Are
you and your business on LinkedIn?
Why you should use Linkedin to promote yourself or your business?
February 2011 |
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Weather
you are an individual looking to build a network or searching
for a job, or a company trying to market your products, LinkedIn
is the place to be. The site has been growing silently and for
a while it seemed that other services like Plaxo would take
over the first place, but LinkedIn is back at full throttle.
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Why
would you open a personal LinkedIn account?
Nowadays we do not stay with the same company for all our life any
more and especially younger generations jump from one job to another.
Even if you are nice and comfortable in your job, you might be surprised
by a hostile take-over or reorganization and find yourself looking
for a new job. At that moment it would be very helpful to have a
professional network at your disposal that can help you find a new
position. Do realize that up to 80% of all new positions are never
advertised in the news papers! Most jobs are filled in because the
person concerned knew somebody who knew somebody etc. And LinkedIn
is not only a good source for such connections, it is also a cheap
way for HR departments to find potential applicants. Therefore you
might be invited to send in your resume through LinkedIn or what
I came across the other day, a job advertisement that was only posted
on LinkedIn. The company that was looking for a new employee did
not place the ad anywhere else and the only possibility to react
was also through a form on LinkedIn. If you expect to look for a
job anywhere soon, you better get yourself an account and start
building that network.
Also companies should have an account
As a social media or network site, LinkedIn is considered to be
a serious "business" website both by employees and companies.
A Linkedin account for your business can help you generate leads
and build your reputation.
To start set up an account for your business with a short description
of what you do. Add the "Products" tab to display all
your products or services with logos and images and you are able
to add a YouTube video, which allows you to publish a more detailed
message. It does not stop there, you can target different audiences
with different messages and products and you can ask customers or
other relations to recommend your products and services, giving
potential customers a clear overview of what you do and how good
you are at it.
Once your business page is ready, you need to get out there. Do
connect your business to your Twitter account so that all your business
tweets appear on the Linkedin home page of your contacts and followers
as well. Be aware that LinkedIn offers the possibility to only publish
tweets with #in, to avoid filling LinkedIn with non-relevant messages.
Use groups and the Answer & Questions module to engage directly
with customers, competitors and other relevant connections, to share
ideas, start discussions, publish news articles related to your
business and actively respond to people interested in your business.
This will ensure you gain credibility as an active participator
and increase visibility of your company.
Look on LinkedIn, or better type your question into Google, for
clear descriptions of how to start and fill a business or personal
account in LinkedIn. Success!
Did you use LinkedIn in a different way to promote your business
or have any good ideas?
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