LinkedIn: The Most Underrated Biz Dev Tool in Your Arsenal

You set your LinkedIn profile up and shrugged it off a decade or two ago. You’ve long dismissed social media as a waste of time and irrelevant in the building industry. You figure it must be losing popularity by now and that no qualified business prospect would seriously engage with you because you posted recently about your company.

Nothing can be farther from the truth, however. Believe it or not, social media is still growing rapidly, by at least 8 percent a year. LinkedIn adds 2 new members a second, and is projected to have just under a billion users by 2028. 

When you think about it, your old business network is being replaced by people who have adopted it as a credible resource to find, learn about, qualify and select their project partners.

If you are a building professional, especially in a B2B market trying to raise awareness about your services among your regional business community, you should at least begin by building and promoting your profile on LinkedIn. Here are a few reasons why investing a little time and energy makes sense for you.

Credibility

After that initial meeting with a prospective client, they are compelled to double check your credentials opposed to your competitors who also interviewed. They will browse your LinkedIn profile as part of their vetting process, and a well thought out presence will leave a favorable impression to help them decide whether to choose you.‍

‍Talent Attraction

LinkedIn is the place to go for anyone considering the next phase of their career. The best superintendents, project managers and even skilled laborers are turning to LinkedIn more and more to find a company that will support their ambitions and needs. They will be much more impressed if you take the time to create a profile that celebrates your team and provides helpful information about the positions you may be looking to fill.

A Larger Ecosystem

When they are doing research to help them plan their next project, your potential customers are searching for as many different resources as possible. Not only are they accessing your website for insights, but are likely to favor one that is supported by a larger ecosystem, including social media. And if that information is posted regularly on LinkedIn, prospects will start considering you to be the subject matter expert on the topic, and ultimately the best partner for their project.

How to get started

The key to understanding LinkedIn is that it’s not for direct marketing or selling. As demonstrated by those annoying overseas tech companies, immediately pitching someone in their message feed is the quickest way to ruin a potential connection. Instead, focus on brand development. Use LinkedIn as an opportunity to patiently build awareness and trust in your company over time.

‍Don’t Forget You Actually Have 2 Profiles

Not only is having a strong personal profile important, but your company’s LinkedIn profile is a major opportunity to showcase your company’s expertise and value. Often builders treat it as an afterthought, if they even think about it at all. But this is where your prospective audiences gravitate to make sure your company is credible, and a good connection could get squandered.

Bring up both your company and personal profiles and take a moment to think about what a prospective client might be looking for. Do both make a good first impression? Are they consistent and professional? Are there opportunities to improve their presentation?

Profile Photo

In this day and age there’s no reason not to have at least an appropriate profile photo. Have a fellow team member snap several images of you on their smartphone so you can select your favorite.

Be imaginative. Forgo the blank wall behind you in favor of an interesting background. Avoid group shots. It should just be you to avoid confusing the viewer. Just make sure your profile is strong and a good representation of your personality.

Business Avatar

Your business profile image, or avatar, on the other hand should be a clear, clear and easily recognizable mark. If your company has a long name consider condensing it to its first initials, or develop a unique logo “bug” that your audiences will recognize as yours. This will help you stand out as you post insights or participate in community discussions down the line.

Background Banner

Don’t forget the background banner. When you bring your profile up, you not only see your profile picture but also a large rectangular space behind it. Think of the background banner as a billboard to communicate your expertise and value to prospective customers verifying your credibility. Post an image of your latest successful project, your skilled team in action, or something related to your capabilities.

Company Profile Information

It may be a long time since you last visited your company’s profile, and LinkedIn has added many information features that you should take note of. You should definitely take advantage of the About section, and develop messaging about your capabilities, values, expertise and niche offerings.

Again, be clear and concise. Don’t drone on or get into too much detail. If your viewers have to click through, expand or drop down, it's too much information. Keep it simple at this point because your prospective clients are just skimming your information as they consider you as a prospective partner. Details can come later.

Post and Participate

Once you have optimized your profile, you have to start getting out there in front of your community. But the thought of having to come up with pithy insights on a daily basis is daunting and usually stops you in your tracks.

Because LinkedIn is made up of a community of busy business professionals, it's acceptable to post less frequently as long as the content is higher quality. You can talk about a project in process and what you are learning from it, share an industry trend you are recognizing, or celebrate achievements of your clients or colleagues. 

Conversation is Key

The best way to build awareness is to start a conversation among your community. Comment on posts that are relevant to your niche experience. Ask questions and offer suggestions. Find opportunities to engage those who may not know you but could benefit from your subject matter expertise.

Post articles to your website and repurpose them on LinkedIn. Be sure to revise the content slightly on each platform because the same exact content may hurt your search engine rankings on each. Write a compelling headline your colleagues would find interesting and a powerful image to complement your story. Research shows that articles with images are twice as likely to be read.

These articles don’t have to be scholarly works. They can be quick how-to’s, inspirational stories from your team, milestones or employee spotlights, or anything else you can share to build a compelling story about your company.

Anything is better than Nothing

You can even source industry news stories and provide a link with comments from your point of view. Encourage your community to comment and continue the discussion to build a healthy banter.

Start your own LinkedIn group or at least find a relevant industry group to join. Keep strategic about the groups you join.  If you are a materials supplier you shouldn’t look for groups made up of other materials suppliers, but instead you should look for a fabricator or architect group who would be interested in your products.

Provide topics or commentary to assert your knowledge and show your enthusiasm. The more insights you can provide, the more you will be recognized and appreciated.

Paid Promotion

Unless you are camped out on the platform to build a following, the best way to raise awareness about your company is through paid promotion. Since your competitors are likely not taking it seriously, a starting promotional budget of $500 could go a long way. You have the ability to pick and choose your audience, down to their profession and preferences. If you can dial the focus and ad spend up or down to refine effectiveness and stop anytime if you find it isn’t working for you. You can’t win if you don’t play.

Be Yourself

The best LinkedIn strategy is to provide helpful guidance and insights your community colleagues and prospective clients will find useful.  Be authentic, and patient, and focus on providing value over meeting goals. If you use LinkedIn correctly and present a professional image, the platform is a great marketing tool.

If you would like to discuss LinkedIn or any other biz dev ideas please contact us to see how we can help work it into the perfect strategy to promote your business.

Written by Rusty George, ironically with zero help from Artificial Intelligence.

Rusty George leads a branding, website design and marketing agency serving Seattle and Tacoma area construction companies, subcontractors, engineering and architecture firms, material fabricators and suppliers. His goal is to help the building industry become more attractive to the skilled workforce of the future.