Social media has absolutely transformed the way that we go about business networking today.
Never before in human history have we had so many different tools for instant communication – literally across all corners of the globe – and then we do today, and many of them are completely and totally free. That being said, the overwhelming majority of social media platforms are just that – platforms for social interactions – and not designed specifically for business interactions.
However, LinkedIn breaks that mold.
What exactly is LinkedIn?
A social media platform designed from the ground up to cater to professionals, small business owners, and entrepreneurs all over the world (all looking to connect with other people in a business and professional setting), LinkedIn has quickly become one of the top 10 largest social media networks around the globe.
Rather than giving you a platform to post all of your favorite pictures, videos, and posts from your crazy weekend, LinkedIn has been set up to allow you to create industrywide connections, pursue exciting business opportunities, and even build a number of high-level joint ventures – all from one little account. This makes it an incredible platform for business to business marketing, as the overwhelming majority of people signing up for LinkedIn accounts (and using the platform on a regular basis) will be professionals, entrepreneurs, and businesspeople across all spectrums.
How can I use LinkedIn to build my business?
This is really the million-dollar question, isn’t it?
A big problem is that most people use social media to do one of two things – either pour on an amazing amount of so-so content in an effort that someone, somewhere will pay attention and be interested in doing business with you, or they pound sales message after sales message over and over again until they burn up what little goodwill they had established in the first place.
LinkedIn is a place for much more subtle – and some would say nuanced– marketing and networking, but can provide devastatingly powerful results.
Rule one of using LinkedIn for your business is that you must remember that people always (ALWAYS) do business with people
In a world that has almost gone “brand mad”, even high-level CEOs, salespeople, and executives have forgot that people are always doing business with people – not doing business with businesses, companies, or services.
The days of focusing on companywide branding is slowly becoming less and less powerful, as more people are realizing that we’ve lost that personal touch in business that we had become accustomed to. Folks are looking to really connect with one another – and especially the people that they buy from – which gives you an incredible opportunity when you use LinkedIn
