The Social Network Making Business Personal—Are You Networking on LinkedIn?
A social media site that was once seen as the ultimate, high-tech resume, job-hunting platform is expanding to a B2B marketing platform. This summer, LinkedIn announced the acquisition of Bizo, in what some experts say is a $175 million deal designed to integrate a marketing and sales platform to nurture and acquire customers. In the announcement, David Thacker, Vice President of Product for LinkedIn, said the move is designed to promote LinkedIn as a branding tool. The key is to target the right audience, not the broad reach on Facebook and Twitter.
LinkedIn is already the preferred social network to reach a professional audience, but the focus will remain on building personal relationships. Daniel Green’s article, “Who should be social: you or your brand?” states, “A social media campaign will be more successful in terms of engagement and exposure if undertaken by the individual rather than the brand.” The article goes on to say that of the top 100 Twitter accounts, 85 were individuals, 14 were social/media outlets. Leaving one single non-media corporation—the NBA. It does seem obvious that it is easier to socialize with a person rather than a company, especially given LinkedIn’s more complex goal of building relationships.
Our content strategy team at Mopdog wants to ensure our clients are using LinkedIn’s tools and engaging, so they can benefit from the platform’s shift to a marketing focus. One of the first aspects is to realize that although your business might have a company page on LinkedIn, any interaction with other businesses and individual people will need to come from an individual profile.
Tips for LinkedIn Success:
- As a thought leader and representative of your company, the “Groups” feature should prove to be very useful. These are dedicated discussion spaces around a certain industry topic or professional group. Excellent ideas for this space include an upcoming conference, where the latest news about the schedule of events, added sponsors and attendees can be updated. Promoting your company’s newest webinar to a specific group is also a great targeted-marketing strategy. Groups don’t have to be specific to your company. LinkedIn is also a great for networking tool for small business owners, foundations, alumni associations and social groups like “Women in Business.”
- The “Groups” feature is also a great way for coworkers to communicate with each other. Global businesses often have employees traveling, working remotely or stationed in offices around the world. An employee group can keep everyone connected.
- Finally, keep expanding your network and professional knowledge. The “Pulse” section allows LinkedIn users to browse the latest trending topics and engage with other thought leaders outside of your existing network. In this section there are blogs and posts called “Top News,” which often include best hiring practices, leadership skills and marketing strategies.
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William Musial
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Cheryl Musial
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