Why Business Owners Fail To Effectively Use LinkedIn
Over many years, we’ve hosted numerous webinars, workshops, and seminars to help business owners around the world harness LinkedIn for business growth. This journey has been both exciting and eye-opening, and here’s why:
At the start of our presentations, we like to engage the audience with a few key questions to understand their expectations and goals for the session. One of our favorite questions is: Why did you join LinkedIn? This often catches attendees off guard, prompting them to pause and reflect before responding with answers like:
– “A colleague recommended it to me, so I decided to give it a try.”
– “I noticed many of my friends were on the platform, so I joined too.”
– “I came across an article online and thought it would be worth exploring.”
– “My business associates suggested using LinkedIn to stay connected with contacts.”
And the list goes on. While these are all valid reasons to join LinkedIn, they often lack a clear focus or strategy for leveraging the platform from a marketing perspective—whether it’s to generate clients, build a following, or strengthen industry connections. In our experience, this lack of direction is why 90% of users struggle to effectively use LinkedIn to grow their business.
We recall working with a client who initially joined LinkedIn with a specific objective: to connect with journalists and editors in the media. Their goal was to build a network of 100 media contacts worldwide and secure features in at least 5-10 business publications within six months. This clear and specific objective allowed them to develop a focused and targeted action plan to achieve it.
Within those six months, they not only met but exceeded their goal—building a network of 330 contacts and being featured in over 25 media publications. Over time, their goals continued to evolve based on changing marketing objectives and the challenges their business faced. Some months were dedicated to filling events, while others focused on landing one-on-one clients.
The key takeaway is this: regardless of how often their approach changed, they always had a clear purpose for using LinkedIn. This clarity is what makes all the difference!
So what’s your objective for using LinkedIn?
As you reflect on this question, consider the current marketing challenges your business is facing. Perhaps your goal is to use LinkedIn to address these challenges—whether it’s to replace cold calling and telemarketing campaigns, or to save time and effort by moving away from traditional networking events.
Every business is at a unique stage, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The key is to ensure that your goals align with the marketing objectives you aim to achieve in the next 6-12 months.
If you’re unsure about navigating LinkedIn effectively or worried about making mistakes along the way, partnering with experts can be invaluable. When venturing into something as impactful as LinkedIn for your business, it’s worth investing in the right guidance to protect your company’s reputation and ensure your efforts deliver results.