LinkedIn Corporation recently went public with its stock LNKD.

What does this mean for your small business? By debuting its IPO, LinkedIn has solidified itself as a business that’s here to stay, and one that can really help boost your online business awareness and a great way generate new leads. The problem with alot of small businesses that create their profile is that once its created, you leave it dormant expecting to get new leads and connections.

Well you’ve heard the saying, “you get out as much as you put in”, and there is no exception here. Here are 5 quick and smart ways to grow your small business on LinkedIn without spending to much time.

1. Keep your profile professional – First of all, make sure your profile picture is your face, not a silly or clever picture that you post up thinking it will attract others to your profile. You want people to recognize and get used to seeing the face behind the company. Make sure your headlines are accurate and professional, as well as the rest of your profile content. Always update your profile every 2-3 months!
2. Get recommendations that matter – The easiest way to gain credibility on LinkedIn is via recommendations, so make sure the ones that you do get from others are professional and to the point. Ask other reputable connections to give you recommendations. If you have few recommendations, try giving other businesses (not in your line of business) recommendations, and they may return the favor!
3. Keep your summary strong and short - This is not where you copy your resume-styled messages and write something like “goal oriented person seeking…blah blah”. Since you’re now marketing your small business, write why you do what you do, and what makes you different than the competition.
4. Use LinkedIn for SEO benefits – Once you create your profile, its public to the world, which means it will get indexed in search engines. So you want to make sure you optimize your profile page with keywords you want associated with your small business. Remove any “I” or “me”, and replace it with your name or business name to make better use of your LinkedIn profile.
5. Use all the LinkedIn extra features – Features like “creating your own LinkedIn group” can really help you grow your business by bringing in like minded people and sharing your expertise with them to build credibility. For example, if you have a small business based on Landscaping, you can create a small group and invite people who share that interest, and share tips with them on a daily or weekly basis. Continuous messages from you will give them a constant reminder that you are an authority in your field of business, and they will start remembering your business instantly. Here’s where “word of mouth” can really help your business soar to new levels!

We at Keolo Hosting hope that we’ve shed some new light on the value of LinkedIn to you and your small business. There are a variety of new tools that come with your business profile page that can really help you increase your brand recognition and generate new leads. The only thing thats required of you now is to take action. Start today, grow tomorrow!