Is it worth your time?
As a business owner you are always searching for ways to expand your business. Social Media can be a valuable tool for improving your website’s click through rate and consumer impressions. However, many remain skeptical of its return on investment. Fear not! Similar to our article on Facebook for business, we’ve come up with a list of reasons determining whether or not LinkedIn is beneficial to your business.
4 Reasons LinkedIn for Business is Worth Your Time
Blogging
As a rule of thumb, having more content on more platforms is a good thing. Blogs should not live and die on your website. While blogging on your website is a great start, it’s important to continue to reach new audiences. The goal with blogging on social media is to become a thought leader and ultimately an influencer. It may be the same content to you, but it’s the first time a user, who may be fully immersed in LinkedIn, has seen it. Just look to Dave Kerpen, who has become an influencer on LinkedIn simply by blogging. Most likely he’s a no-name to you and yet his LinkedIn article has accumulated almost 3 million views, which is more than the articles posted by Bill Gates. In other words, you don’t have to be popular to get recognition for good ideas.
OCG Tip: Instead of doing the same blog, jazz it up LinkedIn’s most popular feature SlideShare, which has published over 19 million slideshows.
Networking Fever
Probably the best tool in LinkedIn’s arsenal is its networking features. The platform distinguishes itself from Facebook and Twitter because every connection comes with the intention of networking with like-minded professionals. There is greater value in the business world by having more connections on LinkedIn than other competing social platforms. Why? More professionally-minded adults. According to usage studies, 28% of online US adults use LinkedIn daily. By comparison, only 13% of online US adults use Instagram daily. In other words, a user on LinkedIn has intention to socialize in a professional manner.
There are 400 million people on LinkedIn
Speaking of networking fever, LinkedIn has reached 400 million accounts across the world according to their October blog. The U.S. accounts for over a quarter of that user base. LinkedIn is growing at a rate of two new members per second and as we become more global, it means our opportunity to connect with the best audience is only expanding.
Knowledge
There are 30,000 blog-style posts added to LinkedIn every week and the benefit of joining any social network is the opportunity to share thoughts and grow with like-mind professionals. Potentially LinkedIn is not an ideal focus for your business’ target audience. However, it may be the perfect platform for you because sometimes the best way to expand your business is to expand yourself.
2 Reasons it’s NOT worth Your Time
Your Audience Doesn’t Like to Hang Around Too Long
The average user only spends 17 minutes PER MONTH on the site according to a Global Social Media Strategist, Katy Blake. To put in context, Facebook averages over 20 minutes PER DAY globally! Even more, the U.S. consumer spends 40 minutes on Facebook per day according to businessinsider.com.
Your Competitors or Customers are Not Using It
This is probably the easiest way to measure if LinkedIn is worth your time. OCG recommends at a minimum to create a business page for your business. It’s a free link back to your website and helps expand your reach. Beyond that, your time is better spent finding where your audience is socializing most. If you’re curious to learn more, feel free to contact us. Sources:
- BusinessInsider.com
- SocialMediaExaminer.com
- LinkedIn.com/pulse
- LinkedIn.com/pulse/discover