With over one billion Facebook and 360 million LinkedIn members worldwide, social websites have profoundly changed the way our society interacts. Although both are commonly known for social and professional interactions, the benefits of using social platforms for business needs is on the rise.
If you are planning to use Facebook and/or LinkedIn for business or already use these social media sites, there are ways to maximize each platform’s benefits:
Maximizing Facebook for Business Needs
- Know Your Audience: Having a good grasp on who you are targeting allows you to provide your audience with relevant information regarding your brand. Facebook offers Page Insights, or tracking tools for monitoring your advertisements’ performance in the eyes of relevant readers. The platform allows you to follow your audience’s engagement trends including likes, visits, posts, and reach.
- Use Visuals: The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” is truly the case with social media. Correct use of visuals to demonstrate business capabilities will allow your brand to better catch the eyes of your audience.
- Develop Content Strategy: Anyone can write and post content to Facebook, but it is the type of content you produce which makes or breaks its value to the audience. Creating unique and interesting content will better capture leads and keep users engaged for future posts.
- Measure and Adjust: To grow your business presence on Facebook, you can use Facebook’s page insights to determine your standing with your audience. Then, grow your Facebook strategy by adjusting for these areas accordingly.
Utilizing LinkedIn for Businesses
- Building a Business Network: Keying in on a fundamental benefit of LinkedIn, networking, can help businesses expand their contacts. Easy search functions and advanced options allow you to connect with other relevant businesses as well as thought leaders in your industry. LinkedIn further allows you to maintain this network through posting content on your business page.
- Locating Vendors and Outsourcers: Basic and advanced search functions allow you to find business needs faster and provide more options to your business. You can compare and contrast vendors and outsourcers relevant to your business, and choose those business partners which best fit current needs.
- Developing word of mouth influence: As with most online platforms, building LinkedIn connections and content creates buzz around your business. This further drives visitors to your page and enhances the reach of your products or services.
- Raise Funds: Your LinkedIn business page can be a powerful tool to attract potential investors. By building your network effectively and creating relevant content, investors can find information on your business venture through an easily accessible online platform.
- Establish Yourself as a Thought Leader: Can creating unique, thoughtful content do more for your brand than attract your audience? Correct use of and growth in the space can position you to develop your business and colleagues as thought leaders in your specific area. This requires investing time and skill into your content creation and networking.
Whether you are looking to increase brand awareness, develop key connections, or grow your business overall, learning how to engage online professional and social platforms for business needs can greatly help achieve your goals.
For more on how social media plays a roll in your businesses marketing strategy, check out The Surprising Side of Google+ For Businesses.
