Using LinkedIn to Generate Clickthroughs

Using LinkedIn is a great way for your small business to network with other local businesses. It allows you to lay down a framework for meeting other people in your industry and spreading the word about your business. However, this social media site allows for far more than just making connections. You can also use it to publish your own content and to build a reputation.

Create a Company Page

The first step for building a small business presence on LinkedIn is to create a company page. This is where potential customers and other people in the industry will find out what you do and why you're great at it. This will help distributors to find you, allows people to seek out what you sell and helps you to build more connections through the site. Having your company's website prominently featured will help to build click throughs and bring people from this social media site to your site itself.

Posting Articles in LinkedIn

Many people who used LinkedIn think about it only in terms of its networking capabilities. However, you can also publish content through the site. Posting full articles and blog posts to your LinkedIn account allows a vast audience to see what you wrote and to then connect to your business. By posting content on the site, you show off your expertise in your industry. You also take advantage of the large audience that LinkedIn already has. A link to your business at the end of the content will draw people in to find out more about your business and build the audience of your own site. Many businesses blog both on their own sites and on LinkedIn to get the most views possible for their content. This strategy can bring in readers who find you through LinkedIn and cause them to start reading your main site. You can post similar content on your blog and your LinkedIn account, or you can reuse exactly the same posts on each to expand the readership you get from each post. Posting on the site can help you build a reputation and make you a credible source of information. Your posts should use the same important keywords as the pages on your website to draw readers in from search engines. You can blog about what your business does and update customers about your products and services. You can also post about more general, industry-specific topics to create a better sense of your expertise in the industry. Often, generalized articles that bring informational value to your readers do a better job of drawing readers in from search engines and directing them toward your profile and your website. You can also add informational videos to your account to further impart your expertise to readers.

Join Groups

Joining industry groups through LinkedIn can help build your name and bring more people to your company page and your content. Giving advice and assistance through groups can build your name and establish you as the go-to person in your industry. This helps to build your reputation, your readership and your number of connections.