3 things your business can get out of LinkedIn

Attract new talent

Adding a job you want to advertise to LinkedIn will give you a dedicated “careers” section on your company LinkedIn page. Here you can showcase your brand to people who may be looking for new job opportunities – the future superstars of your business. If you upgrade your subscription, LinkedIn will also let you express your business’ personality using video or other recruitment tools, ensuring your new talent will have an idea of what they’re in for, and you’re more likely to find someone who’s a good cultural fit.

From a more proactive perspective, LinkedIn also allows you to reach out to potential candidates. The options for businesses are varied, but you can search for your next employee based on location, level of expertise and the company they work for, just to name a few. Just type in the job title in the search bar on your LinkedIn page, and hit advance to narrow your search.

The lesson

Finding your next employee is easier than ever before. It’s a simple case of knowing what you’re looking for and using LinkedIn’s tools to narrow the search.

Build your brand

Content is king and LinkedIn has now enabled its members to write their own long form posts (through LinkedIn Pulse) or share content from thought leaders and influencers in their field. You can share this content as your company page but can only post original updates as your personal page.

Publically sharing and writing articles for your network can help build your personal brand and facilitate two way communication between potential partners and customers.

Articles and statuses that align with your business’ ethos or challenge the status quo can influence people’s purchasing decisions, build trust with your audience and provide a starting point for dialogue.

The lesson

Put yourself out there using LinkedIn Pulse. Fortune favours those with conviction, and writing about your experiences professionally can help showcase your passion, your business culture and endear you to potential partners.

Keep on top of trends

LinkedIn Groups allow you to share views and contribute to industry dialogue with like-minded professionals, helping you find answers to shared problems, keep on top of trends and make contacts

When posting to a group, it’s important to save promotional content for the ‘promotions’ tab within the group, as these are moderated. In a similar vein to LinkedIn Pulse, groups are a great way to establish yourself as a thought leader, interact with people outside your direct network and start conversations. While LinkedIn restricts you from normally contacting people who aren’t a first or second level connection within your network, you can send them a message through groups.

The lesson

Groups are the place to be when it comes to understanding what’s going on in your industry. Similar to the forums of old, LinkedIn Groups will help you find solutions to problems and connect with like minded individuals.

The Yellow Social Media Report 2014 shows that LinkedIn is used by 24 per cent of social networking users in Australia in 2014. It comes in as the second most popular social platform behind Facebook.

But even given the high usage and the power of social, only 42 per cent of small to medium businesses use LinkedIn. As we continue to move into an era where customers want to know the companies they do business with, it makes sense for your company to be playing in this space.