In social media, we talk an awful lot about how to get more “Likes” on our Facebook pages and how to cross the threshold of 10,000 Twitter followers. Of course these are valid social media marketing tactics to increase brand awareness, drive sales and build online communities. However, we are quick to forget about other effective social media platforms that are quite powerful in expanding the networks of potential clients, new business and industry colleagues.
Last week, a few of us at The Cyphers Agency attended a workshop at our office conducted by LinkedIn pro, Colleen McKenna. Thanks to the time spent with her, we put together some tips and pointers on how we can all better represent ourselves as professionals on the platform and how to build better brand awareness through LinkedIn connections and capabilities.
First and foremost, LinkedIn recently made significant changes to ensure brands can better represent themselves and cater to both potential clients and business associates, as well as fellow industry professionals. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words. To be more visually appealing, LinkedIn business profiles now offer brands ample space to share images. They’ve improved the business page update stream, making it more relevant to potential viewers, providing business updates, employment openings, and relevant articles. The overall layout of information and graphics allows brands the opportunity to better showcase their work, whether it’s an article, an image or a video.
In order to effectively use a LinkedIn profile, as a brand or an individual, there are three strategic aspects to keep in mind:
- Be strategic. Understand who should be in your network as you build your brand connections. Whether it’s potential clients and customers, industry colleagues and associates, or routine vendors and suppliers, be particular and deliberate in deciding who to connect with and ensure that the connection is relevant.
- Develop your brand’s profile completely. Incorporate images of your work, articles you’ve published and other happenings in the life of your brand. Optimize your profile by utilizing industry key words in your profile write-up. Studies show that opportunities and connections are 40 times more likely to originate from a profile that is complete and well-plugged with keywords.
- Measure and engage. Monitor new connections as they occur. Make introductions and recommendations through the LinkedIn platform to boost engagement and enhance your connections.
Whether you maintain the page on behalf of a brand or for your own professional connections, LinkedIn is more than just a “professional Facebook”. As a legitimate platform that represents a brand and professionals, LinkedIn is an avenue with which you can reach potential customers and clients, expand your professional network of colleagues and better represent your brand.
