Introduction
LinkedIn is a professional networking and sales tool. As of today, there are over 675 million LinkedIn users. Every person you know and want to know is on LinkedIn. It’s no longer just for people looking for a new job; it’s also where people now go to expand their network and build trust in order to make new business connections. Linkedin is a sales and marketing tool, so if you’re not using LinkedIn, you’re missing out on one of your best sources for growing your business.
LinkedIn offers the best opportunity to build your personal brand
LinkedIn is the best place to build your personal brand. If you’re looking for a job, you can use it to showcase your professional experience and let people know what you’re interested in. If you are an entrepreneur or freelancer who wants to attract new clients and build relationships with potential partners, LinkedIn is a must.
If you are part of a company building it’s brand and securing new business then you have to not only be on Linkedin, but be all in.
LinkedIn is also great for networking and getting in touch with potential customers or suppliers, who may be easier to reach through LinkedIn than through phone calls or emails (which are often seen as spam).
People buy from people they trust
People buy from people they trust. If you’re a sales or marketing professional, it’s important to remember that LinkedIn is a tool for building trust with your prospects and customers. You can use this network to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, get recommendations from colleagues and clients, and share content with them on a regular basis.
LinkedIn is also a great place for you to find new leads—especially if you know exactly who you want to reach out to (if not, read our guide). And once someone does follow or connect with you on LinkedIn (which should be after reading your profile), it’s important that they feel like they know who “you” are beyond just what’s written on the page: how do we build rapport? How do we connect? How do I give value without asking for anything in return?
You can start by sharing helpful articles or blog posts related to whatever problem your target audience has; these updates will show up in their newsfeed and will help establish trust between two parties who might otherwise never have met offline before.”
You need to be a salesman
You need to be a salesman. You have to sell yourself, your company, your products, your services and even your ideas. And that’s just the beginning! You also need to sell what you will do for the customer—your vision of their business and how it can be better.
You may think that selling is something that only happens in sales teams or on marketing teams at big corporations with large budgets. But it’s not just for those people anymore — if you want LinkedIn to work for you, then being able to sell is an essential skill for any modern marketer (or business owner).
LinkedIn is a search engine
LinkedIn is a search engine for people. It’s the best one there is, and it’s all about people.
LinkedIn allows you to find people by name and by industry. You can also find people by title, education, location and much more. If you want to reach out to someone in a specific industry or niche, LinkedIn makes it easy for you to find them.
If you don’t know who you’re looking for but have an idea of what kind of person they might be based on their job title or location (or any other number of criteria), then LinkedIn will help narrow down the field so that only relevant results appear on your search page when filtering according to those criteria.
Linkedin is a social network
LinkedIn is a social network. It’s also a professional network and business network. But it’s not just any social media platform, LinkedIn is different from other social networks like Facebook and Instagram because it was designed from the ground up as a professional business tool.
It’s also different because of its ability to grow in your industry by offering you access to new people who can help you grow your business or career by connecting with them through their own networks so that you can get referrals from them.
Linkedin is a marketer’s best friend
If you’re a marketer, LinkedIn is your best friend. The professional social network is an excellent way to connect with more people and build relationships.
The more connections you have, the better your chances of gaining new customers and making sales.
It’s also a fantastic channel to share your company’s content to, either directly on Linkedin (which their algorithm prefers) or on your own site with links.
You can sell on LinkedIn without looking like you are selling
The trick to selling on LinkedIn without looking like you are selling is to be authentic, helpful, and genuinely interested in other people. The goal is not to sell. The goal is to provide value. If you focus on providing value rather than trying to sell something, then the right things will happen naturally over time.
There’s no need for pushy sales tactics or high-pressure sales tactics when it comes to marketing on LinkedIn. This isn’t Ebay or Craigslist where people are buying and selling things as fast as possible so they can get their money back before someone else beats them out of their purchase.
Every salesperson needs a personal brand
If you’re a salesperson, or even if you’re not, every professional has a personal brand to uphold. Your personal brand is the first impression people have of you when they make that connection. They may not always remember it, but it will stick with them for better or worse.
First impressions matter and there are things we can all do to ensure that our first interactions are positive ones! For example:
- Be consistent. If your LinkedIn profile says one thing about who you are and what you have accomplished in your career, then be sure that everything else online is saying the same message as well (your website, email signature). You want consistency across all platforms so people can find out more information about who YOU are without having to go searching for it elsewhere on their own time.
- Be authentic; don’t just put up pictures from 10 years ago when things were better than they are now—people will see right through this kind of false advertising (or lack thereof) anyway! Just be honest about where exactly each picture was taken so there isn’t any confusion about where/when it happened in relation to how long ago these events took place.* Be memorable; don’t just put up boring headshots–add some color! People need something visual that sticks out from other profiles so they’ll actually want come back again later after seeing yours once already because otherwise why bother?
It takes around seven impacts before someone makes a buying decision, But only if they trust you.
The first thing a potential customer needs is trust. So you need to be a salesman and/or salesperson, or business owner and/or entrepreneur, or marketer–basically all of these titles are relevant here.
However, if you can find a way to get your prospects interested in what you have to offer without directly selling them something they might not understand yet (remember: they’re still in the research phase), then you’re golden! But don’t worry; this isn’t as hard as it sounds. Send some LinkedIn messages out there with good content about topics that relate directly back to what their interests are on LinkedIn today (and tomorrow). You’d be surprised how many people respond positively when approached in such an open manner–and even more surprised how well those same people react when asked for referrals later on down the line!
Your LinkedIn profile should be seen by everyone as an ad for your company and its products and services.
Your LinkedIn Profile should be seen as an ad for your company and its products and services. It is the perfect place to deliver a message about who you are, what your company does, how it can help others, and why they should choose you as their partner. Your ideal client should be able to read your profile in two minutes and know exactly why they want to work with you or buy from you.
To accomplish this, there are several things that need to happen:
- You need a clear message of who you are and what value proposition (what makes you different) sets your firm apart from all other firms;
- You need a picture of yourself that tells potential clients exactly who they will be dealing with;
- You need well-written content on all sections (Summary/Experience/Education) describing yourself in terms of skillsets, accomplishments and expertise which match up with what potential clients are looking for (more on this later);
Conclusion – Linkedin is a sales and marketing tool!
LinkedIn offers professionals the ability to connect, learn and share with other professionals. It can be used as a great resource for both marketing and salespeople who are looking to promote and sell their products.
Linkedin is a sales and marketing tool you should be using!
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