If you thought LinkedIn was still only a place to put your CV then think again.

LinkedIn has been evolving over the years and so has the way it’s used. There can be amazing opportunities to be found on the platform if you know how to use it in the right way.
 

So where do you begin?

The way we at ACES think of LinkedIn is a place where you can go to network – but virtually rather than real life. And like real life networking, it’s not about selling directly to the room. If you’ve ever been at the receiving end of someone trying to sell you something which you didn’t want, you’ll know what we mean.

LinkedIn, therefore, generally only works as a way of building relationships. Users have to know about what you’re offering, they need to like you and they need to trust you. And that all takes time.

Think of it as sowing a garden. You need to plant lots of different seeds in the right place and keep tending to them.

There are no quick wins with marketing on LinkedIn. Unless you’re looking to build business relationships, the platform may not even be the right place for your business.
 

Getting Started

As with all marketing, you need to know who you are aiming at. You also need to work out what you would like to achieve from the platform. ACES can help you with this.

Without a clear strategy any work on LinkedIn is likely to fail.
 

Profile

Your profile is so important. To use another analogy, it’s like a shop window but it’s also more than that. It’s about telling visitors about what you do and building a relationship. Think about how you can help someone – what needs are you solving for them?

Here are some points to consider when you’re crafting your profile: 

• Who is your target market?
• What does your ideal client look like?
• What makes them tick?
• What are you looking to help them with?
• Does your LinkedIn profile picture and background image reflect your brand?
• What makes you stand out? 

It’s important to keep sentences (no more than 20 words per sentence) and paragraphs short.

There are many other tips we can share with you for free over a 30 minute Zoom on how to use LinkedIn for Business. Just send over an email to hello@acesmarketing.co.uk and we’ll book some time to chat.

If your setting up a new business then you may be interested in our 10 Steps to Starting your Own Business Guide.

For us and our clients, LinkedIn continues to remain a key business tool.