Feb 18

Tips to make your small business successful - courtesy of LinkedIn

By Lacey Ackerman

If your small business is at a standstill, and you need all the help you can get to accelerate sales, increase your clientele, and maintain a successful status, take some key pointers from LinkedIn's Timeless Guide to Small Business Success.

The guide contains of a series of videos, each containing useful tips on how to best utilize the business-oriented social networking site, LinkedIn. I'll fill you in with a quick summary of each:

1. You and Your Company

Find your customers on LinkedIn by setting up profile. Send an invitation to connect with potential clients. Other people/business can follow you to recieve updates.

2. You and Your Customers

Build relationships with customers by adding a link to your profile into your email signature, linking your profile to your Twitter account, updating your LinkedIn status often with business details, and taking advantage of direct ads. This will help you find and retain loyal customers.

3. You and Your Team

To expand your team, use LinkedIn Jobs to post positions available at your company. Positions are forwarded about eleven times and receive an estimated 30+ applications. You can also look for a qualified candidate by using the search tool. You will have access to their LinkedIn connections, allowing to perform detailed background checks.

4. You and Your Reputation

Once you gain some notability, you should now get word out about your reputation. You can protect your reputation by controlling the top search results that pop up for your name. LinkedIn profiles rise to the top of search results in search engines. Join a group related to your industry and post articles or contribute to discussions. It'll help you achieve expert status.

5. You and Your Funding

Your company is growing and now you need proper funding. Search your geographical location for investment firms that may concentrate on small business. If you upgrade to a Pro account, it'll give you access to all tools. This allows you to message anyone and can find investors by asking your network directly.

6. You and Your Partners

If you are ready for corporate partnerships to create more business opportunities, you can search for any company that may be a potential partner for you.

So there you go, aside from Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is another useful tool, that'll help your company grow. Hope this helps!