LinkedIn is the world’s premier business network with 800 + million users in 2022.
Why are so many people using the platform? One of the biggest reasons is to strengthen their professional networks and connect with people in their chosen fields. It’s also a great place to stay in touch with colleagues both old and new, obtain referrals for new business, and a very effective way to look for a new job.
The problem with most people is they don’t know how to effectively market their business on the platform. They struggle to know where to start and get lost in the countless changes the platform throws at its users. Rest assured though we are going to give you a rundown on how to use LinkedIn for your business in 2022.
Where to start?
Step 1: Create a user account for yourself
Before you can access LinkedIn you will need to create an individual account. This will also serve as the administrator for your company page. Use a work email and start creating your personal page.
Step 2: Create a LinkedIn Company Page
Once you have completed your personal account you will need to make a page for your business. Please see the following blog on why you need one and at the bottom, we will explain how to create one from scratch.
Why you need a company page today and how to create one!
Step 3: Optimise your personal and company pages
You now have both pages created and the next step is to optimise both pages, optimising your page is an important step in getting your profile noticed and will be needed before you can start to build your following on LinkedIn. Here is a previous blog that will explain how to do this.
How to optimise your LinkedIn Profile
Step 4: Build your following
You are going to have to start to connect with people and build your following. This is where you are going to have to reach out and tell people about your page and business otherwise no one will know you exist.
Here are some ways to get your page some followers straight away:
- Share it on your personal page
- Link to it from your website
- Ask other employees to share it and update it on their personal profiles
- Send invitations to follow
Here are some ways you can start more conversations on Linkedin:
Engage & Invite
The first step is simply engaging with your target market and then inviting them to connect. The best way to do this effectively is to make sure you are using LinkedIn’s sales navigator. For those of you who are not familiar with Sales Navigator, it’s a tool that allows you to drill down from millions of members on the platform to the specific people you are looking to get in front of and connect with. You can do this by using the advanced search feature. Once you have completed your search you can save those people as leads. From there LinkedIn will create a secondary news feed of all of your leads who have shared content in the past 30 days. You can now start engaging with those leads, liking and commenting on their posts before reaching out to connect and start building a relationship with them.
Follow up
The second strategy you can use is to follow up on the invites you have been sending out. Some of the invites will be accepted and become part of your network but will not respond or engage with you. A follow-up with these people is a great idea, just make sure you keep it personable and avoid requesting face to face meetings or for them to check out your website.
Develop and post quality content
The last piece of the puzzle is ensuring you are creating and distributing quality, engaging, content. Once someone accepts your invite they will now be in your network. This means they will now be able to see your content pop up in their newsfeed. Providing quality, engaging content is going to help build your brand and your influence in your community. Your content strategy needs to be consistent and targeted, this will start to build a strong following and once someone is ready, has a need, or is interested in what you do then you have built that trust with them and they will think of you and reach out.
Step 5: Execute your chosen marketing strategy
By now you have created and optimised your profile and company page and started to build a following on the platform. Your next step is to create a marketing strategy for LinkedIn. This is where you need to be looking at what your audience wants, responds to and the type of content that is going to add value for your target market.
Here are some questions that you could answer to create your marketing strategy:
- What is your goal for the page?
- What is the page going to be used for? (Leads, Recruitment E.T.C)
- What are your competitors doing on the platform
Make a content plan
- How often will you post?
- What topics will you cover?
- How can you repurpose existing content to use on LinkedIn?
- Will you curate content from elsewhere?
Once you have your content plan in place you can schedule your posts each week via a content scheduler. Why should you be using a content scheduler? All your answers are here in this blog: Why you should use a content scheduler!
Are you using your business profile to the best of your ability? I hope we gave you some handy tips for creating and using your business profile on LinkedIn.
P.S. Here are 5 ways we can help you accelerate your Lead Generation results:
1. Grab our free 4-Week LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Course
It’s the road map to positioning your profile in the top 5% of the 800+ million LinkedIn members – Click Here
2. Join our FREE LinkedIn Group and connect with entrepreneurs who are scaling too
It’s our Facebook community where smart entrepreneurs learn to get more leads and smart ways to scale using LinkedIn — Click Here
3. Take our FREE LinkedIn Productivity Assessment
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4. Join our LinkedIn Inner Circle Solo Program Click Here for more details
5. Learn more about the four most effective conversion strategies for LinkedIn success
When we analysed the most successful conversion campaigns amongst these, we found there are four very specific strategies that deliver the most consistent results year after year. We call them ‘The Magic Four’. Take the Questionnaire now to assess your suitability Click Here