Hey Small Business Owners: You’re Using LinkedIn, Right?

LinkedIn needs to be ranked among the big three of social media sites, right along with Facebook and Twitter. But LinkedIn is really more important for your small business because unlike its rivals, this social-media site focuses particularly on business. This means that, you won’t have people on LinkedIn posting on how good their oatmeal tasted this morning.

How companies are leveraging LinkedIn

You operate a business. Your time is in short supply. Exactly why should you bother with LinkedIn? Here are some ways your peers (there are 1.3 million small-business owners on the network) are employing it to their benefit:

1. Sharing wins: Promoting your successes is just good marketing. It will make you look good to potential customers. And with 2 million C-level executives using the site, you may find yourself with some influential new friends.
2. Getting referrals: LinkedIn makes it simplallows you to get peer and client endorsements for the work you do. Best part? When someone endorses you or writes a testimonial, everyone in your network sees it in their activity feed. This kind of social proof is the BEST way of getting new customers.
3. Finding new talent: If your small business is growing, you’ll surely need to hire new employees. LinkedIn is an excellent place—scratch that, it’s the BEST place—to find new players to include in your team.
4. Promoting events: LinkedIn’s event feature is a game changer! It’s never been so easy to spread the news and drum up excitement about upcoming events, sales and get togethers. You can also use their service directory to find professional event planners to help you.
5. Boosting website traffic: Here’s a little-known secret about LinkedIn: it’s very influential with Google, if you have a presence on LinkedIn, you’re going to see a bump in search engine visibility, too. More eyeballs, more customers.
6. Getting answers: You can actually uncover great advice on both marketing and building a successful business from other pros in LinkedIn Answers and Groups. There are over 2000 groups focused on small-business-related topics.
7. Finding investors, vendors and partners: It’s a networker’s paradise. Whether you need some capital, a new accounting firm, or a business partner, you’re not going to get a better source than LinkedIn.

We’re just scratching the surface here, folks. The rewards don’t stop there. Go to LinkedIn, generate a page for your business and see for yourself. I know your time is scarce, but trust me, it’s worth it.