When you think of social media, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube come to mind, but LinkedIn is a great tool for businesses in these times.

With the introduction of LinkedIn Live, brands cam be even more engaging on the platform.

Did you know that Microsoft purchased LinkedIn? In case you missed it, yes, they did which means a lot of investment in the form of tools and features, is taking place on the platform.

The fact that LinkedIn is so business focused does wonders for your brand/business because unlike some other platforms, when people go on LinkedIn, it’s for business and not for fun/fluff; very rarely do you find yourself caught up looking at people’s photos and other such content- it’s about connecting and extending your business or professional reach.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of LinkedIn:

Profile Background Image – Ensure you have one and that it’s on brand. Just as you should on other platforms such as Facebook, create a few different background images that you can change up from time to time. It’s free marketing space! Promote your festive offerings or other offers!

Your professional headline – I took some time to create mine on LinkedIn. This is the section right below your name. Whether you are job searching or launching a business, there’s an art to developing this headline. Your headline should answer these questions: Who do you help and how do you help them. You can also add your title in this area. Let’s say you have a dental clinic… who do you help and how do you help them? You have a hardware store- who does your business help and how does your business help them? You oversee a charity- who does your charity help and how does the charity help them? Visit my profile on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/candicesealey to get some ideas
Connection Requests – Now this is not Facebook or Instagram! You don’t have to accept every request. Now you may think that the more connections you have the more people will see the content you share, however, due to algorithm changes, LinkedIn promotes content based on how many people engage with the content during the first hour of posting so it’s not so much how big your network is but how engaged they are. Your brand should focus on the ideal buyer when deciding which invitations to accept; go through people’s profiles and make sure they’re a good prospect for you- either you can help them or they can help you.

You have a new connection, what’s next? – Don’t start off with a sales pitch. At least say hello! Don’t add persons to your email list without their permission. According to a LinkedIn expert, it’s best to use the PVC formula: P-Personalize your invitation or response to an invitation. V- Add value. Share something helpful like a PDF or infographic or a blog post or just ask how you can help in any way. C- Call to action- Keep the conversation going by asking questions.

Revisit LinkedIn Events- You can promote an online event such as a webinar or LinkedIn Live (you must get approval from LinkedIn for this). You can also add a payment link, specify a ticketing website and make the event public or private (to those persons who have the event link)

Candice Sealey is the Founder & Principal Consultant at Ignite! a Full-service Marketing & PR Consultancy that helps businesses/brands to stand out and communicate the right message to the right people at the right time through Strategy, Marketing, Media services and Design solutions. She is also a freelance content writer, advertising copywriter, voiceover talent, media personality. Follow us on FB & IG @igniteresults Phone:784-432-2223. Email: igniteresults@gmail.com