Are you still staying away from Linked In? Many people I talk to shy away from Linked In's “buttoned-up” very professional image.
Not using it is turning your back on access to millions of people. Where else can you get that kind of advertising for your business?
The second step to getting the most out of Linked In (after setting up your profile with keywords) is to start getting involved in groups.
Of course, you don't want to waste your time by randomly joining groups. You want to join groups that have many members of your target audience — that are full of people who you can help (and who can help you).
Once you're involved in the group (and you can narrow the industry groups down further by niche groups) build a presence there. Make sure that youíre active. No one likes a lurker that takes and never gives back.
Get involved in group discussions and share your knowledge, paying close attention to the question, “what's in it for me” and give back each time you post. People appreciate those who give and they'll learn to look to you as the nice guy, the expert, the go-to person who has the answer for their questions.
You can use groups to get feedback, which can help streamline a marketing campaign. You'll get insight (by participating in the discussions) into what the target audience thinks and what theyíre looking for to help them in their own journey.
This information will help you understand the best way to market your product. It's a great (and free) way to get your market research done before launching a product, too. Make sure that you have a business blog that links back to the websites selling your products.
When you're a member of a group on LinkedIn, you can put a link in your group so that every time you add to your blog, it will show up in the group. For example, if you write a blog about the latest Internet marketing product and how you think it will make their job easier (or not), that blog will post the link to the group. But the key here is that your blog link is getting viewed by thousands of potential customers.
When you're not the group owner, you donít have the same freedom and itís not all about your business. You can change that by starting a group of your own. The number one reason for this is because it moves targeted traffic your way – letting people get to know you, learn about your product, visit your site, and more.
When the group is set up, itís a free advertising tool for you and introduces thousands of others to your circle of potential leads where you can build relationships. Building relationships builds trust, which works to sway decisions when it comes to who to buy from – the guy they know in their LinkedIn group or the guy theyíve never heard about but stumbled across.
Groups are almost never stale – they're always growing and always adding new members because LinkedIn continues to grow. LinkedIn hit the mark for over 100 million users. Thatís quite a potential field where you can sow the seeds of your business and you don't want to miss out!
