Are You Networking Effectively on Linkedin?

How much time do you spend on the phone trying to get a lead, attending networking meetings in the hope that someone in the room will be interested in what you have to say, writing email campaigns which are only seen by 20% of your list? Not to knock these strategies at all but if you are not using Linkedin effectively to network, you need to start NOW!

Linkedin works best for B2B businesses but if you are trying to sell services or products which help people improve their job prospects e.g. training, it is also the ideal place to pitch your business.

Linkedin is the smaller of the social networks but is constantly growing with 2 new members joining per second. 2018 stats put the figures at 562 million users worldwide. It is the most powerful networking tool of our time and if you are not using it, you are missing the opportunity to connect with the people you need to with a simple click of a button.

Assuming you already have a profile page on Linkedin, we are going to jump ahead and look at some ways you can grow your network on Linkedin.

1. Add all your business connections as you meet them – So when you are at a business meeting, a trade show or a networking event, take the time to look up everyone you have met. I keep the business cards and as soon as I get back from the event I send a connection request.

2. Personalise your connection requests. When clicking to connect you will be given the option to add a personal note. This is where you add 'Great to meet you at Mets' 'Good to meet at that training course on Friday, let's keep in touch'. If you have not met them before but you would like to connect add something like... ' I see we are in the same industry, it would be good to connect' or 'I see we both know John Smith, It would be good to connect' or 'I like your posts, I would love to connect.'

3. Spend time each week growing your connections. When I recommend to my clients to spend 5 minutes a week on connecting on Linkedin they normally laugh and say 'where do you think I will find 5 mins?'. I know however that they will easily chat to me about their marketing for 20 mins so cut it short by 5 get off the phone and allocate a 5 minute slot each week to growing your Linkedin connections. Carefully selecting 20 people to connect with each week will only take about 5 minutes and should reap rewards in the

   long run. How much money and time do you have to spend to exhibit at a trade show to make 20 targeted connections?

4. Post often. This is where www.spcmarinemarketing.com can help. We post relevant content to your business and of interest to some of your connections. You are now engaging with your connections effortlessly.

5. Engage with your connections – now you have got used to spending 5 minutes a week on Linkedin (more if you can), why not take a look through your feed and see what your connections are up to. Comment on their posts, like their posts and get your profile in front of more people. We become sneaky beaks when we are on Linkedin! We want to see who has written a particular comment and therefore we head over to their profile page for a look. If we like what we see, we may send a connection request.

6. Promote your Linkedin Profile on your other social networks. This is easy (and again if we are managing your social accounts, this is something we would do for you) just create a post linking to your Linkedin URL inviting people to connect.

Millions of businesses are benefiting from Linkedin. I myself get 40% of new leads from this network and firmly believe you could too. If you are interested in outsourcing some or all of your social media marketing please get in touch.