By Luann Edwards, Global Social Media Consultant and Founder, Socially Professional
Not seeing much value in LinkedIn for your manufacturing organization?
It could be that you’re not putting enough into LinkedIn.
Social media platforms empower the user, meaning that the benefit you see is directly related to how you use them. If you have an incomplete LinkedIn profile with fewer than 50 connections, you’re not necessarily going to get much back from LinkedIn.
How can you start to reap benefits from LinkedIn? Four easy steps that you can do in 10 minutes a day.
Assess your LinkedIn presence.
Do you have a quality headshot on your personal profile? Does your headline match the work that you do? If someone visited your company page, would they understand what you offer and why they should want to work with you? To build a great profile or company page: Use clear, professional-quality images, descriptive copy, and any visual media to present yourself, and your business, in the best light.
Make connections.
If you know someone professionally in real life, connect with them on LinkedIn. If you’re interested in an organization, follow their company page on LinkedIn. Interact with the people you know by commenting on their posts or liking those you find interesting. If you have a business page, invite your audiences – employees, customers, and partners – to like the page.
Share your knowledge.
If you aren’t doing this already, start to post articles that help you demonstrate your expertise. Share others’ posts that your connections will find relevant. On your company page, post content that is relevant and timely. Whatever you share on social media, be sure that it always adds value to those who might see it in their news feeds.
Be consistent.
Log in daily. Post often and post good content. Interact with your connections regularly. Update your profile and company page content whenever you have something new to share. Respond to direct messages and acknowledge comments on your posts. The more active you can be on LinkedIn, the more you’ll reap the benefits.
About the Author
Luann Edwards is the founder of Socially Professional, a global social media marketing consulting firm based in Providence, Rhode Island. As a marketing consultant, she works with organizations to develop strategies to grow their businesses through digital and traditional marketing methods.
Prior to starting her own business, Edwards was a global social media strategist at FM Global, a local Fortune 1000 company based in Johnston. In this role, she developed a corporate-level social media strategy, and executed it through a comprehensive global social media program. As the social media lead, she provided training and advice for employees to use social media as a business tool to interact with clients and colleagues with one unified voice.
Prior to that position, Edwards managed a global portfolio of high-level meetings and events for the same company. Her achievements include implementing a dedicated social network and tablet technology to create an interactive experience for employees at a worldwide company conference – a case study that was featured in MeetingsNet magazine. Throughout her career, Edwards has brought together strong skills in marketing and communications with emerging technology to help optimize the way businesses communicate with their audiences.
Edwards has been invited to present at industry conferences and networking events as a subject matter expert in social media marketing and meeting and event management. She has contributed several articles in MeetingsNet magazine (meetingsnet.com).
Edwards holds both the CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) and CMM (Certificate in Meeting Management).
In addition to her professional work, Edwards is a lifelong student of digital and social media, completing the Interactive Media master’s program, as well as the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Social Media, at Quinnipiac University in 2014. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in communications from Suffolk University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Johnson & Wales University. During studies for all of her degrees – including her bachelor’s degree studies – she worked full-time concurrently, while also maintaining a robust business travel schedule.
Edwards’s volunteer efforts are focused on animal welfare and women’s issues; she is a trustee of the Providence Animal Rescue League and a member of the Women United committee with the United Way of Rhode Island.
If you need more personalized assistance with launching your organization’s presence on LinkedIn, or if you need any kind of help with your social media marketing, we can help! Polaris MEP offers social media consulting and services through its partnership with Socially Professional.
Contact info@polarismep.org to learn more.