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Meeting of the Minds: Leveraging LinkedIn to Grow Your Business

If you’re like a lot of C-Level business professionals, you know just enough about social media to be dangerous, but you lack a solid understanding of how to make your social channels work for you and your company.

In our last Meeting of the Minds event held on July 20, we discussed techniques on leveraging LinkedIn to grow your business.

Sami Scarpitti, Account Manager with Mindset Digital, presented with our president, Bill Kiefaber, and led the discussion around how to successfully build your LinkedIn profile to maximize your social presence.

Here are some of the key strategies we discussed:

1. Choose a Friendly and Professional Photo

Contrary to what many believe, using a corporate headshot is not recommended. Instead, choose a photo that, while still professional-looking, also shows some of your personality. For example, Sami’s profile picture is very professional, yet it positions her as approachable and friendly, which is very important in a professional services environment.

2. Write a Personable Summary

Write your summary the same way you would introduce yourself when meeting someone in person. For example, you wouldn’t introduce yourself by saying “Judy has 20 year’s experience.” Don’t write your summary that way either. Based on the tips provided by Mindset Digital, Bill rewrote his summary to showcase his personality and illustrate what he is passionate about at work and in his personal life.

3. Complete your Profile

It’s important to fill out your profile in its entirety and don’t skip sections. Profiles that are filled out completely are 40 times more likely to lead to new opportunities. LinkedIn rates your profile, but it’s based on quantity of information, not quality.

4. Shoot for 500+ Connections

Using LinkedIn to develop and expand your network is a great way to increase opportunities. When you send invitations to connect, remember to personalize the message. For example, instead of sending LinkedIn’s auto-generated invite: “I’d like to add you to my network.” Include how you know the person (e.g., “It was great meeting you at the Marketing Works Meeting of the Minds event. I’d like to stay in touch by connecting with you.”). To send a personalized invitation, make sure to log into LinkedIn through a browser (not the mobile app) and visit the individual’s profile. You can then click on “connect” and add any personal touches to the invite.

5. Engage Regularly

LinkedIn isn’t a static site, and you shouldn’t be static either. Keep yourself top-of-mind by sharing useful information, join and be active in appropriate LinkedIn groups and showcase your thought leadership.

6. Company Pages – Not a very effective marketing tool

While it is important to have a company page, it is even more important that your employees are sharing all of the great updates and information you are sharing. Your company page will always have a fraction of the followers that your associates do, so make sure each associate is connected to your company page and is aware of when you post updates to then share with their connections. This is the best way for a company to leverage LinkedIn as a marketing vehicle.

Does your LinkedIn profile lack personality? Let us help! Contact us today to schedule an audit of your profile and provide counsel to improve how you are leveraging LinkedIn to achieve your personal and business objectives.

Melissa H. • July 29, 2016

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