There are 3.484billion active social media users and 3.256billion mobile social media users and an increase of 9% and 10% retrospectively on last year

There are 3.484billion active social media users and 3.256billion mobile social media users and an increase of 9% and 10% retrospectively on last year. (Source / Hootsuite)

These statistics are phenomenal, and so is the data and marketing potential that comes with it. Any business can improve their sales and marketing efforts by tapping into social media and building core followers through high-quality content.

I am a massive advocate of social media and in particular, LinkedIn for both business and consumer marketing campaigns. Through LinkedIn, it is possible to build a strong network of individuals who can add daily value as well as help develop a sales pipeline. The best bit is it’s completely free to use and is highly effective when used well.

Where to start

LinkedIn is the world’s most extensive professional network, with more than 610 million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Users like myself have found LinkedIn to be the perfect platform for delivering our professional content and associations.

LinkedIn is simply unrivalled when it comes to professional business connections, and this is what makes the social platform the perfect asset for any business.

Below are six of my top reasons why LinkedIn is crucial for business and why you should be using LinkedIn to achieve your marketing goals.

Grow your reach

Success for any business depends on the customer base and potential supplier base. LinkedIn offers a simple connection to both. Any company can raise and develop it’s brand awareness take advantage of advanced search to reach out to the target audience.

A quick search will quickly uncover potential customers as well as likeminded users. These users will add to your network and help increase the reach of your businesses content and brand.

For example, I now know that there are 68,489 Ninjas on LinkedIn, including a data ninja and resourcing ninja!

Source and engage top talent

Top talent throughout the world uses LinkedIn, and the platform makes it incredibly simple to connect with potential employers and recruiters and grow your professional network while doing so.

LinkedIn does have some premium packages, which make this much more accessible. Find prospects faster. Enjoy unlimited browsing capabilities so that you can search for new business prospects or partners without restriction.

Promote your business

Using LinkedIn company page features allows a business to reaches its target audience. A company page can also be used to promote your brand’s core values, nurture leads and of course, improve the visibility of any job opportunities currently available.

Communities are core to the success of every business. Employees, partners, customers and job candidates comprise a community, and together, can help drive your company’s growth through meaningful conversations.

Join the conversation as your company page utilising community hashtags and interact as your brand for quicker growth and reach.

Support your external website

As with any form of social media, you can use it to deliver traffic to your website and any landing pages you have. A great company page should be a glimpse into your business and an outlet that can help engage shareable content that your target audience finds relevant and beneficial.

46% of the social media traffic visiting B2B company sites comes from LinkedIn.

Now imagine how powerful this is through targeted user advertising. Positioning creative and engaging content in front of your ideal customer is always going to deliver traffic into your sales funnel. It is essential to ensure your website has a great UX and even has specific landing pages for content from social media. Give the LinkedIn user a tailored experience once they land on your site for an even higher conversion rate.

Educate and nurture potential clients

LinkedIn is superb at educating potential clients. From talking about your products and services to delivering engagement through thought leadership articles.

A/B test different forms of content and at different times of the day for your customer base. I cover the basics of building a persona profile in this article.

I post at various times of the day but have found Thursdays at 3:15 pm GMT to be the best for quicker engagement, driving the impressions and overall reactions for a longer period of time.

Improve your brand’s credibility

Creating and publishing rich content that is relevant and based on your expertise will allow you, with time, to become a thought leader in your industry space.

Share the knowledge you have gained from your experiences in life and business. Providing value to your growing network will drastically improve how you are perceived.

Engage with other users adding value through commenting and reacting to their posts will drastically improve how you are perceived in your growing network.

Written by Tom Edwards

(Passionate about #SocialMedia #Marketing and always eager to connect with other marketers and creative individuals)