With so many people suffering from social media overwhelm, you may wonder why you need to use LinkedIn. In my opinion, LinkedIn is a valuable resource for anyone in business. So, here are 7 reasons why you should use LinkedIn. See if any of them resonate with you…
Find customers.
Particularly if you’re a business that primarily sells to, or services other businesses. Sales Navigator is a great way to find potential customers that meet certain criteria. You can also use your professional network to reach out to people you’d like to work with. An introduction from a colleague is a lot more effective than cold calling a business.
Keep up to date.
Follow industry leaders to keep up to date with what’s happening in your industry. The LinkedIn publishing platform allows anyone to create blog posts and share them with their networks and anyone who chooses to follow them. It’s a great way to find out what others in your industry are saying. And to put yourself forward as an industry leader.
Social Proof.
Ask your customers to leave you testimonials. Testimonials from people who’ve worked with you and used your services are a great way to show others what your core skills are, and what it’s like to work with you. Your testimonials can show people looking to buy that you’re a great communicator or offer timely services or whatever else makes you special – and will help you attract people who want what you offer.
Highlight your skills.
You can add skills and have people ‘endorse’ you for them so that your profile will show your areas of expertise. Unfortunately, endorsements often come from people who don’t have any experience with your services, so the number of endorsements you have doesn’t mean a lot. However, the list of skills will show prospective clients what you offer.
Research other businesses.
Sales Navigator and Business searches both are useful to find a business you’re interested in and see what makes them tick. You can follow business pages to see their regular updates (follow mine here), and connect with staff to develop relationships.
Appear in searches for your name.
When someone searches for your name in Google, LinkedIn is one of the places that will come up. Particularly if your business name isn’t your actual name, it’s a great way for people you’ve met at networking events to find you later.
Reach outside your usual network.
LinkedIn helps you to reach outside your network. Whether it’s getting one of your connections to introduce you to someone you want to connect with. Or maybe, you’re just seeing articles in your newsfeed from a person or company that you want to follow but wouldn’t have seen otherwise. LinkedIn is a great way to get exposure outside of your network, and to get exposed to people, business and thoughts outside of your network.
There are 7 reasons why you should use LinkedIn. If you’d like to connect with me, you can find me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharynmunro/ I’d love to connect with you, so please send me a request.