Fitting Linkedin in Your Marketing Program
You want Linkedin to serve your small business. Not your small business to serve Linkedin.
Spending too much time on social network programs like Linkedin is a fear of many small business owners. By putting your Linkedin efforts into an overall marketing plan for your business, you will eliminate this fear.
If you do not already have answers to these basic marketing questions, take time to answer them. This will be a step forward for your business and for making Linkedin more effective for your business.
Basic Marketing Questions
What is the target market for your business? Who are these people? What are their buying preferences? How will you convert them from prospects to customers? How many of these prospects and customers do you need in your business on a monthly basis?
What is your brand? Can you describe in one sentence what makes you attractive to your customers and different from your competition?
What are you offering to your customers? What is it? How will the customer benefit from your product or service? How much does it cost? Why should they believe you?
What are your current marketing efforts? Identify each effort, the time and the dollars currently being spent on each effort. On a scale of 1-10, what is the effectiveness of each marketing effort? What are you using to measure the effectiveness of each effort? Which of these efforts are you going to drop to put time and effort into Linkedin?
Applying Marketing Answers to Your Linkedin Efforts
These may seem like simple questions. Studies show the businesses that have a written marketing plan are 30% more successful in their business.
Neither Linkedin nor any other social networking program can make up for a poor marketing plan. Throwing a new marketing effort into a confusing mess will only make the mess bigger.
As we go through the various Linkedin tools, you will see how…
- Having a clear focus on your target market
- Knowing your business brand
- Having an offering beneficial to customers
- Measuring your marketing efforts
…will help you use Linkedin more effectively.
To be continued, your comments are welcomed…
Al
Tags: Linked In and Websites
May 9th, 2012 at 9:36 am
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