Key Insights
- LinkedIn is a business centric social media platform, that can help small businesses create and foster a community through active participation and team effort
- Engage with Groups and Events: Join and create LinkedIn groups to network and gather potential customers, and use LinkedIn Events to promote and increase attendance for local business events.
- Post Targeted and High-Quality Content: Share relevant business updates and valuable content through targeted status updates and ads, establishing your brand as a thought leader.
- Recruit Local Talent: Utilize LinkedIn to find and recruit local employees by posting job openings and reaching out to suitable candidates.
- Leverage Team Participation: Encourage team members to post on your company page and share updates to expand your reach and grow your LinkedIn community.
When it comes to promoting their businesses on social media, most small and medium enterprises opt for Instagram, Tik Tok, X or Facebook. LinkedIn, on the other hand, often tends to take a backseat.
There is no denying the fact that Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms, thanks to their humongous user base. Nevertheless, with around 850 million members, LinkedIn is not too far behind. Just like the way Facebook enables you to target specific audiences and Instagram allows you to get creative with imagery, LinkedIn has its own USPs that make it stand out from other social media sites.
Unlike what many businesses believe, LinkedIn is much more than just a networking platform. It can be used for increasing brand visibility, lead generation, building relationships with the customers and, most importantly, increasing the credibility of your business. Also, it can be used by business owners to position themselves as thought leaders in their niche.
But can a small, local business really benefit from it? Is LinkedIn worth the time and effort for a local business targeting a small area?
The answer is yes. Here are 5+2 ways LinkedIn can help local businesses achieve success:
LinkedIn Tip #1 - Join and Create Groups
As a small business owner, joining LinkedIn groups can help you create awareness and gain followers. First, it helps you learn what your audience is discussing and what types of conversations are happening in those groups. Second, you can expand your network by staying active in these groups. Third, you can create your own location-based group and invite your prospects to join it. It’s one of the easiest ways to have many of your potential customers in one place. As with other social media platforms, sharing great content is the key to keeping your LinkedIn group members active and engaged. Focus on content that adds value, is inspiring, educational, or informational to the reader.
LinkedIn Tip #2 - Host Online and Offline Events
LinkedIn Events is one of the most useful features that can help small businesses connect with their audiences. A local business with a brick-and-mortar presence can host an event and promote it using the LinkedIn Events feature. All you need to do is create an event and invite members to join.
For example, a retail store can organize free workshops, charity days, holiday events, or product launch events. Similarly, a restaurant can host a couple’s night, pet’s day, or an open mic event. Once you’ve managed to grow a sizeable audience on LinkedIn, you can use the platform to promote these events, increase attendance, and make them a success.
LinkedIn Tip #3 - Post Targeted Status Updates
Posting status updates on your company page is a great way to share relevant and valuable information about your business and industry with your audience. From the latest news to brand values and events, a business can share a variety of information through status updates. The good news is that these status updates can be targeted to specific people and groups in particular geographies.
Instead of sharing the update with everyone, you can share it with a specific audience in your geographical area. Moreover, location-based filters can be combined with other filters to further narrow down your audience. Similarly, LinkedIn ads can also be targeted to a specific audience based on geography and other criteria.
LinkedIn Tip #4 - Become a Thought Leader
Establishing your brand as a thought leader in your industry doesn’t mean you have to outperform big, global brands. To become a thought leader, consistently share high-quality, valuable content with your audience.
Understanding customer pain points, keeping an eye on what is happening in your industry, and creating engaging stories with a human angle are some ways to create thought leadership. This not only helps build credibility but also makes the business more discoverable. It gives the impression that the business has true knowledge about their industry and is thus trustworthy and reliable.
LinkedIn Tip #5 - Attract Local Talent
One of the things that separates LinkedIn from other social media platforms is the presence of job seekers. Having a presence on LinkedIn makes it easier for your business to find and recruit employees locally. You can directly reach out to suitable candidates and also use the job postings section on the platform. This will save a great deal of time and effort, especially when you need to hire employees urgently.
If you are struggling to find good personnel, LinkedIn can be a great place to find the right candidates and save you money and resources.
LinkedIn Tip #7 - Encourage Your Team to Post on Your Page and Share Updates
f you want to quickly reach a bigger audience, encourage your team members to post on your company LinkedIn page and regularly share both their own posts and company updates in their own feed. This way, the posts will appear in the discovery feed of your team members' connections. This approach not only shows that your team is proud of the company but also helps your business grow a community on LinkedIn. However, ensure that only high-quality content is shared. You want to become a thought leader or someone people would like to follow because you share interesting and inspiring insights.
Learn more about how social media can help your business with our 8 Instagram hacks to gain new followers and 5 ways to increase your organic Facebook reach.
Recap
LinkedIn may not have the visual appeal of Instagram, the speed of Twitter, or the vast array of ad options that Facebook offers. Nevertheless, it has its own unique characteristics and features that can help take your local business to new heights. Focus on creating high-quality content that matches the interests of your target audience on LinkedIn. Remember that LinkedIn is more business-centric and does not emphasize aesthetic or inspirational content as much as Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. Foster a community around your business by engaging with local members and encouraging your team members to regularly post and share content on their own LinkedIn feed.
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