It was another great turn out at our SB² Networking Event. We had small business owners from multiple industries including real estate, hairdressing, trades and more! Due to unfortunate circumstances, our Guest Speaker, Matt Heywood could not attend. Luckily Ryan Caswell from Ryan Caswell B2B Lead Generation was able to fill the spot and offers some great tips about using LinkedIn to grow your business.

Ryan’s small business journey started when he established a B&B in Brazil with his wife before moving to Brisbane and starting up an e-commerce site. Even with a great system in place, Ryan quickly learnt that the lack of marketing was slowing down the growth of his business. As a small business, it is essential to have at least one marketing strategy in place because if you don’t promote your business, no one will know about it, if you don’t have customers, then you can’t sell anything.

Using LinkedIn to promote your business
With so many platforms to promote your business, it can be overwhelming when it comes to choosing the right one. Ryan recommends that business owners should first have a clear understanding of their business offering. The first question to ask is, what problem is the business trying to solve? Also, what outcome is the business trying to achieve? This will help you start to identify your prospective clients and allow you to focus on an effective marketing tool.

In saying that, Ryan believes that social media is a powerful marketing tool for small businesses, and LinkedIn is an excellent platform for connecting with potential prospects. When using LinkedIn, Ryan focused on 3 key areas which he calls the 3 P’s; Profile, People and Prospects.

Profile
Ryan suggests laying out your profile like a Google Search Result. The heading should contain a small amount of text, expressing who you are. The profile summary should be short and sweet, only 1 or 2 sentences, highlighting your unique selling point and communicating what service or product you offer. It should express why prospective clients should choose you over your competitors.

It is best to conclude your summary with a Call To Action. What do you want the viewers to do when they finish reading your profile? Do you want them to call you or visit your website? Whatever it may be, you will need to let them know, or else they leave your page without taking action.

Your profile photo is also important. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but a good photo makes a huge difference. Ryan recommends choosing a professional and approachable photo that shows you are serious about your business and your clients.

Another great addition to add to your LinkedIn is recommendations from other businesses or work colleagues. Good recommendations will increase the trust between your business and the prospective client.

People
The next step is to connect with people who are valuable to your business and Sales Navigator on LinkedIn can help you do this more effectively. Ryan recommended this sales tool because it helps business owners find specific prospects using the search and filter features and also provides them with actionable information and insights that help gain a deeper understanding of the prospects.

Prospect
To create valuable prospects, it is essential to take the time to know your prospective clients and build a strong relationship. Ryan personally has a spreadsheet where he keeps track of each prospect’s relationship journey with him. Nurturing the relationships will help create loyal clients in the long run.

Ryan’s LinkedIn tips can be implemented immediately to give your business the extra boost. If you would like to learn more business tips or meet other small business owners to expand your network, come along to our next networking event held on the 10th of July at Beduion Brew.

Join the Meetup group here to be notified of our next Guest Speaker! Alternatively, you can email Sarah from FutureNow Finance at sarah@futurenowfinance.com.au for more information. We hope to see you there!