What About LinkedIn?

Last year, I wrote a blog post for Quadsimia's Tech Files titled "Which Social Media Platform is Best for Your Business?". It was a general look at 4 of the most popular social media platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, and the ages of users that use them. As the title infers, the goal of my blog post was to help business owners and businesses decide where they should be investing their resources when it comes to social media, based on the age and demographics of their target market. One of our readers read this post (on LinkedIn coincidentally) and commented, raising an excellent question - "What about LinkedIn"? With that said, I've decided to re-visit this blog post with some additional thoughts on LinkedIn and how it can be beneficial to your business.

First, I think it helps to let business owners know that you do not have to be on every social media platform known to man! What's right for one business may not be right for another.

I wish it were as easy as writing a list of industries and telling you if you should be on LinkedIn - unfortunately, it's not that simple. You really need to think less about the industry you're in and focus more on what your end goal is. Is your goal to make more professional contacts in your industry and to network? Maybe it's to build (or solidify) your brand's image as one of the leading experts in your industry. Then yes! You should absolutely be on LinkedIn.

Okay, so we've established that being on LinkedIn isn't expected of all businesses, but what about if you're a business owner?

There are definitely instances where you as a business owner want to be investing a decent amount of time into your personal LinkedIn profile, either in place of, or in addition to your business' LinkedIn profile. For example- take the goal of building up a larger network of professional contacts. You'll definitely want to use your personal profile to connect with others in your industry, meet potential clients, or share your knowledge of your industry with others who may not be familiar with it. If you're going to take this route, or even if you're posting content as your business- always remember the 60/30/10 rule.

What is the 60/30/10 rule?

The 60/30/10 rule is something social media marketers and specialists, including us at Quadsimia, follow to ensure that you're not constantly bombarding your connections or followers with sales pitches and "BUY BUY BUY" messages. In a nutshell, the 60/30/10 rule says that 60% of the content you're posting to social media should come from other sources other than yourselves - articles, blog posts from others, memes, etc. 30% of the content you're posting should be content created by you - tutorials, articles, top ten lists, blog posts, etc. Finally, 10% of the content you're posting should be your "hard sell" - this is your time to make your sales pitch, sell your product, or prove your value to your customers.

Still not sure what you should be posting? Here are some great examples:

Outside content - 60% (not your hard sell):

Original content - 30% (not your hard sell):

Hard sell - 10% (here's your chance to push your product/service):

Now let's take a minute to bring it back to the original blog post from last year - what kind of demographics are we looking at for LinkedIn? 61% of LinkedIn users are between the ages of 30-64 years old, and have the most buying power out of all the age groups as they tend to have established careers. In addition to this, 21% of LinkedIn users are over the age of 65. When it comes to income, over 75% of LinkedIn users have incomes over $50,000 (Source).

Whether you're a business, a business owner, or just a job-seeker, LinkedIn can work for you. You just have to be sure to have a plan and some (realistic) expectations of what you'd like to get out of it. Like anything, if you invest the time and effort, you will be able to reap the rewards (and who knows, maybe you'll make a new friend in the process).

In conclusion- if you're looking to connect with established professionals in their industry who have immense buying power, LinkedIn is a must.