Linkedin Marketing tips - how to do social Media Marketing ?

1. Complete Your Profile

Your profile is the heart and soul of your online business brand. It usually ranks in the top 5 of Google search results for “Your First and Last Name”. When others do a search for your name to learn about your product, service, company, or previous work experience, then you’d better have a rock solid profile or that first impression could drastically tarnish your value. Make sure you fill out your profile 100% for starters, then go on from there to make it better.

2. Connect With Everyone

A number of LinkedIn newbies or purists will say, “You should only connect with those you already know and trust, so you can make recommendations to others when they want an introduction.” Believe me, I understand where these users are coming from, but how do you expect to expand your opportunities and options when you shut off communication to the rest of the 85 million plus members on LinkedIn?

Think about it, you already know all of the opportunities that your closest connections can share since you talk to them more frequently. It’s time to use LinkedIn like a live networking event and introduce yourself to others, make new friends, and start helping more people connect. Also, start accepting invitations to others who add you, as the more connections you have, the larger your expanded network grows which helps create more opportunities in the long run. Here are six other reasons you should connect with everyone on LinkedIn.

3. Customize Your Websites

This is a basic thing that everyone should do. It’s simple. Creating a call to action attracts more attention then having a generic link that says “My website”. Make it look and sound sexier so when people come to your profile they feel inspired to click on your links and go back to your website.

4. Be Compelling

I have a huge knot on my forehead from falling asleep on my desk in mid-browse when looking at LinkedIn profiles. Most of them are extremely boring and showcase zero personality or compelling attributes. Add an interesting story in your summary, have a video recommendation pop up in the first few seconds, or at the least tell people who you are, who you help, and how you help them so there is some direction for people when they land on your profile. Whatever you do, liven it up a little so the bump on my forehead can go away .

5. Recommend Others

I’m a firm believer in giving and helping others succeed as much as you possibly can. The more you give, the more you will receive. Recommending others without them asking you to is a great way to help increase the social proof on their profile, which could be the difference between an OK year, and a great year for them.

6. Join Targeted Groups

LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn groups, LinkedIn groups! It doesn’t matter what industry or business you are in, this the part of LinkedIn you should be focusing the most. There are benefits to both joining and being a part of niche-related groups, and also being the owner of them.

I feel blessed to be the owner of many powerful groups. Many have over 10,000 members, and one more than 32,000 members. Think of them as independent social networks where you can spread your message, connect with key partners, and take your business to another level. Want more? Here are my top 10 reasons to start a LinkedIn group.

7. Connect With Twitter

I sometimes find that I get more comments and interaction on LinkedIn from the same update I published on Twitter. The updates (even when synced from Twitter) seem to “stay on top” longer than they would in your Twitter stream. The more interaction you get, the more others see it as well (it’s similar to Facebook in this regard).

Make sure to connect your Twitter account to LinkedIn. Others talk about why this is bad because a lot of your messaging won’t be targeted for your LinkedIn audience (especially when you use “@” symbols and hashtags), but for the most part, my message is staying at the top of mind for my connections on LinkedIn and for me that’s a powerful thing. Want to clean things up? Just use the #in with a Twitter update and it will sync to your LinkedIn account when there is a specific message you want members to see.

8. Add Your Company Profile

LinkedIn is constantly enhancing its platform and one of the things that has been lagging, until recently, was the company page section. Now, it allows you to add a video, share more information about your products and services, and give more insights about your company and the people working there.

9. Optimize Your Search Ranking

People are constantly searching for others on LinkedIn. They are looking for employee candidates, freelancers, industry experts, and so on. Why not optimize your profile to help you be found and contacted by more people looking for what you specialize in? Wouldn’t it be nice to get a flood of people emailing or calling you to sign up for your services or products? Make sure you increase yourranking on LinkedIn by following these 5 steps.

10. Add Advanced Applications

I love the fact that LinkedIn has rolled out a number of applications to help you promote your business or your personal work better. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, there is an application for everyone that can help you get your message across better, and improve the overall experience of your LinkedIn profile. Go to the applications section on your profile to see which ones you could start using today, and make the most out of the new ones that come out in the future.