Harnessing LinkedIn to Share Your Story
LinkedIn is a tool that can help your business in many ways, including as a marketing arm and research tool. But how do you maximize the effectiveness of your usage to ensure that you build a following of loyal customers?
Marketing agencies can help with your outreach via other media, and the decision to use such an agency for targeted advertising and definition of your optimal customer base could pay dividends to your business’s growth. However, no one knows your business better than you do. The importance of telling potential customers the story of how your business came to be, and what it exists to do, is undeniable.
So how do we harness the power of connection through LinkedIn to raise awareness about our story and purpose?
Attention Grabbers
Part of telling your story is grabbing the interest of the audience in the first few seconds. In a world of scrolling FOMO drones, give the audience something to make them stop and pay attention. Visuals are typically the most responded to addition to any LinkedIn post, and that includes the visuals of your business and its people.
As a storyteller and representative for the business, make sure your profile photo is professional and sets the tone for what you represent. A head and shoulders photo of you looking directly into the camera is best, and make sure it currently represents your day-to-day appearance.
Additionally, you are going to want to make your profile photo stand out by enhancing it with the cover photo for your profile. A photo of the Grand Canyon is great, but it doesn’t exactly tell the viewer what your business is about unless you are selling donkey rides into the Grand Canyon. Aim for a photo that immediately conveys what your business does or where it does business. You can even forgo a photo and replace it with a graphic that supports your story with text, but minimize the number of words and utilize complementary colors that match the photo and format of your profile.
After your visuals are set, it’s time to use your keyboard as a paintbrush and illustrate the essence of what you do with words. A professional headline is what people will see first, so make sure you include two or three brief descriptions of what you do for the business, as well as two or three personal details that will help you be memorable and provide a talking point when first making contact. Make sure to use “I” language in your About Me section as well, so that the reader feels that you are more personable and approachable.
Focus The Attention On Your Message
Once you have your audience’s attention, and you have helped them become familiar with yourself and your business, it is time to focus their attention on your message. You want to create an awareness of your story and your goals. You need to convey how you and your business can help serve their own goals and purpose. To do this, you must give the reader something that resonates with them. And nothing resonates with an audience like authenticity.
Sharing your story on LinkedIn allows you to become more than an enterprise fighting for the dollars of the public. There are many unique ways to spread your message, including short and impactful posts. Links to long-form content hosted either on LinkedIn or a business website or blog, allow for even more insight into who you are as a business. Video content, polls, and how-to posts also help in spreading your message through more attractive and interactive outreach. Providing value to a potential customer is the best pursuit strategy for gaining their business, and LinkedIn is a free resource that is invaluable in introducing yourself to those customers at minimal cost.
Quality of Connections
There are many approaches to take when trying to woo an audience into your network. Consistent content is a necessity, but consistency doesn’t connect if the message isn’t personable.
To connect with your audience you need to make them care. Customers who care are customers who spend.
People want to spend their money with people or businesses that they like and know. Using LinkedIn to let the customer know about you is effective, but connection is a two-way street. To build a relationship that grows into a partnership, you need to know about the other party as well. Today’s social media and scheduling apps are great at reminding you about birthdays or events in the life of a contact, but everyone knows that the generic greetings are done as a task and not a genuine act of appreciation or well wishes.
Taking the time to make your messages personal is key in letting the customer know that you recognize them as something more than just a business contact. That builds a stronger connection with the customer which can be impactful for years to come.
Looking to tell your business story? We can help with that. Give us a call.
