LinkedIn has a visitor-to-lead conversion rate that’s about three times higher than that of Facebook or Twitter. Moreover, LinkedIn is one of the most polished and flexible platforms for entrepreneurs. It allows you to gain and share insight, advertise, do research, and establish valuable connections you may not be able to make on other social media sites. That said, to use LinkedIn effectively you must avoid making the following mistakes.
1. Having an unfinished or unprofessional profile
Apart from completing the main content sections, make sure you use a high-quality logo and header. Otherwise, your profile will look unprofessional. Before going public, take the time to finish your profile, filling it with your essential business information, and then continually try to polish it.
2. Trying to sell without having first established trust
Making a connection is just the first step in earning trust. You need to engage your connections through comments and other on-site interactions. You must also have the patience to build trust before you start selling them anything. LinkedIn is more ‘sober’ than other social networks — remember that.
3. Not resolving negative comments
Whether you like it or not, negative comments and criticism are unavoidable online. Everyone gets them, even organizations otherwise noted for their high-quality customer service. The important thing is not to avoid them — you really can’t — but to deal with them effectively. Be polite, prompt, and attentive.
4. Neglecting status updates
On LinkedIn, like on all social sites, consistency is crucial if you want to build a relationship with your followers and gradually enlarge your audience. Posting status updates regularly lets everyone know that you’re present and ready to engage and interact.
5. Not joining groups
By fostering discussions, LinkedIn groups offer you the possibility to gain insight as well as share your expertise. You shouldn’t try to sell directly through group discussions, though. Use them instead to establish new connections. Remember that it’s not enough to join a group — you must become a participant, a fluent speaker as well as a patient listener.
6. Not using a custom URL
By default, LinkedIn assigns you an impersonal, computer-generated profile URL that’s neither pretty nor easy to find online. You can, however, customize it through the Edit Profile option. Just add your business name to it — don’t load it with keywords.
In conclusion, by avoiding the mistakes above, you’ll make LinkedIn a more powerful marketing tool for your organization, one you will return to every day with pleasure. It’s one of the best ways to improve your online presence on a budget.