When I work with a client on developing a social media/networking strategy we focus on three of the available networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Out of the three LinkedIn is still the one that provides the most opportunity for small businesses. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages LinkedIn offers:
An Impressive Membership
50% are college graduate (another 30% have attended college)
50%+ are decision makers in their companies
If you’re looking for a financially qualified prospect you’ve come to the right place.
Expand and Enhance Your Networking
Networking has been a staple for most business people throughout the years. LinkedIn doesn’t replace face-to-face networking but it can enhance it. Once you walk out of a meeting you are able to connect the person instantly to build a connection and to keep in touch. It is a great way to pursue business to your potential clients.
Identify Prospects or Potential Employees
Most businesses rely on sales people to develop new prospects. The difference between a failing business and a successful one is often the ability to find and develop new prospects. LinkedIn allows you to search for members that fit specific criteria. Looking to fill a business development position with software sales experience in Denver, you can identify individuals to target. Once you identify the individual that you are looking for you have access to their profile. You can learn a lot by reading a person’s profile and have an idea of
I use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as my main platforms. LinkedIn works great for my professional branding, without it I
Through their websites, many other companies are incorporating Social Media. Alone in 2010 there have been 2.5 million websites of companies that have incorporated themselves with Facebook. And now so many more companies are also choosing LinkedIn to employee the most brilliant people. The “fastest
As years progress, technology makes it possible for individuals, organization and companies the capability to create mobile apps and dynamic websites from home. These mobile apps and dynamic websites in turn simplify our lives in ways we could never imagine before. One of the most commonly used inventions, which can still be considered fairly new, are social networks. Social networks give people around the world the ability to communicate, stay in touch and meet new people online at the convenience of their own time. Many social networks were developed within the past few years but few if any target professionals only. LinkedIn gives a twist to social networking by focusing only on people in professional occupations that would like to
There are obvious strengths behind LinkedIn that have made it one of the hottest social professional networking sites/applications around. Aside from being founded and ran by some of the great professionals like Mr. Reid Hoffman and Jeff Reiner (former Yahoo! Executive), LinkedIn has a user-friendly interface and simple but effective designing. It doubles as a career website as well as a social media website, which separates it from a lot of other websites. As mentioned earlier, LinkedIn allows companies to promote products and services on their website, creating more revenue and business opportunities for both sides. The website also complies with Web 2.0, which allows everything on the site run very smooth and efficient. Its’ mobile application takes part in the growing mobility of social media in smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, creating new ways for people and businesses to connect with one another.
To be completely honest, the only social media I currently use is Facebook. I hadn't felt the need to use any additional social media prior to my return to college. However, I recently created an account on Linkedin. I picked Linkedin after doing some research regarding social media networks. I was looking for a site that was more of a professional social network as I already use Facebook as a social network. I was looking for something that I could use for "professional branding purposes", as a first impression for professionals to highlight my experience and background. I wanted to use it for networking purposes to organize professional contacts. My understanding is there is also an endorsement component which I'd like to look further
True, not all social platforms are perfect for each and every business. However, LinkedIn and Pinterest are two that can benefit most businesses and do lead to sales generation. This post will provide strategic insights on small business
Nancy Collamer states that LinkedIn is"designed to help people find a job, attract clients and customers to others business, build a personal brand or network. The idea is to make the business experience more powerful and user-friendly. LinkedIn is a tool that can help boost a person career." Social media is about giving and engaging. It is about not only gathering information from others but sharing information known to others as well. Contributions in groups are a good way to be
LinkedIn is a website specifically established for the professionals all around the world to network. The website allows people to search for business contacts, manage their professional identity, research firms, join industry groups and identify desired career opportunities. This website is also being leveraged by the brands and recruiters and many corporate profiles have been established on LinkedIn to recruit candidates and develop a pool of potential candidates through networking (Lewis, 2012).
The tendency for businesses new to social media is to jump on any popular platform. This approach is not an efficient use of your time and money in the long run.
Grant Kennedy tries to convey to the reader and the ways in which they can use the four social media platforms he has chosen to their advantage. He has written this book in a simplistic way in which anyone interested social media marketing could understand. Kennedy discusses the fact that he believes every business or company must use social media platforms and all that these platforms have to offer. He addresses the process of deciding which platform works best for the reader or the readers company and how to go about setting up a professional social media profile.
In order for a community to be strong, there are certain key components that it must have. For instance, a community must be able to benefit the participants as a whole and as individuals. LinkedIn enables its business customers to view other businesses, communicate and make connection with business partner or potential partners, maintain an online persona to further built the brand, and keep track of the business’s employees’ profiles. Businesses are also able to add job listings and review job candidates. Actually, “a new survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reveals that 56% of employers use social networking websites in their search for appropriate candidates, and another 20% said they plan to do so in the near future” (Walker, 2011). Individuals are able to connect with friends and colleagues on a more professional platform, which allows them to more easily communicate concerns or ask questions about career choices, college choices, etc. LinkedIn also allows individuals to gain information about businesses they may want to work for or simply learn more information about, apply for jobs, post a resume, ask questions to experts, and join groups of like-minded peers and professionals. All in all, this social networking site has made it
However, the difference is the sole focus of these two sites are the sharing of pictures. This will prove to be extremely valuable as it is the perfect place to encourage our clients to take pictures of the beauty services they have received and they can share them with others. YouTube is unique for that it will allow us to demonstrate our work in video form and engage a large amount of viewers. LinkedIn is the ideal place for our franchise to be able to connect with other professionals. The use of social media is definitely one of the most effective ways that businesses advertise themselves. With all of the strong advantages social media offers for advertising and marketing, it’s easy to forget that there are some negatives that exists with the use of it.
For many B2B, high-tech and/or professional types of businesses, having executives and employees integrate with LinkedIn may be valuable. For visually-oriented products, using Pinterest, Instagram and Flickr may be needed. And, most businesses will benefit from some number of videos shared through sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.
If you 're venturing into Social Media for your business the first thing you need to ask yourself is, What 's my Social Media Strategy?
Starbucks’s LinkedIn page at its first appearance seems to be a flawlessly designed hiring hub for buoyant candidates. On second appearance you’ll realize that the company is looking towards educating its current and soon to be employees. In addition to current job postings running from the barista to the retail to corporate, the account posts insider accounts to what it is like to work at Starbucks from an employee perspective. Some recent articles on Starbucks in the news and various magazines are also available on the page for those applicants who like to go through the company’s details. LinkedIn is undoubtedly the one stop shop for such applicants.