There’s no need to sugar coat. When someone mentions LinkedIn, it does not elicit the same giddiness or excitement versus the more famous so...

There’s no need to sugar coat. When someone mentions LinkedIn, it does not elicit the same giddiness or excitement versus the more famous social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Google+. In fact, for a novice social media company, LinkedIn may not hold any marketing value and may be perceived nothing less than a digital resume.

This is the uninformed way of looking at it. However, an experienced social media company may see LinkedIn from a different point of view. In fact, LinkedIn may serve a special role in a well-rounded online marketing strategy.

First, let’s look into some of the LinkedIn numbers:

Currently, LinkedIn has a 150-million strong membership comprised of professionals from all over the world
Approximately a million new members are generated every week
A survey showed that in terms of trust, LinkedIn members find the information uploaded on the site more reliable compared to other social networking spaces

Digging deeper, one can see that LinkedIn has a niche role in a social media marketing mix capturing a specific set of audience and fulfilling specific business objectives.

LinkedIn is Advantageous for B2B Marketing

LinkedIn caters to a primarily professional, business and entrepreneurial audience. This means they are very discriminating and discerning when it comes to consuming information. For a social media marketing agency with a huge base of clients involved in business-to-business communication, having an expertise in LinkedIn is extremely beneficial.

Establishing Thought Leadership

What is thought leadership? In a nutshell, this is a marketing tactic wherein a brand positions itself as an authority when it comes to industry news, development and issues. It is an indirect marketing technique meant to develop trust and credibility among peers, hoping that it will have a halo effect on consumers. Having a good network in LinkedIn reading a brand’s company updates, blog, newsletters and other B2B marketing materials will definitely push the brand’s credibility. Also, keep in mind that Google assigns significant authority to LinkedIn so getting your marketing messages propagated in the said social networking site can also help in boosting organic traffic to your site.

Tips on Maintaining a LinkedIn Account for Your Blog

It would be best to tap into the expertise and services of a reputable social media marketing agency to set-up a LinkedIn profile for your business blog, but here are a few tips on how you can push your brand in this virtual gathering place for professionals:

The quantity and quality of the connections. Marketing messages in LinkedIn spread like viruses, a process of contagion. However, you should also look into the profiles of the professionals you are connecting with.
Keep a professional, yet accommodating tone.
Update your profile regularly.
Build your own community by starting a group.
Solicit recommendations to boost your credibility further