Getting Started with LinkedIn

LinkedIn: A Professional’s Guide to Networking

There are more than 200 conversations and connections happening each minute on LinkedIn about topics that could matter to you or your business. Each a new opportunity for you to network, engage and share.

So then why are 51 percent of businesses not using LinkedIn? We decided to go right to the source by interviewing a handful of B2B professionals. Despite having LinkedIn profiles, they admitted to barely using the social channel. Here’s what we heard:

• I have a LinkedIn profile set up, but I don’t know where to go from there. How do I use it?
• Does LinkedIn matter if my customers aren’t using it?
• It’s too time consuming. How much time do I really need to spend on it?
• How can I use it for more than just a resume or recruiting channel?

Does this sound familiar to you? If so, it’s time to master LinkedIn to increase your business this year. And we’ve got the solution right here, with a series dedicated to educating professionals on how to use LinkedIn effectively. Over the next two months, our series will dive into the basics of your profile, the four key ways to use LinkedIn, growing your followers, reasons to upgrade your account, your personal brand and more. But first, we’re going to start off convincing you why LinkedIn matters…

Why should LinkedIn matter to you?

1. You want to build your connections so that you can generate sales to your business.
2. You want to be seen as an influencer among your peers and industry.
3. You want to communicate with your customers in the exact place where they are doing business.

LinkedIn today is a lead generation network, particularly for B2B organizations. It is often the first place your customers and prospects are coming to connect, engage in groups, and even scope out you or your team. The reason lies in LinkedIn’s evolution: B2B businesses and brands have caught on to the power of this social network, and LinkedIn is feeding the fire by making it easier with tools like advertising, published content, sponsored posts and social selling. So even if you think your customers aren’t using LinkedIn, there is likely a potential customer out there to be found, or maybe a connection of a customer that will find you through a second or third degree connection.

Tweet: LinkedIn is about shaking hands online. It’s a modern day tradeshow or professional association, without borders. #socialselling

Here’s a few insights directly from LinkedIn to show why it should matter to you:

– 300 million registered users globally

– More than 3 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages

– More than 2.1 million LinkedIn Groups

– 200+ conversations per minute

– 50% of Fortune 100 companies are using LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions

– 91% of B2B content marketers prefer to use and engage on LinkedIn

Get started with LinkedIn

Are you convinced yet? Are you ready to start maximizing your LinkedIn presence? Stick around for our “I’m On LinkedIn, So Now What” series, register for our upcoming webinars or download our free eBook and get started with your network today.