Linkedin is often perceived as the least hip social media networks: long associated with spam invitations, more serious than Instagram or snapchat,…

Yet it has just as much, if not more, to offer than other networks and shouldn’t be so rapidly dismissed.

Some quick statistics about Linkedin

• Linkedin attracts 187 million unique visitors a month
• It’s the social network of choice of B2B marketers (91% with Twitter and Facebook ranking behind)
• Only 20% of LinkedIn users are under the age of 30, its users tend to therefore be older and in more senior positions than other networks

If these figures strike a chord, then you should really take the time to get involved with Linkedin.

First Steps

1. Update yourself.

Before looking to your business, make sure your own profile is up to date. Clean up irrelevant information, upload a new picture, give yourself a snappy title. Linkedin profiles tend to rank highly on google so you should consider this as seriously as your business card or personal website.

2. Create a company page

Having an updated company page will add credibility to your business. Make sure you have a high quality banner for it (you can create one for free or cheap using a tool like Canva for example). Add your colleagues to it, and encourage your contacts to follow. You can use this page to share great content every day.

3. Join Relevant Groups

One of the great features of Linkedin are its groups. Search for groups that are directly relevant to your business and then participate in them regularly by posting great content, commenting on other people’s posts, or simply liking. The more you comment, the more views your profile will attract, which in turn will boost your reputation as an expert.

4. Create a Group

Maybe the perfect group doesn’t exist yet, so why not start your own? It means you can engage people more specifically. Being a group admin gives you more flexibility when it comes to marketing your business too as you can take advantage of certain features, such as group messaging.

Once you’ve mastered these first steps, you can really utilize Linkedin to its full potential, by harnessing groups for your market research for instance, or using it to recruit the best candidates for a role in your company. You can also use Linkedin as a blogging platform to attract new customers.

One note of caution

While enthusiasm is great, do be careful not to go into over-drive with Linkedin, limit yourself to just a few groups and don’t post on them incessantly. As with all social networks, the last thing you want to do is associate your business with spammy behaviour.

Oh and hey, why not follow us on Linkedin?