I’m talking about LinkedIn.
Everyone has heard of it. For some industries, LinkedIn is entrenched in their daily reality: IT; Recruitment; Project Management; Consulting, to name a few.
But why am I referring to it as a Social Media Powerhouse?
LinkedIn is the largest professional Social Media platform on the planet. And with over a million profiles in New Zealand it is well established here. But the numbers only tell a fraction of the story.
The real power comes from the fact that the LinkedIn Platform is built for, and around, personal branding. The whole platform is about you letting the world know what you do, and how well you do it.
It is true that this is off-putting for people who are only interested in sharing pictures of cats, or funny videos with their friends.
But for professionally minded people who want to keep abreast of the latest developments in their industry, or want to get somebody with specific skills to help with their current project, LinkedIn is THE go-to platform.
And when someone who enjoys sharing cat videos on facebook, needs a Lawyer, Accountant, or professional they can depend on, they are going to be looking on LinkedIn for a solution, not on Facebook.
So what has this got to do with you and your business?
Well there are a million New Zealand profiles, let’s say that there are between 200,000-400,000 New Zealanders that use the site on a regular basis. I would wager that those people are among the top income earners (and therefore among the top spenders) in the country.
These people are used to searching on LinkedIn to check the credibility of the people and organisations that they are looking to do work with. If you or your business are not set up as a credible entity on LinkedIn, you are simply missing out.
Any business or individual can implement a strategy to become The Authority in their marketplace in LinkedIn. And outside of the core industries, the field is totally open -for now.
Let’s look at hospitality or travel industries as an example. The heavy users of LinkedIn are in industries that often call for travel to meetings, assignments or projects. There are huge opportunities for a travel or hospitality business (or individual) to position themselves as the concierge service in a particular city, and generate referrals and business from LinkedIn by adopting the right strategies.
LinkedIn should be an integral part of your Social Media Portfolio. It is the platform that allows you, invites you, to position yourself as The Authority in what you do for your market. The longer you wait to adopt a LinkedIn strategy, the more competition you will need to deal with when you do.
