An effective LinkedIn channel can support your sales department, build up the reputation of your company as a leader in a specific brand, as well as attract suitable job applicants.
Your business can take advantage of the LinkedIn platform in many ways. It increases on-line coverage and gives you an opportunity to promote products and services, as well as be a source (a very valuable one) of feedback from clients. Regular entries on this channel will also influence search results in Google.
Thanks to your activity on this channel, you can build the reputation of your company as a brand leader, and attract the best talents. Last, but not least, LinkedIn truly helps to generate leads. Research carried out by LinkedIn website representatives shows, that as many as 50% of clients are apt to buy something from a company with which they interact through LinkedIn profile.
How to take care of contacts on this channel? In social media, just as in the case of interpersonal relations, in order to put something out, one must first put something in. The involvement of your clients does not come automatically. Firstly, you must create a successful on-line presence, attract people who will decide to follow you, and regularly (a keyword for a publisher) provide them with content that raises interest and evokes positive emotions.
The Macrologic SA Company invested in education. They engaged two professionals, the best in ERP system specialists in Poland, who write articles for the company’s blog. Hyperlinks to articles are published on LinkedIn, and distributed among clients by company traders.
In order to maximize involvement, keep to the guidelines given by LinkedIn.
1. Be brief
One or two sentences are enough. Look at how concise the communication of the biggest publishers is! Sharing a link to fantastic news or a spectacular photo, does not duplicate information, but adds valuable comments or a summary. ‘’Use simple structures, as this is what our brains like,’’ says Steven Pinker in his book “The Sense of Style”. Once you have worked on style, you can move towards longer forms, publishing entries on Pulse, or encouraging your co-workers to do it. For example, Socjomania workers, including Katarzyna Młynarczyk, do this very well.
2. Publish your entries on a regular basis
Website creators encourage you to update information every day. Although it may seem unachievable at the beginning, regular updating effectively becomes habit forming. Remember, apart from your own content, you can provide links to interesting brand articles, or the statuses of your co-workers and clients. Do not forget about the by-products of your activity! Your recipients may also want to know which CRM system you have chosen, or what kind of applications you use daily.
3. Pay attention to the time of day
Morning hours and lunchtime are reportedly best, but it is also advisable to check other times of the day. The moments before finishing work can be quite good, as this is when your clients, after a whole day spent at work, look for inspiration, relaxation, or entertainment.
4. Share links to valuable content
Subject matter plays a significant role in content selection, so be a guardian of verified, selected news that is genuinely valuable for your recipients. The content you provide builds your reputation, so carefully check the links you share. Do not confuse Linkedin with Facebook! Many people value this channel because of its more formal character of communication. Go for traditional communication.
5. Do not do it on your own!
Social media is a team sport, not an individual sport. Engage your co-workers in running a company profile and make them regularly inform you of interesting initiatives, reports or performances. Employ people who write well! When looking for new employees, pay attention to their writing skills. An IT manager who rejected job applicants whose letters of application contained mistakes, once said: “If somebody has not learnt the basic rules during several years of education, it does not bode well with his or her ability to learn fast!”
And lastly – universal principle. Take care of relationships! Social media takes advantage of the power of weak connections. Even relationships that appear not very strong, or solely casual, often seem to be remarkably important to us. They are helpful in unexpected situations when we need any kind of foothold. This is when readers, who, once they have got to know us and shared our company status, can turn out to be worth their weight in gold.