The Professional Side of B2B Social Media: Linkedin
Almost every business under the sun can benefit from using Linkedin. As you already know, it’s a widely used tool for finding and hiring quality candidates. For this article, we’ll look at how small business owners like yourself can find a lot of value from Linkedin on the B2B side. With over 70 million users, Linkedin offers a way for businesses to powerfully connect online with a special added ingredient: trust.
The reason why Linkedin is different is because you have a better chance of making an impact when reaching out to people. Though twitter and facebook are great tools, they can be viewed as more general tools for social media management. Linkedin is a business resource, so when you reach out to someone about a business matter they are more likely to digest your message.
An easy and effective way to start unlocking the power of Linkedin is to start a group that your potential clients would want to join. Try making two groups, one general and one specific, around your audience. The benefit from your broad topic group will be increased exposure while the more specific group may increase your chances of attracting group members that are more relevant to your business. Having members join your group not only gives you access to their Linkedin profile; it also allows you to send group e-mail updates with content that you control. For more information on how to start a group and do things like make announcements on Linkedin, check out this brief article on Mashable.com.
If you think Linkedin should be a focus of your B2B social media strategy, I found an interesting resource for you on Slideshare. Click here to view an entire 148 page book on Linkedin called “So I’m on Linkedin, now what?”
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