LinkedIn gives marketers a shot at engagement

Many millions of marketers, working on behalf of millions of companies are at this very moment attempting to communicate a plethora of different brand messages across a handful of the same social networks – simultaneously.

It is obvious then that it is a daunting task to try and join the conversation -especially as more conversations appear to be one sided.

This is why it makes sense for many companies and marketers to work together, but not in the way you might think.

While affiliates, partners and referrals are all important and relevant forms of encouraging marketing momentum, cross-engagement is an even more effortless method of upping your brand presence, locating new customers and adding credibility to your company.

For all the hours your business has dedicated to social media marketing, much of the content is likely to be first-hand, promoting products or services with fresh content as well as from the vault. The other is likely to be third party content or news releases, which allude back to your company.

What can be crucially neglected however, is some simple engagement with other companies and customers on social media channels.

Conversing online with other firms can come in the form of a discussion which is beneficial to all viewers. Should two industry experts be discussing a new trend, then everyone watching is likely to learn a new insight or fact.

What viewers are even more likely to remember are the names of the companies in the conversation. Of course, engaging with individuals – both existing and potential customers is equally important.

Direct engagement almost always results in new followers on social networks, which then may become leads and even new customers.

So while standard releases of content are important, every characteristic of a brand can be enhanced with engagement. This is why LinkedIn has chosen to include Facebook- and Twitter-style mentions of users throughout the network.

The ultimate business social network will now allow the tagging of various companies and individuals to be included in conversations and status updates, according to The Next Web.

Of course, these mentions turn into hyperlinks to, and a drop down list for the personal page of that entity, and updates the latest activity associated with that account.

So, for marketers who already make efforts to engage with their audiences, this is yet another gem from the social media marketing world.

Are you taking the time to engage with your peers and online audiences? If you are looking for an efficient way to increase your engagement without cutting too much into your marketing time allocation, then contact us or take a look at our work to find out more.