Because of the technological age we live in, using social media as a business strategy is now a necessity- not an option. When creating a social media marketing plan, small businesses may be inclined to use popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram but overlook the strategic advantages of LinkedIn. In creating a social media marketing plan, businesses should not underestimate the importance of LinkedIn.
To understand why LinkedIn is important to your company, let’s first examine what a social media marketing plan is.
What is a Social Media Marketing (SMM) Plan?
A social media marketing plan is a strategy developed by a business to utilize social networking sites as a marketing tool in order to positively influence consumers to a brand, product, or company.
With over 1.47 billion internet users on social media sites, businesses want to meet their target markets where they are at and that means social media.
Keep in mind that the purpose of a social media marketing plan should be tailored in a manner that meets the overall goals of your marketing department. In other words, the point isn’t just to exist on social media but to utilize these platforms strategically as a means to connect and develop relationships with your target audience.
LinkedIn: The Forgotten Child of Your Small Business?
LinkedIn is an online social network for business professionals. 
Unlike other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, LikedIn is tailored for professional networking to find jobs and connect with other business professionals. Because LinkedIn does not offer room for informal conversation, small businesses may overlook its niche in offering several strategic advantages.
- Having a presence on LinkedIn increases your relevancy when it comes to SEO. Increasing SEO is especially important for small businesses that compete in saturated industries. The more present your company is on social media, the more prevalent it will be on a search engine results page. Excluding LinkedIn from your SMM plan can be a disservice because your business will be missing opportunities for inbound/outbound links and to use keywords.
- LinkedIn users appeal to a demographic of individuals who are either employed or seeking employment, indicating access to a higher disposable income. Having top of mind awareness for these target markets on LinkedIn can lead to higher conversion rates.
- By being available on LinkedIn, brand loyalists have another outlet to express their loyalty to your company. Think 80-20 rule.
Your business wants to continue to find ways to engage the 20%. Moreover, when brand loyalists connect with other users on LinkedIn, the pages a user follows will be visible to his or her connections, thus illustrating the iceberg effect.
- According to the online textbook Stukent, providing your audiences on social media with helpful information is a powerful method for earning trust and gaining attention through social media. Being a resource positions a business as an expert as well as showing the company cares about the target audience’s needs. Through LinkedIn, companies have the opportunity to post articles or links, receive recommendations, answer discussion questions, and showcase certain products or events. Demonstrating credible thoughts on LinkedIn will allow your business to be resourceful while earning trust to better position your business.
- Finally, LinkedIn offers your business the ability to grow its brand awareness by fostering strategic partnerships and finding potential clients.
What benefits have you gained from creating a business profile on LinkedIn?
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