In the world of digital marketing, not all social media platforms are created equal. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Pinterest have vastly different audiences and engender different usage habits in these audiences. Most importantly, they have different features available for advertisers. How do you choose which social media platform is best for your current needs?
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is a great tool for forging connections, marketing to passive candidates, and providing unparalleled brand recognition to those who matter: other businesses, entrepreneurs, and working professionals. Polished professional websites are easy and cheap to make and don’t communicate the same degree of legitimacy as a LinkedIn profile. Your brand’s reputation is defined by how you appear on public social media platforms. With its focus on networking, LinkedIn is one of the most important platforms. Even though it lacks the general audience of Twitter or Facebook, it occupies a unique professional niche that other social media platforms do not.LinkedIn is also great because it boasts built-in features that allow you, your employees, and your affiliates to build your brand. By building up an archive of people who have endorsed you and worked with you, you create a more robust brand.
How do I build my brand on LinkedIn?
- Build out the profiles of you and your employees. Choose a customer-focused message for your profile headline that clearly states your company’s mission and attitude. It’s important that your employee's bios are in line with your corporate mission. If you have any affiliates, former employees, or other connections that might be controversial or in conflict with your brand, remove those contacts immediately. When people look at your company, they’ll look for whom you associate with, and if you’re connected to shady individuals, that will undoubtedly reflect poorly on you.
- Integrate LinkedIn into your social media marketing strategy. This means every time your company has a significant event or milestone such as a big sale, a notable hire, a new product or a significant birthday, you update your LinkedIn profile accordingly.
- Make LinkedIn a core part of your recruitment strategy. The recruitment process—how you promote yourself, how effectively you communicate with candidates, and the efficiency of your hiring pipeline—all reflect on your employer brand. Any time you’re using LinkedIn to fill positions, engage with passive candidates, or acquire talent, you’re also influencing your employer brand.
- Incorporate LinkedIn into your next product launch. Normally, product launches include social media marketing as part of a larger constellation of outreach efforts, including text messages, email marketing, banner ads, and press releases. All too often, LinkedIn is neglected. Since you have an audience of entrepreneurs, bloggers, customers, and prospective candidates, it's is a great platform to include in your product launch promotions.
- LinkedIn is an optimal platform for content marketing. Content marketing builds your brand in many ways. By sharing existing articles, you are a valuable curator of content. Commission articles from your upper-level management, so you can offer secret insider knowledge about your industry, which is highly valued by your professional audience. Every time you share an article, there’s potential to go viral and increase your visibility many times over. Take note of who likes, comments, and shares your content—they should be considered as potential customers and candidates!