Users of LinkedIn’s professional networking services require an understanding of how to conscientiously and effectively promote themselves and their services to their desired audience within the platform to make the best use of their promotional efforts under their time constraints. Remember, social media is not “free” – it uses your valuable time! So do you have what it takes to navigate the challenges of marketing on LinkedIn? See if you can answer the following questions:
Do you know your audience?
Let’s say I manufacture holistic pet food. Who is my audience? On Facebook, I would be trying to reach ethically conscious people who have pets or the owners of pets with allergies – the end-user of my product. But on LinkedIn, I have the opportunity to reach business owners – the people who own pet supply stores and the distributors of pet food products. I can connect with the buyer for a big box store like PetCo a lot easier on LinkedIn than on any other social media platform. By knowing who my audience is unique to LinkedIn, I can best market to them. They will be receptive to different messaging than the end-user of my product and I have to know that if I want to market on LinkedIn.
Do you have a professional headshot?
This always seems like no big deal when I talk to people about LinkedIn, but it makes a HUGE difference in how others perceive you. Going back to the pet food example, if I have a professional headshot, I look like I take my own business seriously, which means my connections will take me seriously, too. Would you want to talk to the CEO of Amazon.com with anything less? Your headshot represents you in those crucial first 3 seconds!
Does your goal fit the LinkedIn platform?
LinkedIn marketing doesn’t fit all needs. It is not a good place to reach the end-user of a product, but it’s a great place to reach the end-user for a B2B (business-to-business) service, like my social media marketing services. All marketing needs to have a goal in mind, unless you like randomly throwing money out the door. If my goal is big, like to make a new wholesale client or to contract with a larger business, LinkedIn is a great place to market yourself. Schedule an appointment with me in San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles and I’ll help you design a marketing strategy that fits LinkedIn!