This is obviously not a time for your sales team to go out and meet new prospects. So how do you communicate what you do effectively?
Getting your message out and showcasing your brand effectively is challenging in the best of times. But during the current COVID-19 pandemic, when most employees are working remotely and business travel is basically non-existent, is a disruption that few businesses could have foreseen.
Back in February, I wrote an IdeaXchange blog discussing how businesses should use LinkedIn to launch successful campaigns. That blog talked about using the platform to attract both new customers and prospective employees. Dan Golden, president and chief artist at Be Found Online, a performance marketing agency, addressed this topic at a recent NationaLease meeting. He listed three important steps.
Step 1: Goals and stakeholders
LinkedIn is 99% about the newsfeed so have a team approach to posting. LinkedIn is about connecting people so unify your team for the best results. Get every level of your company involved since content shared by employees has two times the engagement as that shared by the company itself.
Step 2: Use data
There are a number of marketing tools available on LinkedIn to target your intended audience. Read my full blog for a list of these very valuable and effective tools.
Step 3: Unified campaigns
Engage potential customers with a brief personalized message that explains why your company would be a good fit…do not hard sell. Make it about the customer, not about your business. There are a number of different types of outreach campaigns to deliver your message and each of these campaigns can be targeted to specific groups and prospects. My blog details these campaigns as well.
When this current crisis passes, what’s the best way to use LinkedIn?
A recent SmartCompany article talks about how the LinkedIn community has adapted to this pandemic. Things are likely to be very different and we will all need to adjust to a new normal; however, eventually we will get back to business. So how do you optimize LinkedIn after this? The article lists a number of tips businesses might choose to follow. Here is a short list of those tips:
- Update your LinkedIn profile – Review what exists and make sure the information is current. And while you’re checking, focus on the future of your business.
- Create more content – Experts in their field should be creating content as much as possible. Prospective customers will want to see the expertise of your people
- Check your motivation – Post for the right reason…to show how your business can help others. Don’t use the postings for self-aggrandizement.
- Look to the future – What is your organization’s ideal niche and business model? Make sure you know what that is and if you can’t explain it easily, reassess how you are communicating your brand’s message.
- Show your human side – Remember LinkedIn is really about connecting people, so let your employees show their human side. This will be especially true after the pandemic lightens up or passes. Everyone is struggling. Acknowledging that, and having your employees share their own struggles and solutions is truly appealing. Make it real, not opportunistic.
- Tone down the hashtags – Sometimes posts can be too hashtag heavy, so make sure that there are not more than four hashtags per post. The article recommends checking the follower numbers to check for the best reach of your hashtags.
LinkedIn is a true global community and we are in the midst of a true global crisis. Use the platform wisely and effectively and it will serve as a great brand ambassador for you and your employees.
