SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS
Leveraging LinkedIn for the Public Sector
Of all the social networks floating around out there today, Linkedin is the benchmark when it comes to social business networking (business social networking?). That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of business happening on many of the most popular networks, but Linkedin is clearly about making business development happen.
Ultimately, the goal of any business focused networking activity is to drive a sale. And what’s the best way to start that process?
With the mission of positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry, go ahead and share some content with your Linkedin contacts that you find interesting. Perhaps it was the latest TNW article, a presentation via Slideshare, or perhaps an interesting tutorial on YouTube. Likewise, Linkedin can be a great place to repurpose, or reintroduce some of your existing content. Got a blog article that you recently released that’s been getting some attention? Post an excerpt with a link back to said article, and be sure to include why you’re posting this. Does it seek to solve a potential customer’s problem?
Perhaps one of the most useful aspects of Linkedin is the ability to step up to the mic and let your voice be heard. There are literally thousands of questions and answer sessions happening on Linkedin at any given moment. And what better way to open doors than by answering another’s question? Answers do not, and shouldn’t be 100% business focused all the time. Remember the last time you asked a question and were greeted with a sales pitch? Me too. Boo.
You can dig into the Q&A by joining groups that are relevant to your business. The beauty of answering others questions is that over time, you’ll gain valuable knowledge in the public sector.
