Social media is taking the business world by storm with its attractive networking components that boast of millions of potential business leads for any market. One of the popular social networks that are actively engaged by marketers and business owners is LinkedIn.
Social Media Marketing
Social media networks like Facebook and LinkedIn are popular choices for modern day marketing strategies to draw in huge crowds of potential leads to web business sites. It is a well-known fact that social media networks enjoy billions of subscribers respectively, with millions of daily users plying their platforms to provide the best resource for marketers and business owners in attracting their desired niche audiences.
An apt understanding of social networks from concept to features would boost the marketers’ venture in engaging social media networks in their Internet marketing endeavors. However, different social media platforms offer different features and structures with specific terms and conditions that must be complied to be manipulated in the marketers’ advertising and marketing activities.
Marketing with LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a strong favorite with an increasing popularity for marketers who are actively engaging LinkedIn features in their online marketing activities today.
Businesses that are conformed to a B2B environment would enjoy the many advantages of LinkedIn, which offers both a personal connectivity as well as a professional business approach. This social media platform is gaining ground in the market to be more accessible to marketers and business owners who have discovered greater business opportunities through its dynamic features in securing successful marketing outcomes.
Consumers today are jumping onto the LinkedIn platform to search for their desired item or information with more businesses and brand parking at LinkedIn as a professional marketing entity than using Facebook or Twitter as a primary social platform. LinkedIn represents the professional gateway to the complex business world in a well-structured manner that opens up business opportunities to marketers and business owners without busting budgets or compromise on quality.
LinkedIn offers a host of business opportunities as the perfect marketing tool in promoting the brand or business offerings that compel consumers to be strong supporters through sales and advertising.
Marketers who plan to indulge in LinkedIn for business prospecting could consider specific approaches that would establish their brand in the market through a greater awareness program.
Step 1 – Establish Foundation
What is more important than kick starting a marketing campaign with LinkedIn is the business foundation where a complete and attractive personal profile is well designed and presented on the social media platform. A personal profile with sufficient relevant information that is interesting is bound to attract potential customers and suppliers.
The profile is not a space for advertising self achievements or accomplishments, but present the best of user experience and satisfaction which web visitors could also benefit. This would generate interest and curiosity about the effectiveness of the brand or business solutions on offer. It is the authentic customer satisfaction that appeals to other consumers in promoting any brand or business product.
Any business today must set up a company profile page on the LinkedIn page with a proper management that updates the contents appropriately to attract the desired crowd.
Step 2 – Step Up Networking Connections
LinkedIn is indeed a social networking site that draws all walks of life to share and exchange ideas and news freely. Hence, connecting or engaging with people is crucial to the success of LinkedIn marketing in generating web traffic to the website.
Sharing, liking or commenting on posts works to build relationships while establishing trust and confidence in the individual even the marketer. Business contents could also be posted besides personal content when good relations have been established.
LinkedIn offers Sales Navigator tool which is very effective for marketers to harness relevant user data to promote networking with business prospects. This paid service is very effective with recommended targeted sales leads or business contacts which may prove useful to the marketer.
Step 3 – Personalized Communication
Good connectivity happens when strong initiatives are taken by the marketer in personalized communications. This is also true and effective on LinkedIn where there are pre-populated forms which could be transformed into personalized greetings and messages to targeted individuals on LinkedIn.
Simple notes of non-business related nature could be part of the personalized message sent to targeted business prospects. Interesting facts or the latest news around the world which interest potential leads could be part of the content with a call to action response at the end of the message. This would also open up the opportunity to schedule a call or arrange a follow up meeting to discuss business opportunities at greater length.
Step 4 – Target Relevant Content
LinkedIn is well equipped with premium content presentation tools where quality content could be generated as targeted marketing components in promoting the business brand and products.
Sponsored updates work well in targeting a niche market audience via targeted content. Marketers could manipulate LinkedIn’s Sponsored InMail feature that permits an effective sending out of business emails to targeted business prospects. LinkedIn also provides the Lead Accelerator which works to nurture leads into a process of inbox contact to face-to-face relationship.
These are premium marketing tools on LinkedIn that work effectively and efficiently in generating web traffic and building market visibility on brand and company. There may be some cost incurred to engage with these marketing LinkedIn tools which are designed to generate substantial benefits to marketers.
Step 5 – Manipulating the Pulse Platform
The Pulse publishing platform is a recent addition to LinkedIn as a dynamic component that allows long-form articles to be written and shared amongst the LinkedIn community network. The well written contents via LinkedIn Pulse could generate greater interest on the brand and business towards a wider market audience with the highest increase in personal profile and authority in the market.
Conclusion
LinkedIn need not be intimidating to marketers who learn the ropes of its dynamic marketing features for greater leverage as a versatile sales and marketing tool. With a well designed profile and a healthy list of connections, the marketer is all set with LinkedIn to market their business brand and reap higher ROIs.