The recent years have caused the large growth and recognition of social and business networking sites and you can use LinkedIn for Business. Though people were skeptical within the beginning that these sites would really work, nowadays, most of the people and businesses have realized that these networking channels have opened opportunities that had not been available within the past.
LinkedIn is currently the largest business networking site online, with over 760 million users and still growing. As a business, you may have created a profile with LinkedIn, and you’ll occasionally visit the website to stay updated with what’s happening, but are you actually using this site to the most effective of your advantage? Have you ever realized the multiple ways you’ll use LinkedIn for Business?
Though you’ll think that LinkedIn is great for increasing your sales, the important power of this business networking site is that it is a powerful tool for building and maintaining relationships. Successful companies and entrepreneurs know the importance of networking within the world of business. And because the saying goes, sometimes it isn’t what you know but who you know.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to using LinkedIn for Business:
1. Craft a Compelling Profile when using LinkedIn for Business
Before you move ahead with networking and using other LinkedIn features for building your business, it is vital to start out with creating and crafting a compelling profile. A decent profile will assist you attract people’s attention, increase your visibility, and assist you achieve better rankings within search engines. As a business seller, there is a lot useful in achieving these three things.
Some quick tips for creating a compelling profile when using LinkedIn for Business:
• Put up a professional-looking photo
• Confirm your professional headline really sums up what you are doing
•Make the most of linking to your websites
• Include your work history and education
• Write an excellent summary of what you are doing
• Add a touch of private information
• Complete your profile as much as you’ll be able to
2. Form connections and build up your personal brand
Since LinkedIn may be a social networking site specifically for professionals and business owners, the important power of it comes from the connections you form within it. After you’ve created a beautiful profile, it’s now time to add people you recognize and connect with these people. This is often the simplest way to build up your personal brand and increase your credibility.
To be truly successful in business, one of the important things is to create trust. The more you form legitimate connections and build relationships with others, the more people trust you.
Here are some tips for using LinkedIn to make connections and build your personal brand:
• Post status updates
• Comment, like and share other people’s status updates
• Contribute to Answers
• Contribute to Groups and participate in discussions
• Boast your expertise
3. Find people that can assist you achieve your goals
As a business, what exactly are your business goals? Does one want to increase sales, get new customers, acquire new partners, or generate new leads? It is a good idea to be very specific together with your goals.
After you’ve defined your business goals, you’ll now use LinkedIn to seek out people that can assist you achieve these goals. the power of LinkedIn lies within the network you’ve got.
When you consider it, the important value of LinkedIn actually comes from your 2nd and 3rd degree connections, not your 1st degree ones. Your 1st degree connections are people you already know and interact with, but if you actually want to push your business further, you would like to network with people whom you do not know but could also be ready to assist you achieve your goals. Since LinkedIn easily shows the connections you’ve got, you’ll ask the person you recognize to introduce you to the person they know who can assist you. This is often the simplest way to get their attention – through a mutual friend or acquaintance.
4. Harness the ability of LinkedIn Groups when using LinkedIn for Business
Perhaps the best value of using LinkedIn for your business is its Groups feature. Because here is where discussions happen, where people exchange ideas and knowledge, and where relationships and connections really form.
Through LinkedIn Groups, you’ll ask questions and obtain valuable answers from the members. you’ll also answer inquiries to help you gain visibility and build credibility. Don’t attempt to do a sales talk – this is often not the platform for that. By providing relevant material, you increase people’s trust in you, which is beyond valuable.
Also, when you are a member of a group, you’ll actually contact other members directly, even those not within your first, second, or third degree network. This will prove invaluable in business, since it’s all about forming connections and building relationships.
Truly, there is a lot of value that LinkedIn can provide for your business. Once you actually understand the way to use this excellent platform, you’ll really take your direct selling business to new heights it’s yet to succeed in. So if you haven’t gotten started, the proper time to try to do so is now.
