How LinkedIn Can Help Your Business

The small business owners of today must wear many hats. Even with the introduction of AI technology and an abundance of options for virtual personal assistants, the day still has more tasks than time. So why should you add LinkedIn activity to your daily calendar?

All small business owners should be active on LinkedIn because no one has done more for their business to grow and get to where it is than the owners themselves. They have made the connections, pursued the clients, and delivered the products. They have done all of the hard work already. Letting all that hard work and goodwill wither because of a lack of regular communication is bad for business.

The key to accepting what LinkedIn offers to a business is understanding that it isn’t just another task or to-do item. Posting on LinkedIn is a way to say hello to your friends and colleagues. Posting updates is a way to remind everyone of the services and products you offer and make relationships through connecting personally and on a business level.

Planning

The great news about engaging in LinkedIn is that it doesn’t take much time. The key is to plan and develop a content posting plan that uses singular content for multiple platforms or posts. For example, if you prefer to make a video instead of writing out a blog post, you can host that video on YouTube and your business website. You can then share those links on LinkedIn. After two to three business days, make a follow-up post for your connections that may have missed the original.

Once you develop a content plan, you can identify how much time per day or week should be devoted to LinkedIn and realize that the value of the additional eyes on your content far outweighs the time spent posting. In addition to your weekly content, spend five to ten minutes each day reaching out to your connections and commenting on their posts. Ensure that if any of your content may apply to their posts, you share it with them. That is a great way to get additional viewers and invite new connections for your small business.

Creativity

Many small business owners enjoy the black-and-white of business operations but shy away from the creative aspects of building a business. So, the idea of creating content for LinkedIn can be daunting. What must be realized is that the purpose of content creation for LinkedIn is the act of simply saying hello to your customers and friends. You are using your voice to remind them of your services and your products. If you have a good business then you will have happy customers. So think of content creation as reminding those customers that you have provided something that helped them. This will spur them to re-use your services and share their positive experience with others.

The real focus of content creation is providing something to the reader or viewer that resonates with them. If you want to tell a story of a big win for your business, make sure that the story is structured to provide enough detail to engage the reader without providing too much or too little information that may lose the reader’s attention. If you want to get very creative and add top-notch videography or music then feel free to do so. However, make sure that you don’t lose the message in the details.

Execution

Now that you have your content creation plan and style identified, all that is left is to execute your strategy. This is where daily activity pays dividends. For a small business owner, a once-per-week posting is probably too sparse. Ideally, you are going to want to post updates two to three times per week but engage with your connections daily.

Also, feel free to add your personal life to your posts. You don’t have to stick to only business-focused updates because that squanders any sort of personal relationship you may have with your connections. You are hoping to build connections. Sharing some of your personal life, such as hobbies or interests or even things you are proud of, is an ideal opening to build rapport and find commonality. Providing a personal touch to a story makes you memorable and relatable. The business-related topics you discuss provide value. Combine the two and you become memorable as a person of value to your readers.

Remembering that LinkedIn is just another approach to marketing for your small business is the key to understanding the advantageous ratio of exposure to time invested. People who you have a relationship with want to send you business. Staying top of mind with them through LinkedIn posts helps create those opportunities. Make LinkedIn use easy for yourself by planning your approach, making your content relatable and memorable, and then executing your strategy with regularity. If you can adopt this approach, LinkedIn will be the new tool for your business that helps it to excel.

Need help with LinkedIn strategy for your business? We know people who can help. Give us a call.