LinkedIn | The Social Network Businesses Should Love

LinkedIn: The Social Network Businesses Should Love

LinkedIn should be ranked among the big three of social media sites, right with Facebook and Twitter. But LinkedIn is in fact more important for your small business because in contrast to its rivals, this social media site focuses specifically on business. This means that, you won’t have people on LinkedIn posting about how good their oatmeal tasted today…

How smart businesses are using LinkedIn

You operate a business. Your time and energy is in short supply. Exactly why should you worry about LinkedIn? Listed below are some ways your peers (there are 1.3 million small-business owners on the network) are employing it to their advantage:

1. Sharing wins: As a small business owner, you work hard. Why not share your success stories? Promoting your accomplishments is just good marketing. And with 2 million C-level executives using the site, you might suddenly find yourself with some deep-pocketed suitors.
2. Getting referrals: LinkedIn removes a great deal of the friction and awkwardness of giving and receiving endorsements for the work you are doing. Best part? When someone gives you props on LinkedIn, everyone in your network will notice in their activity feed.
3. Finding new talent: Growing? LinkedIn is a wonderful place—scratch that, it’s the BEST place—to find new A players to include in your roster. It’s the largest directory of working professionals on the internet.
4. Promoting events: LinkedIn’s event feature is a game changer! It’s never been easier to spread the news and drum up enthusiasm about upcoming events, sales and gatherings. You can even use their service directory to search for professional event planners to assist you.
5. Boosting website traffic: Here’s a little-known secret about LinkedIn: it’s very influential with Google, so if you have a presence on LinkedIn, you’re likely to notice a bump in search engine visibility, too. More eyeballs, more prospects.
6. Getting answers: LinkedIn is a goldmine for tips on running a successful business. You are able to uncover great advice from a number of the savviest business minds in the world in LinkedIn Answers and Groups. There are over 2000 groups focused on small-business-related topics.
7. Finding investors, vendors and partners: It’s a networker’s paradise. Whether you want some capital, a new accounting firm, or a business partner, you’re not going to find a better source than LinkedIn.

We’re just scratching the surface here, folks. The rewards don’t end there. Head over to LinkedIn, generate a page for your business and find out for yourself. I realize your time is scarce, but trust me, it’s worth it.