Five Ways B2B Companies Can Use LinkedIn for Marketing [Editor Update: Download our complimentary new white paper "The Big Crew Change: Using social media to find and retain new talent in America's oil and gas industry." Download now!] LinkedIn, the social network designed for business use, is a perfect venue for B2B companies who wish to leverage the power of social media for marketing. Here are five ways to use the platform most effectively. 1. Like just about every social network, LinkedIn is based on individual user profiles. A commonly-held assumption is that LinkedIn profiles are little more than online resumes. In addition, a profile maps to your goals, whether that's networking, job hunting, influencing or sales. If you're going to create a professional profile, you might as well make it a good one. Include a business-oriented photo. 2. By "relevant," I mean those that are related to your industry. Here are the types of groups to consider: Be sure to read the group's rules before contributing content or engaging in discussions. 3. 4.
13 Brands Using LinkedIn Company Page Features the Right Way Back in November, I set out to write a post to highlight businesses that were using LinkedIn's company page features effectively. Needless to say, I couldn't find enough examples to create a compelling post, so in my dismay, what I actually ended up writing was, "11 Reasons Your LinkedIn Company Page Sucks." What can I say? I was a little bitter and, frankly, slightly disappointed in the social media marketers of the world. We recently reported that, in a study of the over 5,000 inbound marketers where we pitted LinkedIn against Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn proved to be the most effective social media channel for lead generation -- 277% more effective, in fact. As a marketer, particularly if you're in the B2B game, how could you not leverage that awesome lead generation potential? Well, it's been several months now, and I wanted to give you LinkedIn marketers out there another chance. Blog RSS Feed Let's get a few low-hanging fruit features out of the way first. News Module Careers Tab
26 Mobile Apps to Improve Your Business and Networking Have you been spending more of your mobile time using smartphone apps than browsing the web? Suffice it to say, you’re not alone. There are more than a million apps available and according to Sunil Gupta,”Users spend on average, 82% of their mobile minutes with apps and just 18% with web browsers.” In this article, you’ll find apps to consider using to help you with your business and social activities. Due to the enormous number of apps to choose from, I focused on apps that are convenient and provide social value. Note: For consistency, all screenshots were taken from iTunes app store. Here are 26 apps, an A-Z guide to help you conduct business and network while on the go. #1: Adobe Reader Do you need to work on PDF docs on the go? Adobe Reader offers features to view PDF documents, store and access documents in the cloud with Acrobat.com, navigate through PDF content, annotate and comment on PDF documents, fill out forms, organize documents, electronically sign and print and share. #2: Bump
Ten Ways for Small Businesses to Use LinkedIn | Official Blog Ed. note: This is a guest post from Guy Kawasaki, co-founder at AllTop, syndicated from his web column on American Express’ OPEN Forum blog. Feel free to leave a comment, share a favorite small business tip or ask Guy a question in the comments section.
impactbnd With so many social media sites, it can be difficult to identify which sites you should focus more of your time and energy on. In a world where social media players like Facebook and Twitter dominate the marketing landscape, it’s quite easy to overlook LinkedIn and its importance to a businesses social media presence. If you’ve never paid any attention to LinkedIn and its potential benefits, you wouldn’t be alone. The fact of the matter is that both Facebook and Twitter have become woven into the fabric of modern culture while LinkedIn has flown under the radar. Simply put, if you’ve been overlooking LinkedIn all this time, chances are pretty good your competitors have been doing so as well. LinkedIn Marketing Facts Here are 5 statistics from LinkedIn that you cannot overlook as an employer, a business person, or an individual looking for a job: 4 Ways to Dominated Your Competitors The difference being is that LinkedIn is strictly a network of professionals. 1. 2. 3. 4. Keep them informed.
5 Top Google+ Tools and Apps for Marketing Pros Are you looking for Google+ apps and resources to enhance your marketing? This article reveals five categories of tools and apps you can employ to greatly enhance your Google+ experience. Check this out: Thirty-six percent of brands on Google+ have seen a 100% increase in circle size in less than 3 months, according to a recent study by Simply Measured. This is a stunning metric when one considers that there’s no Google+ advertising platform to fuel campaigns. Brands are forced to use great content to engage and can’t “pay to play” by using sponsored stories or other advertising gimmicks. A Bad Workman Blames His Tools With this spike in activity, developers are scrambling to create tools to help businesses of all sizes manage, integrate and promote their Google+ communities. This new frontier is a bit rocky as the needs driving Google+ management are still taking shape. Once you’ve got your roadmap, I hope a few of the tools below will help you on your journey. #1: Google+ Widgets inShare733
10 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Promote Your Business Although it’s been around longer than Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn tends to be eclipsed by the other social networking sites. Despite some of the recent changes that have likened it in ways to some of the social media giants, LinkedIn is really a different kind of animal that requires different techniques for using it effectively. Most know that LinkedIn is a business-focused social networking site that essentially allows users to create a road map of their careers, outlining where they were educated, positions they’ve held, and people they’ve worked with. Some might not know that LinkedIn can also be an effective tool for promoting your business. 1. A company profile helps you separate your individual background from your business by creating a page that includes information about what your company does, how long you’ve been doing it, and how interested parties can contact you for more information. 2. Pick the brains of your target audience and colleagues with LinkedIn Polls. 3. 4.
8 Keys to a Lead-Catching LinkedIn Company Page Thursday, 2nd May, 2013 | By Jason Ferster | Category: Public Relations and Social Media 8 Keys to a Lead-Catching LinkedIn Company Page Given the mind-boggling speed of all things social media, it’s easy to lose perspective on the passage of time. Yep. While logic would suggest that businesses would be the earliest adopters of any platform that’s founded on the concept of virtual networking, LinkedIn has been sluggish in giving brands a seat at the community table. In the latter half of the 2000s, Facebook and Twitter quickly adapted for business users as marketers chased customers into those exploding communities. But in the last year and a half, LinkedIn’s evolution has picked up the pace, and newly redesigned Company Pages were rolled out in September 2012, giving brands the ability to market products, recruit new talent and engage more directly with the greater community than ever before. 1. If you have employees on LinkedIn, you likely have a Company Page already. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
5 Tips for Optimizing Your LinkedIn Company Page Do you have a LinkedIn Company page? Have you employed the newly designed look and features? If you haven’t created a LinkedIn Company Page, now is the time to do so. The new layout makes it easier for people to find, follow and engage with your Company Page. Here are the new design updates and features that you can take advantage of on your Company Page. #1: Banner Images Bring your Page to life! Social Media Examiner's LinkedIn Company Page banner. The default landing tab for your Company Page is the Home tab. This is very similar to the Facebook Cover Image that you are able to utilize on your Facebook Business Page, although the image size is different. Use the banner space to illustrate and extend your unique branding and messaging. Note that you will not be able to place a clickable URL behind your primary banner image. Sprout Social's LinkedIn Company Page banner. Don’t be afraid to make your banner image eye-popping or attention-grabbing! #2: Career and Products Now Featured on Home Tab
How to Use LinkedIn to Market Your Business More and more professionals are using social networks to build relationships, meet new contacts, and market themselves and their businesses. But diving into the virtual meet-and-greet can be daunting. Where to begin? The answer is LinkedIn, a social network for professionals who are looking to promote both themselves and their companies. LinkedIn has great tools for connecting you to customers, prospects, and industry thought leaders alike, and many marketers are under-utilizing its functionality due to simple lack of awareness — joining LinkedIn is simple, but turning it into a powerful networking tool takes a bit of know-how. Some LinkedIn facts The site has over 60 million membersA new member joins approximately every second Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are members Benefits of a complete and well-developed LinkedIn presence How to get going with LinkedIn If you don’t already have a personal profile on LinkedIn, here are some simple steps you can follow to set one up: 1. 2. 3.
LinkedIn unveils new social marketing feature | Social Media Agency London Representing the latest in a series of moves to encourage brand marketers to harness its social media marketing capability, LinkedIn has this week launched the Company Page API. Essentially, this provides social marketers with more options to manage and measure their Company Page activity on LinkedIn via third-party apps, while also pushing its new Sponsored Updates functionality. LinkedIn teamed up with social partners including Hootsuite, HubSpot, Spredfast, Adobe, Shoutlet, Percolate, Salesforce and Sprinklr about a month ago, but opening up the API now makes it possible for any third-party social management tools to integrate LinkedIn Company Page posting and analytics. According to a blog post from LinkedIn senior product specialist Keith Cowing, the new feature will simplify LinkedIn marketing, allowing brands to easily publish content to their Company Pages. FPR’s Final Thought: