LinkedIn has more than 774 million users worldwide. In Canada itself, there were more than 19 310 000 LinkedIn users in September 2021 alone. These metrics alone make this social platform one of the top networking sites today. More so, for businesses all over the world, LinkedIn has been an essential place to connect and grow. So, if you are an entrepreneur and if you own a small business in Canada, you can use LinkedIn to its full potential to improve your brand awareness, boost conversions and leads, build an amazing network and increase revenue.
With new social networking sites budding up almost every single day, LinkedIn is still a place that is often underutilized by brands. However, the truth is, it can become a very powerful addition to your social media marketing strategy.
Below, we will cover some of the most effective ways to use LinkedIn for marketing your small business in Canada. Whether you already have a personal page, a business page or you do not have one, this guide will help you to boost your brand in a better way and reach more clients and prospective customers with the right LinkedIn marketing techniques for small businesses.
1. Create Your Page
Apart from providing information about yourself and your company on the bio, there are several other best practices that you should follow in order to create a strong social profile on LinkedIn.
Always remember, first impressions do count. So, make sure that your profile and banner picture looks professional, clear, and have a high resolution. This is because having a professional-looking photo on LinkedIn will make your profile 14 times more likely to be viewed by others. Next, do not be too vague about your title. If you are an analyst, do not just write ‘Analyst’. Rather, right everything related to what you are capable of as a professional. The same goes for your business’s description. The summary of your company should include ample information to be able to gain the attention of the viewers. Optimize your business page with a compelling ‘About Us’ section and list all your specialties properly.
2. Build Your Network (Personal and Business)
Success from LinkedIn marketing is directly proportional to the size of your network. But if you are new to LinkedIn, making connections from the very beginning could be tough. Your network will not get built on its own. So, you need to be proactive enough and initiate contact with potential connections. However, while reaching out to them, make sure that you have a personalized message for them to see. Introduce yourself and give them a solid reason to add you to their personal network. You can also tweak one single template for different connections while sending them a connection request. However, make sure that you write the correct name of the connections to whom you are sending the request.
Building your business page will not be as straightforward as growing your personal network. Here, the trick is, people will have to really like your business page to follow you. So, make sure that you make your business page as engaging as possible. Make every visit to your page memorable for the visitors by being as informative as possible.
3. Be Consistent with Your Content
LinkedIn is often underestimated as a content marketing tool by businesses. However, publishing valuable content related to your brand and industry will help you to increase your business’s credibility and authority. Also, you need to be absolutely consistent with your posting strategies. And this will be an added boon for you to get the needed exposure for your brand.
Always remember that LinkedIn is a professional platform. So, the content which is more appropriate for Facebook or Instagram might not be the right one for LinkedIn. So, before creating content for your LinkedIn page, think about what your followers would be really interested in. what will be the right topics to address related to the industry, and what challenges and issues that your target audiences might be facing which you need to provide a solution for.
4. Join Groups
LinkedIn Groups are major discussion hubs for professionals. They can provide a place for people in similar industries to share content, have queries and find answers, post jobs, and make business contacts. This feature also offers an amazing marketing potential for both businesses and individuals. You can be a part of the relevant discussions and contribute towards showcasing valuable content. This way, in some time, you can establish yourself as a Thought Leader.
Groups are also amazing for founding qualified leads for your business. If you pose a discussion topic and members have chosen to participate, it means they are already interested in your topic or your industry. You can join up to 50 groups at one time or even create your own Group. This can be a very strategic attempt at attracting potential leads and the right members.
5. Reach the Right People
In the above sections, we have talked about how to market your brand and yourself organically on LinkedIn by following proper techniques of building a professional network. However, you can also attract leads by targeting the right people with the help of LinkedIn’s paid advertising options. Through targeted ads, you will have the power to promote your brand in a better way and generate leads which will be beneficial for your brand in the long run.
You can set a budget, choose demographic metrics like Facebook, and then use a tailored approach to reach the right leads through your ads on LinkedIn.
Wrapping it Up,
And that’s all about it. Although you won’t find many entrepreneurs talking about LinkedIn marketing to promote their business, you now know that you can walk on this path to get more leads, right? Simply follow the above-mentioned points and see your small business grow in leaps and bound on LinkedIn. All the best!
Are you looking for similar trips and techniques of marketing your small business better in front of your target audiences? Do not forget to subscribe to our CanadianSME Small Business monthly magazine.
