Page 189 - Social Media Marketing for Dummies

IN THIS CHAPTER
» Creating a powerful profile

» Exploring ways to enhance your
career with LinkedIn

» Promoting your company

» Harnessing the use of content
» Using LinkedIn groups to connect
more effectively

Chapter 11

Considering LinkedIn

he old adage “It’s not what you know, but who you know” is even more true
with the growth of the web. People used to be limited in their ability to stay
Tin touch and nurture their small cadre of relationships. With the advent of
new web tools, you can connect with people in ways never before possible. An out-
growth of this capability is the ability to identify people who are connected to you
by virtue of their proximity to your contacts — or “degrees of separation.” You
now have the ability to identify and request an introduction to the connections of
your connections!

LinkedIn is different from the other major social media platforms like Facebook or
Twitter in that it focuses specifically on the world of work. Information about your
favorite restaurant or new shopping acquisition is best shared elsewhere. The tone
is serious and the social media marketing potential is vast because people join to
network. If you sell to a business audience of any kind as a business to business
marketer (B2B), LinkedIn can provide you with a great focus group of interested
members. According to 99firms, LinkedIn has over 90 million senior level influenc-
ers and 63 million decision makers on the platform. And what’s more is that these
influencers and decision makers are thinking business when they log in and are,
therefore, more likely to respond to a B2B marketer’s message than elsewhere.

When LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) launched in May of 2003, many questioned
whether it truly fit the mold of a social media network. With the addition of more
than 3 billion worldwide users, that question is answered. As of February 2019,

CHAPTER 11 Considering LinkedIn 173