Is there a point to LinkedIn™?

I had an interesting conversation recently with a lady who had previously attended a LinkedIn™ training, about a company she had worked for who didn’t see the point of LinkedIn and didn’t believe they should invest any time in it.

You can imagine my reaction!! 😲

However, I know there will be people who love LinkedIn and some that don’t. And I also understand that you should question the things you invest time and resources into.

Like any marketing activity, you shouldn’t spend time on LinkedIn without having an objective and success criteria to monitor against.

BUT . . . I think there are some pretty big reasons for investing your time in LinkedIn. These are my top 3. If you have any more, please do let me know!

Reason #1: It’s FREE!

Being a Yorkshire lass, this is my fave! I mean why not take the opportunity of having a free online presence for your business - free to host and free SEO that gets you found on Google and LinkedIn?

While there are paid account options, you can easily manage with the free version. You can still connect with relevant people and build good quality relationships by posting and sharing great information and ideas.

Don’t believe me about being found on Google?

I was invited to do a little presentation last week about LinkedIn profiles. I used the host’s profile, Amy Burnett, as an example and did various searches for her on Google to see what came up.

For example: let’s do a search for ‘Amy LinkedIn Video’.

Oh LOOK . . . !

Amy’s LinkedIn profile is top of the list after the ad!

Note, her website that she has spent time, money and effort on, was nowhere to be seen!

OK, so I used the word ‘LinkedIn’ in the search.

So what about ‘Amy video production for women’ (that’s what Amy does). Again. her profile is top of the list!

So, my advice is that if you are going to be on LinkedIn at least ensure your profile is tip top, represents your professional brand and presents you in your best and brightest light. After all it can get you found on Google!

Check out my e-book if you think your profile could do with a little polish!

Reason #2: It’s great for organic lead generation

LinkedIn makes it easy for potential buyers to check you out – research suggest 57% of the buying process happens before a potential purchaser even contacts you, AFTER having done their research and supplier listing first.

Getting found on LinkedIn involves being active on LinkedIn, which in turn drives potential prospects to your profile, where of course you explain what you do and how you help.

My advice would be to be consistent on LinkedIn. Take time to engage with your network, share your advice and expertise, respond to questions and posts; take part in discussions, tag your connections in threads that could be useful to them, share other peoples’ requests for help, and connect with people who are interested in what you post.

Reason #3: It’s great for referrals!

Whenever I ask people how they generate new business opportunities, 95% of the time its networking and/or word of mouth referrals.

And this is where LinkedIn comes into its own! As I mentioned last week, LinkedIn and networking are the best of friends! They work so well together and makes it super easy for people to make referrals to their network! They work so well together and makes it super easy for people to make referrals to their network.

Plus, as one big database, LinkedIn is a focused way of networking that saves hours. I had a client who used to spend lots of time networking in the hope of meeting people who could introduce her to potential clients. I quickly showed her that LinkedIn could get her much closer to those people, with far less time invested and in a much more targeted way.

It always surprises me how many people don’t connect to their customers and clients. So, my advice is to connect with your clients as they are likely to be the best referrers for your business. Also connect with people in your target audience as this opens up the opportunities to identify potential 2nd degree connections they may know and would be happy to introduce you to.

So those are my top 3 reasons for investing time in LinkedIn™ . . .

What are yours? Do you have different ones for using and loving LinkedIn?

I’d love to hear from you :o)

If LinkedIn isn’t working hard for you or you’re not sure where to start with using LinkedIn, email judy@judithparsons.com or connect with me on LinkedIn to chat about how I can help.