Should I Promote My Business on LinkedIn?

If you’ve been wondering whether investing time on LinkedIn is worthwhile, there are a few important questions to ask yourself before you go through the time involved to set up your page and start connecting with your network.

Are you looking for customers or trying to build relationships?
Are you looking for sales or are you looking for networking opportunities?
Do you want to expand your influence, network, educational opportunities or job opportunities – or all four?

If you are a business-to-business company, LinkedIn is 1000% the right place to network. Although the platform is still clunky, a little confusing, and starting to look more cluttered – it’s a function of the developers testing a lot of options to see what’s going to stick. It’s still the best place to reach business owners and decision makers as well as influencers.

Here is why LinkedIn is Worth Exploring for Business-to-Business Companies:

On multiple occasions I have learned the name of a business owner, found them and connected with them on LinkedIn almost immediately – with a pretty good response rate. This is not going to happen on Facebook.
Or – I have known the name of the organization and a couple key players – and I was able to hone in on industry regional reps, VP or Marketing personnel through knowing the other contacts in the organization.
Joining industry specific networks or groups on LinkedIn is very effective for clean and clear-cut business networking and business content.
If you’re looking to set yourself up as an expert in your industry or niche among others within your industry – with a heavy blogging, webinar, video or other content focused presence – LinkedIn makes it easy to share content, video, etc. and have it reach many in your network quickly. LinkedIn also makes it easy for your network to distribute your content even further quite easily without spending money on promotions, boosts or ads. People are seeking out business-focused content on LinkedIn with open-minded engagement.
LinkedIn also offers courses for businesses – they are setting themselves up as a business resource, not an entertainment click bait engine. Check out some of the courses they have available here: https://learning.linkedin.com/content-library.

Facebook VS LinkedIn

“Content“ on Facebook is one of four things: personal, entertaining, political, or sales oriented. Facebook content tends to be more social, more fluffy and much more sales and promotion focused. Conversely, LinkedIn content is viewed as more educational with more intellectual interest and open-minded engagement.
On LinkedIn, you can go deeper on more specific topics. Conversely, if you put the same content on Facebook, people are either going to avoid it or quickly pass by when they see it isn’t another funny cat video or meme from The Office.
Facebook is better for specific product or sale promotions and CAN be good for certain types of service promotions. However, it is much better for Business-to-Consumer type products and direct sales than Business-to-Business. LinkedIn is more about sharing ideas, concepts, solutions and direct business relationship type referrals.

Some Tips to make LinkedIn Work Best for your Business

Make sure your personal profile is completely filled out (including your photo) and that you have a minimum of 500 connections. You just have to invite more people from your networks to connect with you – LinkedIn helps you identify them automatically. https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-reynolds-5056805/
Make sure you set up your business profile and link it to your personal profile. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-get-smart-group/?viewAsMember=true
Generate Content. Lots of it. Consistently. It doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be brilliant, but it should always be thoughtful, original and human and represent who you are and the way you do business. Share your content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and the other platforms you utilize, and cross link them all to your website.

Don’t get hung up on the small details. The most critical thing you can do is write a list of topics, then tackle them on a weekly basis. Have someone look them over for spelling and grammar errors, but don’t get too wrapped up about the minute details. As Seth Godin says, “JUST PUBLISH – and get it done.” You will get better at the content as time goes on and you find a flow that works for you.

With LinkedIn AND with Facebook, just do something! Don’t sit on your hands and worry about which platform is best for you or HOW to do it the “right” way. There is no wrong way other than to do nothing. Take one day at a time and plug away at it until you see movement happening and your network and engagement starts to grow.

As Scott likes to say, “You miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take.”

Here is another blog topic on this post that you may find helpful. https://www.business2community.com/linkedin/3-steps-successful-networking-linkedin-01151642

Ali Crook

"People matter more than money." I like a good challenge. So maybe sales is a natural fit, especially when I represent a product or company I am passionate about and am willing to personally vouch for. If we work together, I believe in you. I consider myself part of your team and I'll be loyal and hardworking to make sure you are getting everything you need to succeed in your business. I have been working 20 or more hours a week since I was 16 years old. My husband jokes that I have had more jobs than I haven't had. My strengths finder top 5 strengths are (in top down order): Achiever, Learner, Individualization, Context and Relator. These traits drive me to constantly push myself to keep learning, use organized lists and benchmarks to meet goals, ask questions to seek out people's unique desires and understand the psychology behind the purchase decisions being considered by a variety of distinctly unique individuals daily. I want to know you. I want to know your business. I want to make you successful. I am a skeptic, a questioner of methods, a worst-case scenario "under promise and over deliver" girl. I get my hands dirty and do the hard work in order to accomplish unprecedented results. Being a business owner is hard work - no one knows that better than we do. Traditionally, I've been a lone ranger, working in sales from a private office. But in the last 5 years, I've learned the joys and benefits of being a leader and a team player. This has opened doors for our company and given me the opportunity to nurture and mentor other sales teams and individuals in a variety of industries, and that is the best reward I could ask for. It comes back to what really matters to me at the end of the day "People Matter." I have worked in the Advertising Sales industry for magazines, the Swim Spa and Hot Tub sales industry for Master Spas, in non-profit organizations, in customer service and in sales for online international Tech startups. Every position, every day, every client and every challenge is an opportunity to learn. My college degrees include a BA in vocal jazz performance, a BA in Marketing & Advertising and a Minor in International Studies from the University of Washington. I have two cute pugs at home named Bacon and Sofia. I am a pianist, a published songwriter and am learning to play the cello. We are sponsors of the Naz Children's Centre in Jamaica and of the local theatre company in our cute hometown of Murphys, Ca. Murphys Creek Theatre. Our goal is simple: do good.