feed in information to your personal profile, like your latest blog posts or Slideshare presentation for example, using widgets.
     
  3. Monitor and answer questions in LinkedIn Answers
    Keep an eye on relevant questions and submit answers to demonstrate your expertise. Give one person in your company responsibility for checking these on a regular basis.
     
  4. Update your status regularly
    Many people ignore the status update potential on their LinkedIn personal account. You can even link your status updates with other social networking accounts to make it easier to manage all your social networks at the same time.
     
  5. Start or help manage a group for your product, brand or industry
    If there is already a popular group relating to your industry, then get involved and reply to questions and posts. If there isn’t one, consider starting one.
     
  6. Share useful articles or resources
    Give your connections a reason to keep listening. Share useful information and they’ll come back for more.
     
  7. Request recommendations from happy customers or clients
    Peer recommendation is proven to be much more effective than advertising or direct mail. If you have happy clients, make sure they write about their positive experience on your personal profile.
     
  8. Post job listings and tap into the wisdom of your community
    Once your community is a decent size, you can tap into this knowledge to find the perfect recruit.
     
  9. Include your LinkedIn URL on your signature and business card
    Make it easy for prospects, customers and acquaintances to add you on LinkedIn. Get a vanity URL – e.g. Facebook.com/wildfirepr - and add it to your email signature and business card.
     
  10. Visit LinkedIn on a regular basis or integrate it into a third party app
    You might not need to visit LinkedIn as often as other social networks, but by adding your LinkedIn account to a third party application like Tweetdeck, you can constantly stay on top of what’s going on.

This article is an extract from 'Putting the 'social' into social media', a guide to how companies can use social media marketing, compiled by Wildfire PR.

  • If you enjoyed this article, you might also be interested in Social Media for Accountants - Creating your Online Professional Network, a half day CPD workshop hosted by our sister site, PracticeWEB. The event takes place on 22 September in London. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

Replies (3)

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By wecandobiz
04th Sep 2010 12:57

Great piece

A good article.

Most of these we included in our 5 Minute Guide to LinkedIn which we published a few weeks ago.

We didn't major on the endorsement and testimonial aspect of LinkedIn.  Although it is a big part of the site, it lacks credibility -- anyone can leave endorsements for anyone else, which has led to a "Black Market" in mutual endorsements to boost the image of both parties ("You scratch my back...").

Until this is stamped out -- our site only permits endorsement by a customer to avoid just this -- these recommendations will never be taken too seriously by anyone.

Ian Hendry

CEO, WeCanDo.BIZ

http://www.wecando.biz

http://twitter.com/wecandobiz

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By mikewhit
07th Sep 2010 18:05

Beware of leaving your personal login details on your work PC

If you leave a company (or are away for an extended time) you should take care first to erase your browser saved passwords, history and cookies on the work PC. (Use of Ccleaner or similar is advisable too).

This is especially relevant if you are in, say,  the recruitment sector where contacts are everything.

A contact has had her LinkedIn account hijacked by her former employer, though I don't know whether LinkedIn condones identity theft ...

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By mikewhit
07th Sep 2010 18:11

LinkedIn lacks privacy control; you are In or Out

It seems to be the case that recruiters would like to 'network' with people principally for their contact lists.

I have suggested to LinkedIn that they introduce an additional, more restricted level of networking so that all the agency types could 'connect' with you there, but your own network contacts would be invisible to them. However the recruiters would be visible to your own network so they could avail themselves if so wished.

It is 'being looked at' ...

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