Social media is the talk of the town and is generating a lot of interest from all quarters. Businesses are exploring the idea of using these social networking mediums for reaching out to their leads and for spreading their business. Linkedin is a business networking site that is widely used all over the globe to propagate business. It is amazing that it unites about 17 million professionals from all over the world. Linkedin is very quickly becoming a legitimate professional networking tool where focus is basically on business opportunities and professional networking.
The daunting task while using Linkedin is how to use this social networking site to your advantage. Signing up, creating a profile, connecting to few people is great but soon the real purpose is usually lost due to lack of knowledge. Here are some of the ways to use Linkedin to increase sales and to promote business:
Branding
Linkedin provides feature of creating a profile for your company that serves as a great way to connect to your customers and to your potential buyers. You can do this with the help of a representative that can maintain this profile and can very well carry the image of your company. The profile should be company centric and the summary can contain the company’s services and products. Use the profile as a medium to project your company’s brand value. You can also create a personal profile for the employees of the company so that your customers can get to know them.
Creating Groups
Customers form integral part of any business so it is always recommended to be in touch with your customers by maintaining a constructive dialog. The best way to achieve this is through starting a group. You can use this group to hold discussions, reviews, a platform to talk about common business practices and interests and to share news and any new developments about your company and products. You can even offer some special schemes or incentives for your Linkedin Group.
You can also create a group for your industry, or join a group that has already been created. Let’s say that you are a company that works with Human Resources Representatives. You might want to join a group that has already been created for HR reps. Then when a question is posed that is in your area of expertise, be sure to post an answer to that question. In this way you can develop “expert” status. The more questions you answer the better your chances of becoming an expert, especially when the person posing the question marks your answer as the “best answer”.
In the groups area you can also post news articles that are relevant to the industry. For example, if you read an article that discusses a new bill that is going to affect company’s HR policies, you can post it to the News area of the Group. You can also post a comment. This also will get you noticed by the group members, and when a business opportunity comes up, you will be more likely to be at the top of their list to contact.
Trusted relationships
You can form some really strong relationships here by getting in touch with your prospects. You want to be careful though, not to post articles that only have to do with your company. Be a friend to your contacts both individual and in groups. Don’t constantly try to sell them, but keep in contact with them in a friendly and non-sales way. Nobody likes to be “sold” or pitched to, but most people like relevant information that will help them. Post articles and information that is relevant to all parts of their business, not just areas that will help you. Be a friend first. People like to do business with their friends.
Finding partners
A small business is usually not fully equipped to provide the complete solution. It looks for allies to complete the process. Linkedin can act as a mutual ground to meet some great professionals to partner with and to use their expertise for your business. You can have advice from experts, provide your insight and can develop an entire team of trustworthy professionals.
As an example, the other day I needed to make a referral to a client. She needed a trust attorney to set up a specialized trust for her grandson. I did a search on Linkedin for “Trust Attorneys” located in a particular area, and several popped up. I sent each of them a friendly email and got the response I was looking for.
Asserting presence
You can use Linkedin to softly market your business in front of many prospective clients in a cost effective but very result oriented way. Hundreds of professionals join Linkedin everyday and the network is ever growing. There is no dearth of people with whom you can form everlasting professional bonds. We hope that these tips of using Linkedin to increase your sales really put you on the map and let you reach the pinnacles of success. Just remember that this type of marketing takes a little time and patience, but it can pay off big in the long run!
Katherine Kline is Vice President of OFD Enterprises. She can be reached by emailing her at kathekline@ofdenterprises.com or calling her at 866-445-6683.
The daunting task while using Linkedin is how to use this social networking site to your advantage. Signing up, creating a profile, connecting to few people is great but soon the real purpose is usually lost due to lack of knowledge. Here are some of the ways to use Linkedin to increase sales and to promote business:
Branding
Linkedin provides feature of creating a profile for your company that serves as a great way to connect to your customers and to your potential buyers. You can do this with the help of a representative that can maintain this profile and can very well carry the image of your company. The profile should be company centric and the summary can contain the company’s services and products. Use the profile as a medium to project your company’s brand value. You can also create a personal profile for the employees of the company so that your customers can get to know them.
Creating Groups
Customers form integral part of any business so it is always recommended to be in touch with your customers by maintaining a constructive dialog. The best way to achieve this is through starting a group. You can use this group to hold discussions, reviews, a platform to talk about common business practices and interests and to share news and any new developments about your company and products. You can even offer some special schemes or incentives for your Linkedin Group.
You can also create a group for your industry, or join a group that has already been created. Let’s say that you are a company that works with Human Resources Representatives. You might want to join a group that has already been created for HR reps. Then when a question is posed that is in your area of expertise, be sure to post an answer to that question. In this way you can develop “expert” status. The more questions you answer the better your chances of becoming an expert, especially when the person posing the question marks your answer as the “best answer”.
In the groups area you can also post news articles that are relevant to the industry. For example, if you read an article that discusses a new bill that is going to affect company’s HR policies, you can post it to the News area of the Group. You can also post a comment. This also will get you noticed by the group members, and when a business opportunity comes up, you will be more likely to be at the top of their list to contact.
Trusted relationships
You can form some really strong relationships here by getting in touch with your prospects. You want to be careful though, not to post articles that only have to do with your company. Be a friend to your contacts both individual and in groups. Don’t constantly try to sell them, but keep in contact with them in a friendly and non-sales way. Nobody likes to be “sold” or pitched to, but most people like relevant information that will help them. Post articles and information that is relevant to all parts of their business, not just areas that will help you. Be a friend first. People like to do business with their friends.
Finding partners
A small business is usually not fully equipped to provide the complete solution. It looks for allies to complete the process. Linkedin can act as a mutual ground to meet some great professionals to partner with and to use their expertise for your business. You can have advice from experts, provide your insight and can develop an entire team of trustworthy professionals.
As an example, the other day I needed to make a referral to a client. She needed a trust attorney to set up a specialized trust for her grandson. I did a search on Linkedin for “Trust Attorneys” located in a particular area, and several popped up. I sent each of them a friendly email and got the response I was looking for.
Asserting presence
You can use Linkedin to softly market your business in front of many prospective clients in a cost effective but very result oriented way. Hundreds of professionals join Linkedin everyday and the network is ever growing. There is no dearth of people with whom you can form everlasting professional bonds. We hope that these tips of using Linkedin to increase your sales really put you on the map and let you reach the pinnacles of success. Just remember that this type of marketing takes a little time and patience, but it can pay off big in the long run!
Katherine Kline is Vice President of OFD Enterprises. She can be reached by emailing her at kathekline@ofdenterprises.com or calling her at 866-445-6683.
Using LinkedIn To Increase Sales
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