{"id":8554,"date":"2015-06-29T14:16:13","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T13:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/?p=8554"},"modified":"2025-05-01T22:50:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T21:50:43","slug":"linkedin-for-small-businesses-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/en\/linkedin-for-small-businesses-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"LinkedIn for Small Businesses – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An ever present theme of our blog is the time pressures on small business owners and how they must juggle an ever increasing array of social media marketing tools in the quest for new business. This pressure is not going to go away so it\u2019s critical that you select those tools that are going to best serve your business.<\/p>\n

In this three parts series on LinkedIn we are first going to present the case for LinkedIn (Part 1) and then how you should set up your account (Part 2) and finally, how to get the most from it (Part 3).<\/p>\n

If you run a professional services business then you should have a presence on LinkedIn. Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Instagram may be riding high on the social media waves when it comes to the number of users but when it comes to the leading social network for businesses, LinkedIn is the front runner, for the time being.<\/p>\n

Getting up and running with LinkedIn is not difficult and with proper planning you can have a very credible<\/strong><\/em><\/span> presence in a matter of hours. Please note the bolding, italicising and underlining of credible; it\u2019s to bring your attention to the fact that so many businesses rush in, create business profiles that are poorly constructed and use really poor imagery with the end result that you\u2019ve actually undermined your credibility. More on that in Parts 2 and 3.<\/p>\n

So, what is LinkedIn?<\/strong>
\nLinkedIn is a social networking platform designed specifically for members of the business community – it\u2019s a B2B networking platform. LinkedIn members \u2018link up\u2019 with their immediate business network and it also enables you to use your own network to reach out to other LinkedIn members.<\/p>\n

This is the real power (but much underutilised feature) of LinkedIn; it enables small business owners to identify potential business contacts that would be helpful to their small businesses and to request your network to make introductions.<\/p>\n

Ask yourself this question: what\u2019s more impactful, receiving an introduction request from a known business associate or a cold call from a business owner?<\/p>\n

LinkedIn also gives you the opportunity to remain in contact with friends and classmates so there is a social or P2P aspect to the platform.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn\u2019s major power user is the HR\/Recruitment community and they use the platform\u2019s community to search for candidates and also to advertise new opportunities. For the LinkedIn member, the platform is also a showcase for their own business talents and gives them the chance to present their resume to potential recruiters.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn has also positioned itself in the past few years as a source of business news and advice. You can follow major brands and business icons and be kept up to date with their latest research \/ writing.<\/p>\n

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Business to Business Leads<\/strong>
\nLinkedIn is number one when it comes to generating direct social media traffic as over 50% of all visits from social media channels to corporate websites are from LinkedIn. This is nearly three times the conversion rate of Facebook (17%) and Twitter (14%).<\/p>\n

If you dig a little deeper you\u2019ll find that those LinkedIn profiles that are up-to-date and active are the ones that convert the most. Stands to reason really. Our Big Red Cloud LinkedIn company page follows best practice advice from the folks at LinkedIn – Simple Online Accounting.<\/a><\/p>\n

Some Background Points of Note about LinkedIn: <\/strong><\/p>\n