When LinkedIn was launched back in 2003, the social networking platform immediately set itself apart with a firm focus on business, employment, and career development. Twenty-three years later, LinkedIn boasts over 1.2 billion registered users, ranking it in the top ten social platforms worldwide. It has also been roundly mocked for its tone of relentless positivity and hyper-inspirational anecdotes that turn every “setback” into a teachable moment.
For small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), it might feel hard to carve out a place amongst the thought leaders and corporate climbers. Is it worth it for SMEs to create and maintain a presence on LinkedIn?
Absolutely yes, say the experts. Michelle Halvorsen-Jones, founder of specialised LinkedIn agency Momentix, asserts that LinkedIn is an under-utilised platform here in New Zealand—which can translate into better visibility and engagement.
“There are over one billion people on LinkedIn, but only 1% of them post weekly,” says Michelle. “So there is a massive opportunity on that platform compared to Facebook or Instagram, where you’re competing with a huge volume of content. You can cut through a lot more easily, and posts stick around for a lot longer.”
Michelle’s service offering at Momentix runs the gamut from LinkedIn training to profile optimisation and full content management for both companies and individuals. She says she chose to found an agency focused on LinkedIn because of her own “very effective” experience using the platform when she worked as a marketing manager, as well as for its “nicer” culture.
“There’s very little trolling or bad behaviour,” she says. “There’s a bit of political stuff, and that’s probably about as bad as it gets. So it’s a really great place if you want to develop your personal brand. There’s a lot of positivity.”
Marketing strategist Sheril Mittal adds that there’s a targeted component to LinkedIn that isn’t present in larger, more generalised platforms like Facebook. Sheril, founder of Immersive Marketing, is an active LinkedIn user who uses the platform as part of her toolbox when consulting for or coaching businesses and teams. “What I have really liked using LinkedIn are the filtered networks I have access to, in comparison to other social media platforms,” she says. “If I were posting on any other social network, the people I would reach or the leads I land wouldn’t be as appropriate in comparison to LinkedIn, which positions me in a way that I can directly speak to decision-makers.”
For SMEs specifically, both say the benefits are well worth an investment of your time, but not as a direct-to-consumer marketing platform. (In other words, LinkedIn isn’t the place to hawk your products or services in every post.)
“You wouldn’t be going on there to sell a product,” says Michelle. “You would be going on there to make sure people know who you are, if you want to be known in the industry. If you’re selling to other businesses, it’s crucial for you to be on LinkedIn because of the level of networking that goes on there. It’s the number one B2B platform, really.”
“It would benefit small-to-medium-sized businesses to have a company page and a personal page,” specifies Sheril. “Especially for service-based businesses. It helps a lot with creating awareness [of your business] and creating leads and inquiries based on the networking that LinkedIn offers. Connecting with similar profiles on LinkedIn and expanding your network within your professional niche helps widen the horizon for service businesses and e-commerce.”
As a founder, leader or business owner, she goes on to explain, your personal page and your company page should be distinct.
“A standard profile is what we call a ‘personal page,’” she says. “Everybody who works for your business can have a personal page because that’s their personal brand.” A company page, by contrast, is the home of your business itself on LinkedIn, and as such, the content should be different. “A company page is more about expanding your reach alongside your personal page,” she says. “The two complement each other.”
Michelle agrees that both are necessary. “Always have a company page,” she advises. “When you say ‘founder’ or ‘director at,’ you want to have a page linked to it to give you that credibility and so that people can see your address, the number of staff, and some information about the company. You might have some links to your website on it.”
Still, she advises choosing to post on your personal page over your company page for most content.
“If you’re not a big brand like Coca-Cola or Air New Zealand,” she says, “no one is going to care about LinkedIn posts from your company page because people have no desire to connect with a faceless company. People want to connect with a person.” She adds that posts from a personal page “get a lot more impressions and engagement because people want to buy from people.”
So what should you post about, especially if you’re keen to talk about your own business from your personal page?
“Your company values, why you do what you do, the story behind how you started the business, and if you have a team, your culture,” suggests Michelle. “You might want to educate your market. Say you’re a blind installation company and you’re trying to reach developers, which is your target market. You might talk about how easy your process is when your work with developers, post some client success stories… it’s all inspirational content, usually. People don’t really go on there and post negative things.”
Sheril seconds the educational angle. “If you’re a lawyer, you could talk about the kind of impact your services have on a client’s life. If you’re a lawyer who does mediation, you could talk about the benefits of mediation, educating your audience and generating engagement and interest without selling your services directly.”
She adds that posts that do well are less about being inspirational and more about adding value.
“Usually, what works well is something that adds value to the reader, whether it’s a motivational story or you’re sharing a personal experience. I’ve seen many successful LinkedIn posts on professional profiles that are sharing a story from their personal life, but they add value in some way to the person reading it.”
Michelle agrees. “The number one aim shouldn’t be: ‘I’m writing this post to sell something.’ The number one aim for a LinkedIn post is ‘What value can I give?’”
She adds that no matter what industry you’re in, your presence on LinkedIn can pay off.
“Some industries that haven’t traditionally been on LinkedIn have actually got a bigger opportunity because it’s not flooded with other people posting.” She advises business owners to think about their target market (hair and cosmetic salons, for example, “have their entire target market there: women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s”), as well as who might make a good referral partner.
“Try to post weekly on LinkedIn,” she advises. “Do some behind-the-scenes-type stuff, some ‘I wish all my clients knew’ lists. Think a little more creatively, because there’s a large number of untapped opportunities if you think outside the box.”
“There is a lot of opportunity to pitch your service or product without actually having to advertise or create a sales pitch each time, like on other platforms,” says Sheril. “Building a lot of organic interest is possible just by engaging with people.”
Special thanks to Michelle Halvorsen-Jones (www.momentix.nz) and Sheril Mittal (www.immersivemarketing.nz). Story by Beth Caunter.