Think outside the box to reach new business prospects

The traditional ways of finding new business are not as effective as they used to be. In today’s business climate, being a bit of a web savvy goes a long way. A great out-of-the-box solution is to connect through social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, where users can view your profile and make informed and controlled decisions about how to make contact. The social web is growing in popularity due to the excessive use of normal communication channels such as emails and spammers. With LinkedIn, credibility is high because users know who they are communicating with. There are several other benefits to making your LinkedIn business successful.

Grow your links to increase your business

LinkedIn can help raise your site’s search engine ranking (SERP) position and can make your business stand out through links. The more connected your home page is to other sites, the easier it will be for your business to grow. If a link to your site is on LinkedIn, EzineArticles or FaceBook, search engine spiders will see that other websites value what yours offers and therefore move it up the rankings. Off-site optimization works much better than on-site, which is where having a LinkedIn profile can help you get direct response traffic. If you’re connected to other people on the site, your profile and business link will also show up in more searches. Search engine marketing (SEM), off-pages, and offline links improve website rankings, increase traffic, and gain exposure. So don’t shun social networking sites, consider them as a means to boost your business.

Generating Leads through LinkedIn

LinkedIn can also be a successful marketing tool. In addition to helping you with the SERPs, LinkedIn also gives you the opportunity to make “warm” calls. You can post questions and answers to other people’s questions in your field of expertise to help them, get connected, and get noticed. Think of it as self-marketing. By browsing through company and employee profiles, you can discover their interests and needs and may even discover a way to market your business, products and/or services to them.

LinkedIn also allows you to connect with professionals and friends in or outside of your field. The connections you find could also be your next client. Through LinkedIn, the Web Success team has been able to generate leads and even new business. An entrepreneur, who invited me to connect with him on LinkedIn, liked my profile and read my recommendations. After some correspondence, we set up a meeting to come up with a marketing strategy that would help his business. He hired our team on the spot. Generating leads through links can generate valuable sales and contacts. The possibilities are endless.

Be the Expert: Personal Branding with LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a certified way to brand yourself or your company as an expert in your field and industry leader. Sometimes personal branding can be more beneficial to your business than your corporate brand because it allows your business to have a human face. Another way to promote yourself through LinkedIn is to put your profile link as part of your email signature so potential clients can see your skills, qualifications, and recommendations. This will also improve the visibility of your business and help create a strong and consistent business platform and marketing strategy.

LinkedIn, as well as other social networking sites, are an efficient way to promote yourself and your company. When it comes to branding or marketing strategy, you want your name and company to appear on as many external pages as possible to increase visibility, drive traffic and generate new business; but don’t limit yourself to one medium. Continue to update your marketing strategy and look for different methods to connect with industry leaders and professional contacts. In this way, it is linked to your business and allows you to grow to success on the web.