Today, over 12 million small business owners use LinkedIn for lead generation, global business expansion, and finding the right vendors and suppliers, among other things.
Below are 10 ways small business owners can maximize the potential LinkedIn carries:
Customer acquisition. Happy customers bring in new customers through recommendations and word of mouth. Ask your satisfied customers to write a short testimonial or recommendation, which will be posted on your LinkedIn profile and shared with their entire network.
Remind them that you exist. Update your status on LinkedIn and keep the business on the minds of those in your network. Your status updates may also be synced with your Twitter account for greater impact.
Outsourcing opportunities. Small business owners outsource various tasks in which they are not experts. Someone in the fashion industry who wants to promote their business online may not necessarily know which vendor to reach for internet marketing services. LinkedIn provides an avenue to search for tried and tested vendors through your peers. Additionally, you could also offer your services to a vendor’s connections.
Expanding your industry network online and offline. Make use of LinkedIn’s Groups directory and join various organizations related to your small business. LinkedIn also broadcasts industry-specific events your peers are attending, allowing you to get in touch with prospective clients.
Get answers from your network. A small business owner is sometimes faced with challenging questions. Making use of LinkedIn Answers and Groups allows you to find the answers quickly by using the knowledge of different business owners.
Be noticed through your answers. LinkedIn provides many forums that are great for sharing your knowledge on your field of expertise. Use this as a great opportunity to gain new businesses or new clients. Through LinkedIn’s advanced Answers search, prospective clients will come across your answer. This is a good way to pitch your skills and expertise subtly.
Get investors or find mentors. LinkedIn has a network of over 3 million start-up entrepreneurs and over 12 million small business owners. It is a wise move to be connected with people who have been through what you are presently going through. They may be even more than willing to mentor you. Once you have become a part of the small business owners’ network participate in various LinkedIn applications. You may find people who believe in your cause and are willing to invest to make your venture a reality.
Gain referrals. LinkedIn Groups is a good medium to find business networks that are complimentary to your business. Take for example a mortgage broker. He may find real estate agents to partner up with. As with small business owners, having a network of these partners is the best source of referrals that can convert to repeat business transactions.
Showcase your expertise through unique blog content. Small business owners know that creating unique blog content through the use of blogs or social networking sites should be linked in to their LinkedIn profiles. Take this a notch higher and promote your unique content to LinkedIn members. You may even specify who will see your ads. Be sure to include a link this to your profile.
Staying close to your competition. There are over 150,000 companies in LinkedIn that show the key statistics on the company. Leverage on gaining unique insight on your competition. Browsing through company pages may also let you stumble on potential hires for your venture.
