Since Linkedin is the biggest professional network in the world, it’s safe to say that this platform holds undeniable potential when it comes to marketing. This popular networking platform can become a powerful tool in your digital arsenal. A well-throughout LinkedIn marketing strategy generates more leads and boosts sales among an array of other benefits.
In fact, if you run a B2B company, LinkedIn is a far more important platform than Facebook or Twitter for your business. Besides generating traffic and converting leads, LinkedIn is also a dependable platform for building long-lasting relationships.
When you’re using LinkedIn for sales and marketing, it’s crucial to realize that LinkedIn is different from other social networking sites. On platforms like Twitter or Instagram, it becomes difficult to create a distinction between personal and professional accounts. On the other hand, LinkedIn is a lot more professional. Therefore, the same marketing tactics are unlikely to work across all these platforms.
If you’re trying to make the most of your LinkedIn presence, here are some common mistakes you should avoid.
1. Neglecting Your Personal Profile
If you don’t have a profile on LinkedIn, you immediately need to create one to gain a prospective buyer’s trust from the get-go. To ensure a positive first impression, make sure your profile isn’t just an online resume. Optimize your profile to ‘all-star’ strength. Upload a high-quality professional profile picture, include information about your expertise, past projects, and credentials.
2. Failure to Create a Company Page
In addition to making a detailed personal profile, you also need to create an informative and engaging company page. Buyers are likely to gauge your online presence before doing business with you. Make sure your company profile page sends the right message.
3. Not Being Active
Setting up a profile and not bothering to check it regularly is a LinkedIn oversight you cannot afford. It’s imperative to check your notifications every day, respond to messages, accept and send connection requests, and post updates.
4. Not Joining Relevant Groups
Joining groups is necessary to connect with other industry professionals. Not only can you learn about the latest trends and news in the industry, but by joining LinkendIn groups you can also nurture new connections and discover prospective clients.
5. Not Having a Marketing Strategy
Just like any other marketing platform, you must have a well-planned marketing strategy for LinkedIn. You need to have clear goals as well as timeframes to achieve said goals.
6. Posting Irrelevant Content
Posting irrelevant content or spamming can cost you valuable connections and even get you banned from the group. Make sure you’re being strategic about publishing content that offers value to your audience. Work on coming up with an interesting headline.
7. Just Talking About Yourself
Yes, you’re using LinkedIn to further your organization’s reach and increase your revenue. But when you become a part of a group, you cannot just talk about yourself or your product. Instead, share valuable and useful content 80% of the time and promote yourself the rest of the time.
8. Solely Focusing on Promotion
Self-promotion isn’t the sole purpose of having a LinkedIn presence. Direct your attention towards building valuable relationships. Rather than pushing your product or service, try connecting with a prospect and building a relationship first.
9. Taking an Informal Approach
As previously mentioned, LinkedIn is a professional platform compared to social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. Avoid posting personal pictures, trendy slang, and other forms of informal content that are acceptable on other social media platforms.
10. Forgetting the Human Aspect
While keeping your LinkedIn professional is necessary, don’t forget about humanizing your brand. A strict and monotonous approach may fail to connect with your audience. You should post pictures of your successful projects, clients, and other relevant work-related updates.
11. Not Using the Right Tools
There are several LinkedIn tools at your disposal, especially with a premium account. Then why are you not making the most out of them? Consider upgrading to a premium account to boost your marketing efforts.
12. Underestimating Recommendations
Just like your business benefits from client testimonials, it’s worth requesting your connections for recommendations. Having more recommendations will help you generate more leads.
13. Not Tracking Efforts
Similar to other marketing campaigns, don’t make the mistake of not tracking your efforts. There’s no point in spending time and energy on campaigns that are not enhancing your LinkedIn presence. Monitoring and tracking campaigns allow you to recognize which tactics are successful and which need to be tweaked.
The Bottom Line
Are any of these errors present in your current LinkedIn marketing efforts? Don’t worry, you can easily fix them and improve your strategy.
Remember that LinkedIn shouldn’t be treated like other social media platforms. Focus on nurturing and building long-lasting relationships rather than exclusively endorsing your products or services.
LinkedIn offers you an unparalleled opportunity to become a respected industry expert with the tips we listed in this article.
