linkedin

Make The Most Of LinkedIn’s Newsletter Feature

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support, Digital Marketing, Social Media
LinkedIn newsletter page open on a laptop

LinkedIn is an often-overlooked social media platform, but its features are powerful and can connect your business with a large network of potential clients and new opportunities. One such feature is the in-built newsletter service they offer, which has recently been expanded to include newsletters from company pages. Join us as we explore it further, discover it’s benefits and learn to utilise it.

Become a leader in your industry
In a newsletter, you get to touch upon subjects you care about on a regular basis. This gives you a real chance to show off your knowledge and expertise, making you come across as more reliable and building confidence in your business. Apart from boosting your credibility, it is also a great chance to showcase any new or interesting findings and strategies that your business is using, helping you to stand out as a leader in your field.

Improve your audience engagement

All LinkedIn users can subscribe to newsletters, so if your writing is engaging and consistent, they are a great way of interacting with your audience. Target a chosen field and vary the topic to keep the conversation fresh and interesting. To make the most of your content, you need to know your audience and tailor your information. Create news articles with a specific purpose in mind (growing the newsletter, providing support for your clients etc.), and lean into your strengths such as storytelling, infographics, or blogs. When done properly, you can benefit from a regular audience that is more likely to spread the word about your business.

Grow your network
Anyone can discover, read, and share your LinkedIn newsletter, but in order to grow your audience we recommend you give the newsletter a bit of a boost. Inviting your existing network is a great way to get a head start on your subscriber count. Sharing your newsletter with new connections keeps the conversation going after you meet new people at networking events. Finally, posting about your newsletter on LinkedIn and other social platforms, reminds users who may have missed your invitation, as well as exposing additional prospects to your work.

Setting up

  • Make sure to turn on creator mode. You can find it under your profile’s dashboard.
  • Navigate to your homepage, where the usual “create a post” section appears, select the “write article” option and proceed.
  • From the menu selection at the top of the page choose “create a newsletter”.
  • Fill out the required information, create a name and bio for your newsletter.  
  • Upload or write your newsletter article.
  • When you are happy with your content and layout, click “Publish”. A newsletter page will automatically be created within LinkedIn. 

In summary, a LinkedIn newsletter is a fantastic, free tool for any business – it is a regular space to show the advancements your company has made and share the knowledge you have gathered from your experience. High quality, consistent content will grow the audience for your newsletter and by extension your company – leading to new customers and clients. For something so easy to set up, it is a worthwhile investment for any SME looking to grow.

If you’d like to find out more about LinkedIn’s features, need help setting up your newsletter or require any other business support, get in touch!

E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com   T: 01903 688789

How To Perfect Your LinkedIn Profile

MOMENTUM Business Support Business Support, Digital Marketing, Social Media
Classic LinkedIn logo on a white background

Every social media platform is different; some emphasise visuals, some provide you with daily news, while others exist solely as a way of keeping in touch. As a business owner it is vital to nurture all your networking spaces, and most importantly learn how to use them right! Often the first line of contact for prospective clients and established connections are our business socials, and these should be straight forward, on brand and active, but there is one platform that users still find more intimidating than others…

LinkedIn is one of the most overlooked networking tools, with the common misconception being that it is only used as a ‘formality’ or because it makes you seem more professional. However, with a few simple changes to your profile it can become a powerful ally to you and your business.

Choose an appropriate profile image

Your profile picture will likely be the first thing noticed by visiting users, and as we know, first impressions matter! If the profile is set up for your business, it is advised you use your logo as the image; it helps to keep your branding uniform and recognisable as well as boosting the profiles credibility. However, if you’re setting up your personal profile, it’s best to use a clear and recognisable photo of yourself. The image should be recent and of good quality, with a more professional tone and work or image appropriate clothing. Stay clear of selfies and filters and aim for your face to take up around 60% of the frame (don’t forget to smile!).

LinkedIn profiles also include the background photo, a great opportunity to use an attention-grabbing image in line with your branding. You could use an image that depicts your profession, the name of your brand or an image that reflects your business. It is also a great place to showcase some of your work e.g., your creations, achievements or products.

Make the most of your headline

While your current employment/field of work is the focus of the headline, passions, goals and a little extra elaboration on what you do or hope to achieve can also help to bring personalisation and attention to your profile. If you offer multiple services or wish to add more about yourself, try separating with a vertical bar (|). Don’t get carried away, for more in-depth content utilise the about section later on.

Tell your story

Your LinkedIn summary is your chance to impress, introduce your business and tell your own story, when done right it can be a gateway to exciting opportunities and new connections. It doesn’t have to be just a long list of qualifications, in fact personalised writing and anecdotes on how you’ve ended up in your profession help to improve readability and add creative flair to your summary. Achievements, your employment history and skills are all important factors which benefit from an engaging presentation, so think of creative ways to showcase them. If it is a summary meant for your business, delve deeper into the history of your brand, how you got here, where it originated as well as future goals and values. If you’re unsure of what to include follow this structure as a basic rule of thumb:

  • Introduction – who are you/ what do you do?
  • A little history – how did you get to where you are now?
  • Achievements and goals – what are your passions/ what are you proud of/ hopes for the future?
  • A call to action- contact information/ website/ upcoming events

Ultimately, remember that LinkedIn is a unique platform which caters to businesses and business professionals. It differs from socials such as Facebook and Instagram as its focus is providing an online space for finding work, marketing, as well as connecting with business partners. Whichever field of work you’re in, it’s a useful tool to have under your belt! If you’d like to find out more about perfecting your social media or require any other business support, we’d love to help. Get in touch:

E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com   T: 01903 688789

What Social Platform Should You Be Using?

MOMENTUM Business Support Digital Marketing
An open Iphone mobile displaying a Social networks folder with apps

When it comes to getting social and marketing your products and services there are so many platforms to choose from. To avoid falling into the trap of wasting valuable time and effort, it’s best to stick to the ones that produce the greatest results for your business.

Without taking the time to trial and test the various social media platforms, it can be hard to know which one/s are right for you. This blog works through the most popularly used sites in the business community, with the aim of helping you to identify which are best to use for your business.

Facebook

Facebook is still the most popular and widely used social media platform and despite negative press and general opinion, it continues to grow. It has the broadest audience and in particular boasts the largest ‘65 or older’ group. It has a fairly even gender, income and location (rural, urban, suburban) split too. The types of posts preferred by Facebook users are also reasonably evenly divided across video, image and text.

It is however one of the more difficult audiences to grow, with an average of 6 interactions per post, per 1000 followers! Don’t let this put you off though, just understand it may be a slow burn as you build your audience and you might have to put a little more effort into getting seen and heard.

Twitter

Whilst Twitter’s overall worldwide user numbers are lower than Facebook, this social network is one of the more popular in the UK. Again, the gender split is quite even but the age of users is generally younger; 18 – 50yrs with the biggest segment being 18 – 29yrs. Twitter users tend to be in the higher income brackets (although this is considered to be due to an increase in high profile users such as celebrities and politicians) and are more likely to have college or university degree level education.

With it’s high use of #hashtags, ‘twitter hours’ and daily trends, this is one of the easiest platforms to get noticed on. It’s fast paced though, so you’ll need to put out much more content and keep an eye on when your audience are most active to ensure your content is reaching its full potential.

LinkedIn

The most ‘professional’ of the social channels, LinkedIn’s audience tends to be more urban and the higher income earners have more presence and activity levels on here. There are slightly more male users, but not significantly, and whilst the highest number of users are 18 – 29yrs, there’s also a good number in between and in the 65+ group here too. The UK has one of the highest user counts on LinkedIn worldwide, so this is a very popular platform.

LinkedIn personal profiles are about growing your direct network. It’s personal – no business names or brands to hide behind. Bear this in mind when sharing content and when giving opinions on others’ posts. It’s a great way to build your network within your industry as well as with potential customers.

Instagram

Instagram has 12% more female users than male, and the largest 18 – 29yr user base. There are few differences between the location, income and education levels of its users. Behind Facebook (in the UK) it’s the second most popular social channel and the next fastest growing platform with more than half of the accounts being accessed daily. Instagram supersedes all other networks with a massive 5% post interaction rate (yes – massive! The other platforms here averagely achieve between 0.1 – 0.5%).

This platform is ideal if you have products or high-quality images to share – it’s all about pictures! Like Twitter, the high use of #hashtags help get your content seen. It’s also easy to find and follow accounts that you’re interested in seeing or to help them see you.

Pinterest

Income and education levels aren’t significant on Pinterest. The key demographics to consider here are; the user base is predominantly female, and the age range is quite broad, 18 – 64yrs. Users also tend to be from urban or suburban locations. Although one of the less commonly used networks when compared with others, it’s still considered one of the more engaging and is accessed more regularly than LinkedIn!

Similar to Instagram, Pinterest is about pictures and imagery. However, it’s actually used more as a ‘how-to’, DIY or creative source. Careful use of keywords and good descriptions for each of your posts will help them get found by users searching your topic. The more unique, relevant and helpful they are, the more they will get ‘pinned’.

Summary

All social media channels offer an effective way to connect with your potential clients and customers, but with only a limited amount of time, it’s best to stick to the ones that are likely to produce the greatest results for your efforts. We would recommend focussing on one first, then maybe adding 1 or 2 more as you become more proficient.

  • Facebook – the most varied demographics, particularly ideal if you have a mature crowd to please.
  • Twitter – great to attract higher income earners and easiest to get noticed on.
  • LinkedIn – personal network building with a larger male user base.
  • Instagram – images, images, images!! With a focus on younger audiences.
  • Pinterest – great for engaging with crafty and creative women.

Regardless of the platform you choose, it’s really important to interact and not just offload or ‘shout’ – keep the social in social! Be responsive, offer relevant promotions and provide educational content. Be genuine, add value and be courteous (unsurprisingly, the thing least likely to attract fans and followers is bad mouthing competitors!).

If you have any questions or would like to chat through your social media plans, we’d love to hear from you: Call 01903 688789 or Email makeithappen@mbsmih.com .

Facts and figures supported by research from Informatics, Sprout Social and Smart Insights.