LinkedIn marketing
LinkedIn is the social network for business people, enabling individuals to connect and communicate with known contacts and for companies to promote their products and services to potential customers. However, in the same way that Facebook needs to be managed carefully, LinkedIn is also designed as a networking tool and not one where users will appreciate overt marketing campaigns.
LinkedIn originally suffered from being dominated by US users, but the networking site has now developed into a truly international resource and one that is used successfully by many business people, either using the free tools or the paid premium service. Apart from the networking capabilities and communication channels, LinkedIn also provides users with groups and discussion forums to interact, and event lists to meet other contacts in a particular business field.
Using LinkedIn for marketing
LinkedIn provides the opportunity for companies to develop their own business pages and listings on the site, so that individuals can be linked to their own business pages or follow others. More features are being added to this section of the site to make it a more detailed resource for users and for companies to provide more information about their products and services. LinkedIn also integrates with Twitter feeds so that these can be displayed to other networked contacts.
LinkedIn also offers an advertising option so that ads can be served to relevant markets and interest groups. Like Facebook, these can be charged on a cost-per-thousand or cost-per-click basis although the targeting options aren’t yet as sophisticated as with Facebook. However, with a specific objective in mind, this can be worth testing.
The other important element to market your business through LinkedIn is to set up and use your personal profile in an effective way, so that you can be found through searches for your expertise and experience. Creating and developing a full profile can take some time, but ensuring that all the relevant information is used with the right keywords and in the right place can make a significant difference to your visibility to other users.
Find out more about LinkedIn marketing
Before you start a LinkedIn marketing campaign, speak to us. We can work with you to develop the best marketing campaign for your likely business network and to make use of the resources available on the site. We’ll help to guide you through the set-up process, how to develop your profile and business connections, and how to use the marketing options available on LinkedIn.
Please contact us now for an initial discussion, or to request our FREE LinkedIn marketing factsheet.