Tips for Using LinkedIn to Build Your Small Business

Do you remember days spent sprawled out on the floor with building blocks? Can you recall a time when you got lost in the process of creation? What if I told you these days of long ago prepared you to use LinkedIn to build your small business? 

If your personal memory escapes you, then watch a young builder seated with an array of Lego blocks spread before her — it’s more than an Instagram-worthy photo. Draw in closer. It offers inspiration. This young one shares valuable tips for using LinkedIn to build your small business. 

Find Your Passion

Buried deep in a pile of blocks, young builders immerse themselves in the experience. They are all in. At least for one afternoon, this project is their passion. The successes bring them running to share their creations. The failures cause a sigh of frustration. Still, they love to build.

When looking to use LinkedIn to build your small business, gather your passion for what you do. This passion drives you and makes your posts engaging. Talking about what you know and what excites you builds your brand and authority. 

Birth A Vision 

Watch for a few minutes, and you can see the wheels spinning in a young creator’s head. Is he or she planning to build a castle, an alligator or a car? Even as the blocks are dumped from their bin, the idea of what to do births. And, the vision spurs the creation.

What is it you want from your LinkedIn company page? Knowing your vision and your goals enable you to set up a social media presence which succeeds. If you don’t know where you are headed, it will be difficult to understand how to get there. 

Hone Your Focus

Just try to distract an elementary-aged child in the midst of a building project. No go. Want him or her to build something else? Likely also a no go. While a child may struggle to sit still for school or dinner, focus drives this build. 

Your LinkedIn presence grows when you focus. Too broad a target weakens your efforts. Focus your message, your audience, and your products or services. Targeting your strategy allows you to offer a better customer experience, gain qualified leads and convert. 

Build Strategically

Tongue sticking out. Intently grabbing the next piece. The vision comes to reality one block at a time. There is a plan. Strategically building from the top down or the bottom up, the young builder gets the job done. 

Once you identify your vision, goals and focus, write a social media marketing plan which matches your business marketing strategy. Then, tackle the plan one block at a time. Set up a LinkedIn profile and company page, post content using a content calendar and establish connections. 

Fail Successfully

One piece does not fit. Another looks wrong. The wheels fail to turn. The child builder removes one piece, a few pieces or begins again from scratch when things do not go as planned. Disappointment or frustration may arise, but this is part of the process. 

No business succeeds without adjustments, changes or do-overs. Failure opens the door to innovative solutions. LinkedIn analytics lets you know the parts of your social media campaign which are not working. Pay attention to the numbers which reflect your goals, e.g. conversion rate, reach, brand mentions, etc. 

Build Anew

No determined young creator gives up in the face of trial. After a fail, the building continues with renewed direction. Maybe the smaller pieces worked better to form the arc on the castle. Or, the car took new form as a battleship.  

Rise above the frustration and disappointment of failures. Take those problematic numbers and use them to guide you to new solutions. You may need to target your content to a specific audience or get creative with posts using infographics, interviews, images or more. 

Achieve Victory

One block connected to the next builds the creation that the builder aspires to achieve. Soon you hear the peals of delight and the patter of feet running to find you. Success! The creation is complete and works as it should. 

Know your passion, vision and focus. Draft a strategy and content calendar. Get to posting content and connecting. A step at a time gets your LinkedIn presence working and functioning to build your small business. As your network of connections grows, so does your business. 

Your LinkedIn Project

Ready to tackle your LinkedIn building project? I would love to help you get started or audit your current presence. Give me a shout at Business Marketing Engine today. We offer you inspiration and building know how.