According to BtoB Magazine, social media and targeted internet marketing should be seamlessly integrated into a small business’ marketing campaign. While banner advertisements are a great way to gain exposure, the type of engagement and loyalty that can be generated from using social media with marketing campaigns is unprecedented. This can be especially true when using LinkedIn, as it is oriented toward business.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, when using LinkedIn it’s important for companies to have a call to action on whatever posts or updates they put on the site and there needs to be a business-driven purpose behind each update. While businesses may be interacting with their audience and customer base, it’s not enough to expect them to call, email or buy a product – companies need to invite them to do so.
While social media is a great opportunity to connect with millions of individuals, it won’t help busy companies if all their efforts are going to the wrong market. To enhance targeted internet marketing schemes, businesses should use LinkedIn to create industry-specific groups.
The source gives the example of how a former professional athlete started the Sports Industry Network group on LinkedIn, resulting in him establishing his own personal brand as someone with industry expertise and creating a massive network. The same can be applied to companies in whatever their industry may be.
It’s critical that when using LinkedIn groups that businesses are adding value to the dialogues that come from social networking sites and internet marketing. The world is becoming more connected through the internet and if companies are unable to connect and share with their audience, they may fall by the wayside. When engaging in small business internet marketing via LinkedIn – or any other online venue – always give followers a place to comment or ask questions, and be sure to join the conversation yourself.