Partner Article

Creating value, credibility and expertise on LinkedIn

It’s online marketing focus week on Bdaily. Here, in the second of a two-part series on LinkedIn, Nevil Tynemouth, director of New Results Training, advises how to create value using the social network.

Creating value on LinkedIn (Yes really).

In our last article we looked at the top 5 mistakes people make on LinkedIn, now let’s look at how to add value on LinkedIn.

Most business owners know that to sell more of their products and services at the optimum price they have to create a clear value in their offering. Selling more at a higher price sounds good, doesn’t it?

LinkedIn is often either overlooked or underused as a tool to build value. These simple five tips will show you how.

Credibility and expertise

An up to date profile that shows what you do and how you can help others. Highlight all of your professional and commercial experience. Don’t forget all of your qualifications and achievements that highlight you as the credible “go to” person in your industry. Spend time thinking on how you present yourself on LinkedIn and how this looks to potential customers.

A compelling company page

You can set up a company page that highlights all your products and services that you offer.

Having customer recommendation on those products and services builds value for everyone who views them. Take time to make sure that your company pages reflects your general marketing and position of your business.

Share important and useful information

Nothing shouts out “expert” more than sharing key information to potential customers. You are helping them before you approach them for a meeting or try to sell them. For example, imagine you are in property rentals targeting landlords as customers.

There is a huge range of activity can put you in the forefront of landlord’s minds. This might include creating a stream of information on tenancy laws, checklists for new tenants, links to regional or national events and signposting support and help for new landlords.

Recommendations

Not just the ones you get, but the ones you give! It is a reflection of your professional approach. Well thought out recommendations for others help to establish you as someone who wants to build great relationships and someone who understands the power of effective networking. Getting recommendations is vitally important too.

Connections and what you do with them (a back to front approach)

Look at your current connections on LinkedIn, what can you do to help them? Who could you introduce them to? What information could you pass them? What events could you point out to them?

All of these things show that you are adding value to your connections and whether it is Karma or the law of reciprocity, the value you add and invest in will come back to you many times over.

Think about these five areas and you can create real value in what you do on LinkedIn.

Creating value in your brand (personal or company) will help you position your products, sell more and sell more at a higher price.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nevil Tynemouth .