We’ve talked at length before about the importance of LinkedIn as a marketing and networking tool – particularly in the B2B space. LinkedIn is one of the strongest online business tools available today, so I’m always surprised when I find out business leaders either don’t use it at all or barely do so.
Part of the reason may be that people imagine LinkedIn (and social media in general) to be a massive time investment. They aren’t sure where to start or how to engage effectively – and more importantly, don’t have the time to figure it out – so as a result they avoid the platform altogether.
Fortunately, believe it or not Kinesis has developed a methodology to consolidate LinkedIn activity into less time than it takes to drink a cup of coffee. (Or I should say, less time than it takes for most people to drink a cup of coffee… since I always seem to drink mine in 60 seconds flat. But I digress.)
You’re probably aware of just how important LinkedIn is, and already prepared to devote that coffee time. But just in case you’re still protective of that 15 minutes, let’s take a moment to recap why LinkedIn is so valuable for small businesses.
LinkedIn has more than half a billion users (that’s billion with a “B”), and that number continues to grow – by two new users every second, in fact. That means that by the time you finish reading this article, 600 new people will have created a profile (and I will have finished three more cups). That’s 600 new people with the potential to engage with you and your business!
And yet, at last count only 17% of US small businesses reported using LinkedIn. While this statistic is a surprising one, it also means that the channel is ripe with opportunity: Chances are your competitors aren’t yet using LinkedIn in a meaningful way, and you can use it to stand out in your space.
And that just scratches the surface. Just take a look at this infographic from LinkedIn:
OK, so you know LinkedIn is important – now, where do you begin?
Before you can start engaging with LinkedIn, you’ll need to establish a presence if you haven’t already by focusing on both your company’s LinkedIn page, as well as your personal profile. (Psst: Don’t have either of these yet? Create one – it’s free!)
Once you’ve optimized your LinkedIn profiles and have a foundation of LinkedIn connections, you can begin to focus your activity to maximize engagement. At Kinesis, we categorize our LinkedIn usage into two tiers: hunters and gatherers.
As the name would imply, the “Hunter” LinkedIn strategy is right for someone on the prowl for new opportunities (in other words, someone in a sales, business development, or otherwise community-facing role). As you probably know, the customer buying process has evolved a lot in recent years - with social media becoming a more and more critical sales tool.
LinkedIn is perfect for this type of activity – and LinkedIn Hunters:
Like any other business tactic, the more actively involved you are, the more effective you are – and quicker the results.
Then again, maybe you’re like many business leaders and are too busy to devote time daily. If that’s the case, the “Gatherer” LinkedIn strategy may be right for you. LinkedIn Gatherers engage in more passive activity, while still maintaining a presence and showing up consistently in newsfeeds. They:
On average, LinkedIn is responsible for 46% of social media traffic coming to your company website – which means you can’t afford not to put a focus on this critical platform. Whether you’re just collecting berries or actively on the hunt, LinkedIn presents too much opportunity for small businesses to be ignored.
So this week, try trading out a cup of coffee for 15 minutes of thoughtful LinkedIn activity instead (actually, let’s be more realistic – try multitasking with LinkedIn plus coffee)… and watch your company’s digital footprint expand like never before.
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