How to Use LinkedIn for Small Businesses

World Networking Day is a day which celebrates and generates awareness of the importance of online networking. This is an important reminder that you might need to kickstart your online presence! Today’s digital landscape sees small businesses using social media such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to generate sales. In fact, social media is the top sales generator for one in four UK small businesses¹.

However, many businesses are underutilising their social media channels including the social media platform LinkedIn. LinkedIn has over 950 million members in over 200 countries across the globe, making it the world's largest professional network². This blog will explore how small businesses can use LinkedIn.

5 reasons why your small business should have a LinkedIn presence.

Reach - LinkedIn will allow you to reach a wider audience, connecting you with potential suppliers and customers. When others engage with your posts it will only increase your reach.
Credibility - Having a profile will enhance your business’ credibility. Showcasing what your business has to offer across multiple platforms supports authenticity.
Generate leads - Businesses like to support other businesses; you never know when someone might call upon your product or services after seeing your LinkedIn posts.
Networking - Small business owners can leverage LinkedIn as a place they can meet like-minded individuals and industry experts.
Recruitment - LinkedIn is a fantastic medium to share your latest job vacancies. They have a series of recruitment features to help you find the latest talent. 8 people per minute are hired through LinkedIn!³

Top tips on how to use LinkedIn as a small business.

Optimise your profile - You should complete all the available fields on your LinkedIn business page including having a logo, cover image, overview, organisational information, and a call to action. Pages with complete information get 30% more weekly views!⁴
Create a content strategy - Creating relevant and engaging content will help increase your reach and visibility. This could be business news, industry news, case studies, success stories, polls, blogs and much more! The key is to be consistent when it comes to posting content on LinkedIn.
Engage with your network - Interact and respond promptly with the community you build. People don’t use social media networks for a one-way experience!
Join and engage with groups - Join relevant groups associated with your products/service or sector. Share and learn insights from others.
Check your analytics - Track what your most popular content is, learn about your audience demographics and when is the best time to post content to help you take your page to the next level.

Within this digital era, it is important that as a small business you utilise online platforms such as LinkedIn. By embracing LinkedIn as part of your marketing strategy you will generate leads, build your reach, create new connections, find the hottest talent, and build brand credibility. LinkedIn is an extremely powerful tool for your business, the only way to find out is give it a go!

As you begin to kickstart your LinkedIn business profile, you could explore other ways in which you can grow your business! If you want to learn how, you can visit our website: https://www.hud.ac.uk/about/schools/huddersfield-business-school/business-support-and-professional-development/

Alternatively, get in touch with our fantastic Business Development team at hbsenterprise@hud.ac.uk

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5 reasons why your small business should have a LinkedIn presence.

Top tips on how to use LinkedIn as a small business.