We all have a profile. We all use it (at varying levels). But how much do we (and can we) get out of LinkedIn?
We know that your time is already stretched trying to get your fintech funding, raising awareness, building a community and brand awareness. So why should you spend time on the platform, and what should our expectations be of outcomes from our activity on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the number one professional social media platform for B2B relationships. New business can be won, employees can be sought, partners can be influenced, stakeholders can be engaged with and visibility can be increased.
And more than that, the pandemic has accelerated the trend for journalists to connect directly with businesses on LinkedIn. You can significantly increase your profile and reach if you do your homework.
To manage expectations, you won’t be inundated from Day One – you need to show up and take part consistently over time to gain the benefits.
Psychologically-speaking, as consumers, we generally need seven touchpoints/engagements before purchasing a brand, product or service. B2B interactions work in the same way.
LinkedIn is about awareness and being ‘front of mind’ of your audience(s), getting people into your marketing funnel. Consider your LinkedIn activity – and that of your Company page – as part of a wider marketing push, not standalone.
LinkedIn’s own stats say:
Over 30 million companies have profiles on LinkedIn
90 million LinkedIn users are senior-level influencers,
63 million are in decision-making positions
9 billion content impressions take place on LinkedIn weekly
280 billion feed updates viewed annually
130,000 articles are published on LinkedIn weekly
80% of business leads are now estimated to come through LinkedIn
Your profile v your company profile
It is important to have a company profile, but LinkedIn is predominantly about people and you will have the greatest impact if your personal profile is the one you comment
That isn’t to say you should neglect your company profile, it should contain all your company content – blogs, posts, articles, videos, explainers, PDFs and more.
Furthermore, get colleagues, partners and advocates to support your company posts with comments and engagements to maximise potential reach of the content.
How to maximise LinkedIn?
1. Get involved – Posting consistently (2-3 times a week) with helpful, useful, engaging content. Like and comment, don’t just post pushy sales messages. Shares are less impactful (if you do share, add context, or take the original post and repurpose organically). Be part of other people’s conversations and add value. The algorithm will love it.
2. Have a view – whilst being polite and respectful it is good to get involved in the debate and to add to conversations, particularly if they relate to your area of expertise. Shout about other coverage you find interesting, and be part of the conversation
3. It’s where B2B happens – you are there for work, as is everyone, and the majority of conversations revolve around business so think how you can help others and at The Finance Talks we believe you get more if you share, be willing to help with advice and your own learnings
4. LinkedIn is organic reach for free – If you put the time and effort into making the platform work for you, the organic (unpaid) reach of LinkedIn is unparalleled. Unlike paying for adverts or boosted posts, unpaid content shared – and engaged with – on LinkedIn is a great way to boost awareness.
5. Follow and connect with the people you find interesting. There will be journalists from Sifted, Techcrunch and others you find interesting. Follow them, you’ll find out more about what stories they find interesting.
There will be a bit of trial and error, see what type of posts work for you. Try it out, maximise your presence, and reap the rewards of being active on the platform.
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