LinkedIn has over 500 million users

Over 60% of the UK workforce are on LinkedIn

It’s powerful stats like these that have seen people flock to LinkedIn in their droves over the past 18 months.

And yet only about 20% of LinkedIn users turn up on a regular basis on the platform

When it comes to any social media platform you have to understand your why? Your reason? Your purpose?

So why should you use LinkedIn?

In this week’s blog we look at the 5 main reasons you should use LinkedIn

1. To Build Your Personal Brand

Unless you’re a large corporate company with a company page the place you’ll spend most of your time on LinkedIn is using your personal profile, which means it’s all you and your personal brand

We work with a lot of micro businesses where the USP of the business is the individual involved

Think how many times you’ve stood at a networking meeting and a number of accountants or solicitors (sorry accountants and solicitors) have stood up and said we’re different than other firms – before listing exactly the same reasons as the other people in the room as to why they’re different

Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.

You don’t have a choice whether you have a personal brand or not – you can’t opt out

So how are you representing yourself online?

Are you showing yourself as an expert on LinkedIn?

Are you giving value to your audience?

Are you helping others in your network?

Are you know as the go to guy / girl in your industry

2. To Support Your Business Network / Employer

Every business should have an Employee Advocacy Scheme for LinkedIn

If you are the business then you need to look at a Social Media Advocacy Scheme where your networking group supports you

We talked about this in-depth in this blog here

But in short a successful business is one that helps the network around them

The networking mantra Givers Gain is brought to life with LinkedIn

Successful business owners always try and help those around them

They want people to come on the same journey as them

Givers gain is a cliché in networking circles, but it works. Position yourself as a person who constantly helps others and you’ll find lots of people want to help you

Helping others is helping yourself – but helping people is for life, not just until you get something back

3. To Keep In Touch With Clients

If you don’t take care of your clients, somebody else will

LinkedIn gives you a chance to keep in touch with your clients in the gaps between phone calls, emails and face to face

It gives you chance to support and amplify their messages

On LinkedIn you will find updates that clients feel comfortable sharing on a closed personal profile like LinkedIn that they wouldn’t feel comfortable posting on a totally open network like Twitter

Having a clients 1st policy at your business will set you up for the long run

4. To Develop a Testimonial Strategy
You wouldn’t book into a hotel without checking TripAdvisor

You wouldn’t book a tradesman without checking reviews

You look at film reviews before decided to go to the cinema

If you’re looking to build a business then you need a testimonial strategy

Why would you expect anyone to buy from you when you don’t have the social proof of testimonials?

For those that aren’t aware LinkedIn Testimonials are the 2nd Most Trusted Form of Testimonial – with the only method beating it to the top slot being a video testimonial

5. To Win More Clients
To win more clients on LinkedIn is like any other form of marketing

It takes hard work and it takes turning up daily

Everything we mentioned above on the reasons to use LinkedIn, leads to generating business and winning more clients with LinkedIn

By simply turning up on LinkedIn daily you’re doing more than the average user

You then have to look at the quality of your posts and the quality of engagement

Be critical with yourself and see if you really are representing yourself in the best way possible

LINKEDIN WORKSHOP @ WORKPLACE – MANCHESTER

More Details ::: https://www.thetalkofmanchester.co.uk/event-registration/?regevent_action=register&event_id=355

Alex

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 265+ LinkedIn testimonials and is ranked number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.