{"id":2371,"date":"2019-09-23T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T15:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/?p=2371"},"modified":"2020-10-05T14:59:24","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T19:59:24","slug":"small-business-guide-linkedin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/","title":{"rendered":"A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LinkedIn is the definitive social media platform for the professional community. But while <a href=\"https:\/\/news.linkedin.com\/about-us#statistics\">30 million companies have LinkedIn profiles<\/a>, many small business owners continue to resist or delay signing up. Who needs another social media network, right? Especially one targeted for use during work hours!<\/p>\n<p>Wrong. LinkedIn is less a social media network than an all-round professional tool. It is best seen as an effective platform for promoting your business, learning about your industry, and connecting with your most relevant professional contemporaries.<\/p>\n<p>In some ways, your LinkedIn community is vast and open. Anybody can join \u2013 645 million people have done. But just as important is who these 645 million are. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewinternet.org\/2018\/03\/01\/social-media-use-2018-appendix-a-detailed-table\/\">Half of America\u2019s college graduates<\/a> use LinkedIn. Around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/henrydevries\/2018\/11\/16\/the-best-social-media-for-lead-generation\/#c4ecc646ab43\">45% of LinkedIn users<\/a> are in upper-management. And <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hootsuite.com\/linkedin-statistics-business\/\">nine out of ten execs<\/a> say LinkedIn is their number one choice for professional content.<\/p>\n<p>So how and why can small businesses leverage this opportunity? Well, LinkedIn is about more than selling your product or service. What you\u2019re really selling is an idea of what your business means. Your combination of product niche, personal experience, and location makes you an expert in your precise area of the industry. When you share or publish quality content on LinkedIn, you get the right kind of attention from the right kind of people, and your prestige grows.<\/p>\n<p>A profile boost like this delivers a more meaningful audience to whom you can showcase your products and events. In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/content\/dam\/me\/business\/en-us\/marketing-solutions\/cx\/2017\/pdfs\/Sophisticated-Marketers-Guide-to-LinkedIn-v03.12.pdf\">half of all B2B web traffic<\/a> from social media originates on LinkedIn. But small B2C businesses will also benefit by connecting with consumers, businesses, and professionals. For example, if you\u2019ve established yourself as a serious, admired player in your industry, quality applicants will flock to respond to your LinkedIn job ads.<\/p>\n<p>Creating a small business profile on LinkedIn is not much more involved than making <a href=\"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-google-my-business\/\">a profile on any other platform<\/a>. We\u2019ve created a step-by-step guide for small businesses to establish and maintain that winning LinkedIn profile. In just a couple of hours, you can give your company a presence on LinkedIn and create a strategy to optimize your professional reputation.<\/p>\n<p>Once your profile is up and running, follow our guide to building a LinkedIn following. Optimize your profile; regularly share valuable, relevant content; and you\u2019ll soon find your small business flourishing in a new and vital context.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2372\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png\" alt=\"small business linkedin guide\" width=\"800\" height=\"18345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png 800w, https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn-768x17611.png 768w, https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn-150x3440.png 150w, https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn-640x14676.png 640w, https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn-750x17198.png 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>(2017). <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/content\/dam\/me\/business\/en-us\/marketing-solutions\/cx\/2017\/pdfs\/Sophisticated-Marketers-Guide-to-LinkedIn-v03.12.pdf\">The Sophisticated Marketer\u2019s Guide to LinkedIn<\/a>. <strong>Linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>(2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/about.linkedin.com\/\">About LinkedIn<\/a>. <strong>Linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Stewart, K. (2018). <a href=\"https:\/\/keap.com\/business-success-blog\/digital-marketing\/social-media\/How-to-Use-LinkedIn-for-Your-Small-Business\">How to Use LinkedIn for Your Small Business<\/a>. <strong>com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Patel, S. (2014). <a href=\"https:\/\/smallbiztrends.com\/2014\/03\/leverage-linkedin-small-business.html\">How Small Businesses Can Leverage LinkedIn.<\/a> <strong>com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Stewart, K. (2018). <a href=\"https:\/\/keap.com\/business-success-blog\/digital-marketing\/social-media\/How-to-Use-LinkedIn-for-Your-Small-Business\">How to Use LinkedIn for Your Small Business<\/a>. <strong>com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Small Business Trends. (2017). <a href=\"https:\/\/smallbiztrends.com\/2014\/02\/ways-use-linkedin-for-lead-generation.html\">13 Creative Ways to Use LinkedIn for Lead Generation.<\/a> <strong>com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>(2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/help\/linkedin\/answer\/710\/creating-a-linkedin-page?lang=en\">Creating a LinkedIn Page<\/a>. <strong>Linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>(2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/help\/linkedin\/answer\/55962\/claiming-a-linkedin-listing-page?lang=en\">Claiming a LinkedIn Page<\/a>. <strong>Linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Lessard, K. (2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/blog\/best-practices--social-media-marketing0\/2019\/seo-for-your-companys-linkedin-page--how-to-boost-it\">How to Boost the SEO of Your Organization\u2019s LinkedIn Page<\/a>. <strong>linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>(2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/company-pages\/best-practices\/how-to-videos-tips-and-insights\/how-to-optimize-your-page-for-seo\">How to Optimize Your Page for SEO<\/a>. <strong>Business.linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Bradley, R. (2018). <a href=\"https:\/\/themanifest.com\/social-media\/6-types-content-you-should-be-sharing-linkedin\">6 Types of Content You Should Be Sharing on LinkedIn<\/a>. <strong>com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>(2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/talent-solutions\/c\/n\/t\/how-to-get-employees-to-promote-your-company\">How to get employees to promote your company<\/a>. <strong>Business.linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>2019. <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.microsoft.com\/en-us\/linkedin\/consumer\/integrations\/self-serve\/plugins\/follow-company-plugin\">Follow Company Plugin<\/a>. <strong>Microsoft.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Lessard, K. (2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/blog\/linkedin-company-pages\/2019\/21-tips-for-attracting-followers-to-your-linkedin-page\">21 Tips for Attracting Followers to Your LinkedIn Page.<\/a> <strong>linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>LinkedIn<strong>.<\/strong> (2019)<strong>.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/linkedin-pages\/best-practices#3\">LinkedIn Pages Best Practices<\/a><strong>. Business.linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Lessard, K. (2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/blog\/linkedin-company-pages\/2019\/21-tips-for-attracting-followers-to-your-linkedin-page\">21 Tips for Attracting Followers to Your LinkedIn Page.<\/a> <strong>linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>LinkedIn<strong>. <\/strong>(2019)<strong>.<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/linkedin-pages\/for-small-business\">LinkedIn Pages Action Plan for Small Businesses<\/a>.<strong>linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Lessard, K. (2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/blog\/linkedin-company-pages\/2019\/21-tips-for-attracting-followers-to-your-linkedin-page\">21 Tips for Attracting Followers to Your LinkedIn Page.<\/a> <strong>linkedin.com<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Kashyap, V. (2017). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.socialmediatoday.com\/news\/5-things-i-did-to-get-80000-followers-on-linkedin\/510431\/\">5 things I did to get 80,000+ followers on LinkedIn.<\/a> <strong>Socialmediatoday.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LinkedIn is the definitive social media platform for the professional community. But while 30 million companies have LinkedIn profiles, many &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[610],"tags":[96,432,434,433,435,436,161,327,265],"class_list":["post-2371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing-growth","tag-infographic","tag-linkedin","tag-linkedin-best-practices","tag-linkedin-guide","tag-linkedin-marketing","tag-small-business-social-media","tag-social-media","tag-social-media-management","tag-social-media-marketing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn - Headway Capital Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking to build your LinkedIn following? Use our guide to optimize your profile and you\u2019ll find your small business flourishing in a new and vital context.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn - Headway Capital Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking to build your LinkedIn following? Use our guide to optimize your profile and you\u2019ll find your small business flourishing in a new and vital context.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Headway Capital Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-23T15:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-05T19:59:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Header_A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"792\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Barbara Davidson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Barbara Davidson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn - Headway Capital Blog","description":"Looking to build your LinkedIn following? Use our guide to optimize your profile and you\u2019ll find your small business flourishing in a new and vital context.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn - Headway Capital Blog","og_description":"Looking to build your LinkedIn following? Use our guide to optimize your profile and you\u2019ll find your small business flourishing in a new and vital context.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/","og_site_name":"Headway Capital Blog","article_published_time":"2019-09-23T15:00:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-10-05T19:59:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":792,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Header_A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Barbara Davidson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Barbara Davidson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/"},"author":{"name":"Barbara Davidson","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a7d24c83c64e65baa516eb664059c59"},"headline":"A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn","datePublished":"2019-09-23T15:00:45+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-05T19:59:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/"},"wordCount":587,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Header_A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png","keywords":["Infographic","linkedin","linkedin best practices","linkedin guide","linkedin marketing","small business social media","Social Media","social media management","Social Media Marketing"],"articleSection":["Marketing and Growth"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/","url":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/","name":"A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn - Headway Capital Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Header_A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png","datePublished":"2019-09-23T15:00:45+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-05T19:59:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a7d24c83c64e65baa516eb664059c59"},"description":"Looking to build your LinkedIn following? Use our guide to optimize your profile and you\u2019ll find your small business flourishing in a new and vital context.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Header_A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Header_A-small-business-guide-to-LinkedIn.png","width":792,"height":400,"caption":"small business linkedIn"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/small-business-guide-linkedin\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Marketing and Growth","item":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/category\/marketing-growth\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A Small Business Guide to LinkedIn"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/","name":"Headway Capital Blog","description":"Your source for the latest news, tools, tips and resources to help your small business succeed.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a7d24c83c64e65baa516eb664059c59","name":"Barbara Davidson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/babs-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/babs-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/07\/babs-150x150.jpg","caption":"Barbara Davidson"},"description":"Babs is Lead Content Strategist and financial guru. She loves exploring fresh ways to save more and enjoy life on a budget! When she\u2019s not writing, you\u2019ll find her binge-watching musicals, reading in the (sporadic) Chicago sunshine and discovering great new places to eat. Accio, tacos!\u00a0","url":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/author\/bdavidsonenova-com\/"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2371"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2374,"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2371\/revisions\/2374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.headwaycapital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}