5 Ways to Stand Out and Stay Connected on LinkedIn

3 June 2015
As a B2B marketer, you probably actively engage on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to tap into their broad audiences. But if you’re haphazardly present on LinkedIn — or not there at all — you could be closing the door to massive brand reach and leads for your company. 
Both Facebook and Twitter are valuable tools for staying on your audience’s radar, but when it comes to nurturing real business connections, LinkedIn should be your social media platform of choice.
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has managed to establish a network for users driven by thought leadership. It’s become the go-to publishing platform for brand marketers in the B2B space to share their knowledge and expertise in a public forum — one that’s completely integrated with past and present colleagues. 
But an active LinkedIn presence also allows marketers to drive engagement, interest, conversations, and ultimately leads. Users have a variety of tools to keep prospects warm, and it’s a safe place to discuss your industry, company, and day-to-day work life. 
Most importantly, LinkedIn was built for business, so while you might be seen as overly assertive on other networks, people have come to expect this type of networking on LinkedIn.
To ramp up your presence on LinkedIn, consider these five best practices:
1. Think Visual 
Just like other social channels, people will respond to images and videos on LinkedIn. Rather than posting text-only updates, mix in content that will spur interest and prompt clicks and other valuable actions. Your content has to stand out to gain traction, and making it multimedia is a step in the right direction.
2. Provide Expert Content
LinkedIn can be a great place to educate audiences on your products and services, but it’s also an effective platform for showcasing your expertise through educational content. If professionals are following your page, they’re raising their hand and expressing interest in your company. Show you care by offering value through informative content. LinkedIn recommends users prioritize quality over quantity and aim for one post each business day. 
3. Sponsor Content to Maximize Reach
Aside from positioning your company as an industry leader, you can also leverage LinkedIn to drive more targeted exposure for your content. By sponsoring content, you can fine-tune your reach and ensure your articles appear in the feeds of interested audiences and potential clients.
For example, General Electric sponsors LinkedIn InMails, Content Ads, and targeted display ads to underpin its marketing goals and build community around its content and expertise. As a result, its content ads average a 5.75 percent interaction rate, driving more than 1,300 unique content downloads. 
4. Partner With Your Employees and Influencers
While company pages are extremely impactful, company employees, industry influencers, and even current clients are an untapped goldmine for boosting authenticity and awareness. Together, they reach thousands of eyes and ears with their content. You can expand your reach by partnering with them to promote their content and vice versa.  
5. Take Part in the Conversation
LinkedIn offers many tools for engaging clients and proactively networking. Frequently update your status, post long-form articles, and actively comment and respond to others to get the most out of your LinkedIn presence. You can also post in groups and discussion forums to promote participation. These forums represent virtual conference rooms brimming with potential clients. These are all excellent opportunities to share insights and links that point to your product or service as the answer.
Through an active LinkedIn presence and targeted status updates, ADP has reshaped its social identity, doubled its followers, and become more than just a payroll company.
By this point in the day, your company might have updated its Facebook status five times, posted some engaging photos, or responded to a few comments. But have you put as much time or energy into sharing your company’s expertise with those who could use your product or service?
Take advantage of LinkedIn’s publishing power to start becoming a trusted industry resource for those who truly matter to your company’s bottom line.

http://www.b2bmarketing.net/blog/posts/2015/06/03/5-ways-stand-out-and-stay-connected-linkedin#
 

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