LinkedIn is Free…Why Pay a LinkedIn Consultant?
On the face of it, hiring a LinkedIn Consultant may not look like it makes much sense. LinkedIn is the “hot” thing right now and there are tons of free blogs, eBooks, webinars, seminars, etc. out there telling you how to build your business using LinkedIn. So, if the service is free and the information is free, why pay someone to tell you how to use it and/or manage your LinkedIn account for you?
There’s a ton of free information about every marketing strategy available online. However, simply having the information doesn’t mean that you can implement it. First, not every LinkedIn strategy will work for you depending on your business and target customer. Each strategy takes time, so why spend a significant amount of time on a strategy that is unlikely to produce results for your business? Second, transitioning the awareness, leads and connections you generate in LinkedIn into your real world sales process is not easy. And lastly, time, time time! If your strength is being with customers and prospects, spending too much time using this free service costs you money!
Many people think that since LinkedIn is free that any revenue generated from your networking activities means you have a positive ROI (return on investment). However, to get the true ROI, you have to match that revenue up to what the value of your time was to make that money. Essentially, you are paying yourself to be a marketing person during that time. If you have a marketing budget, does it make sense that you handle those tasks?
Social networking is a top heavy investment of time before you will see results – usually. Therefore, your ROI should increase over time as you work through all of the setup pains and the learning curve. If months go by and you aren’t getting any results – tangible and intangible – then chances are you either aren’t using the right strategies for your business or you aren’t using them effectively.
So, what can a LinkedIn Consultant do for you? First, they can educate you on the strategies and tricks of the trade that will most effectively help you get in front of your target market. Second, they can help you identify what objectives you are hoping to accomplish by using LinkedIn and then monitor and measure them. Third, they can help you identify leads to follow up with using more traditional marketing methods. Fourth, they can save you an enormous amount of time while still providing you the value from social networking.
In addition to working one-on-one, LinkedIn Consultants can also train your employees in a group setting to more effectively utilize their LinkedIn profiles. The more people promoting your company the better, so help them do it effectively and efficiently.
Are you looking for a LinkedIn Consultant or more information on using social media for your small business? Feel free to email me at crystal@crystalclearbuzz.com.
