LinkedIn strategies? For a small business? On a budget? It is no surprise that many small business owners and marketers are going to wonder about the feasibility of such an approach. There is a sort of urban myth that LinkedIn marketing is efficient only for the B2B field and that it is very expensive.
One part of this assertion is true: paid LinkedIn marketing has premium prices. However, as you have already tested and proven on Facebook and Instagram, there are ways to generate organic traffic and grow your customer base for free.
Why Should You Consider LinkedIn Strategies for Your Small Business?
At the present, small businesses are under huge pressure. The global economy is on the brink of a new, major crisis. The consumers think twice before making an unnecessary purchase. There is real and credible danger for small businesses and they should act before they are forced to close down.
In this context, any way they can identify new potential clients is something worth exploring. And LinkedIn is a large and thriving social media network. Plus, being dedicated to professionals and businesses, there are fewer distractions on the users’ timelines. There are no funny memes, photos of cats, videos with DIY cooking or make-up sessions.
What Exactly Are You Supposed to Do on LinkedIn?
Once you create your personal account (and a page for your company) and you add connections, your timeline will start filling with posts. Browse them carefully and you will find:
- Pertinent opinions on a topic of interest for a profession/industry;
- Interviews with thought leaders;
- In-depth articles, white papers and press releases;
- Requests for advice/information/help on a specialised issue.
As you can see, you can find a lot of variety in LinkedIn posts. And it will give you an idea of developing LinkedIn strategies that will help you grow awareness for your brand and identify new clients.
Here are a few helpful tips in this sense:
1. Establish Your Authority in Your Field
LinkedIn is a great place to grow your authority as an expert in your field of activity. You can do it in several ways:
- Share articles in which you discuss topics of interest;
- Answer questions and help out your connections.
These are simple and free ways to show people that you are knowledgeable as well as willing to help them. This will earn you a lot of goodwill, and it will be transferred to your business, as well.
2. Post on LinkedIn Pulse
Looking for guest blogging opportunities to earn backlinks and reach out to more potential clients? LinkedIn Pulse is, probably, one of the largest guest blogging platforms in the world. And you don’t have to pay to get your article published.
Moreover, you can include anchor links in your text and add tags to help other LinkedIn users find your content. Do you need an extra perk? LinkedIn Pulse articles are indexed by Google and can be viewed by people who do not have a LinkedIn account. What more could you wish for?
3. Join Groups
LinkedIn strategies, no matter what kind of industry you operate in, must include groups. This is the place where you can find a dedicated group for your niche, no matter how specialised it is.
This is one of the big strong points of LinkedIn. Even on Facebook you won’t be able to find groups so finely targeted to your field of activity. Who joins such groups? There are other entrepreneurs like you, but also investors, suppliers, people who need the respective products and services or who are looking for a business partner in that niche.
Thus, you may attract the attention of clients, but also angel investors and professionals with whom you may establish bartering.
4. Bring Your Team Together on Your Company Page
Once your business has a LinkedIn page, your employees can add it as a current workplace on their Profile. This has two positive outcomes for your LinkedIn strategies:
- Your employees’ connections can easily find your company page
- Users reaching your page will see how many people work for you.
In the first instance, your brand is exposed to new audiences. In the second, having your employees featured on the page will determine users to trust your business.
5. Follow Thought Leaders and Competitors
LinkedIn can become one of the most valuable sources of curated content for your business. This will be helpful for your blogging and LinkedIn strategies. By following industry leaders and your direct competitors, you will have your LinkedIn timeline full of interesting, up to date and useful articles, information and resources.
You can either re-share the content or identify hot topics to write your own blog posts or long form articles. This will save you a lot of time searching for current trends for your target audience and will help you maintain your reputation as a trusted and authoritative voice in your niche.