Social Media Networking – How to Showcase your Credibility, Online.

LinkedIn tips for business

The explosion of Social Media and its potential for business marketing and networking is undeniable. With companies quickly realising that social media can be a cost-effective way to boost brand awareness and generate organic leads, trying your hand at social media networking seems like a logical step. However easy and cheap it may seem, traditional ‘hard sell’ marketing tactics often fall on deaf ears when applied through social media channels, sometimes having the opposite effect on what you’re trying to achieve. Here are some tips to ensure that you are utilising business networking site LinkedIn effectively, to showcase your company’s credibility and build valuable relationships:

1. Complete your profile to 100% – show people you’re serious about social media networking by adding as much information as possible to your profile.
2. Request recommendations from people you have worked with, especially clients – these work especially well as a third-party endorsement for your brand. A testimonial from a satisfied client is immeasurably more effective than blowing your own horn.
3. Upload presentations, white papers and videos to Slideshare application – get people engaging with your profile.
4. Use Video Testimonials on your profile (using google presentations)
5. In the expertise section, add some recent career highlights and achievements
6. People in your network will share statuses and information on their profile – if you found it helpful, interesting (or funny!) then like it, share it and/or comment. You’ll build a reputation as an inclusive and welcoming user, and these things come back around when you would like something shared amongst the business community, yourself.
7. Update your status update a couple of times a week with what you are doing professionally – ideally highlighting your achievements. Don’t ‘spam’ your connections with musings on what you ate for breakfast! Keep it professional.
8. Connect your blog using wordpress application or typepad application
9. Share Valuable Content using the status updates and discussion boards that include ‘calls to action’ – link out to content that is fresh and useful to your connections. The odds are, if you find it useful then someone else will too. You could even spread the news if there is an interesting looking networking event on the horizon.
10. Participate in groups relevant to your areas of expertise and answer questions which showcase your knowledge in that field. It is also a great way to hear about events and news that could provide valuable business opportunities.

In order to get the best out of any Social Media platform, effort and engagement needs to be an ongoing and continuous mission. Of all the advice that Exeid can offer on Social Media Marketing, the most valuable is “don’t give up!”  – with LinkedIn relying on real-time updates, you get out of it what you put in. If you find that you simply don’t have the time or manpower to set up a LinkedIn account, Exeid can take care of this for you, as part of their Business Services division, for a small, one-off fee – then you’re ready to go! We can even keep it updated for you, engaging with the business community on your behalf. Call  0115 824 1444 for more information. Don’t forget you can also keep up to date with Exeid news and events via LinkedIn, and connect with our different departments and clients. We also get involved in group discussions, providing business advice and office opportunities.