NEW ZEALAND, Auckland: LinkedIn is an online platform that is home to 630 million professionals and counting. It’s a space that works as a kind of social media platform but exclusively for businesses and business professionals. A place where you can showcase you, your brand and what it can offer in efforts to connect with other businesses or employers. Just like any social media platform these days there are hacks, tips and tricks to making the most of the experience on that platform, increasing your visibility and building your brand. Here are a few tips on how to build your brand as a business through LinkedIn.
Smile for the camera
The icon picture and the cover photo for your business’ LinkedIn will be the first impression that people get of your company and the services that you are selling. These images are super important. The attention span for the average person is drastically shorter than what it was 10 years ago due to things like social media and the access that everyone has now to pretty much anything and anyone. Because of the great amounts of media people consume every day, the images that are displayed on your LinkedIn profile must be attention grabbing, specific to your business and self-explanatory. No one wants to be hunting for the name and branding of your company, they want to see it, and get it.
Sell yourself
The same way that you would pay for marketing or PR for your company to sell yourself and have your services be more attractive to other businesses, you also need to sell yourself in your LinkedIn bio. This isn’t a space for you to be shy about the facts and figures of your business. Highlight your greatest achievements, avoid the jargon and give it to them plain. This is who you are, this is what you’ve done, and this is what you can do for them. Your bio is extremely important, it lets people know what you are about, and it should be written in a way that doesn’t leave them asking questions or wondering just how good your business really is.
Content creation
Because LinkedIn is for professionals sometimes people do forget that it is essentially a social media platform, so all the general social media rules still apply. Rules along the lines of, the creation of good, engaging content boosts your visibility on the platform. More visibility equates to more connection which then equates to more opportunity! Yes, keep it professional and linked to your business because at the end of the day, that is what you are trying to grow, but also incorporate some fun and engaging content on your profile. That will really help get more eyes on you and hopefully more business to business partnerships.
Consistency, consistency, consistency
This one is extremely easy to follow; keep posting content, keep updating you LinkedIn, keep engaging with other businesses that are of interest to you and just keep being active on the platform. Inconsistency breeds doubt and forgetfulness but consistency builds trust and remembrance.
Treat your business’ LinkedIn profile just how you would a first child. Make your name and arrival clear, post the best and most exciting photos, document everything so that people are updated, and the growth is clear. When you let people into your business, and they can feel the authenticity and transparency then people will be attracted to you and what you have to offer.