Keep your friends close and your competition closer

Aside from gaining an insight into your competition, LinkedIn  also gives a way to browse company pages and be informed about potential hires. It is more or less 150,000 companies have their profile in LinkedIn which is the “public profile” for companies. Recent hires, movers, shakers, and company’s key stats are found on this page. In business, being updated and being connected is an advantage.

Win new business by answering questions and using advance search or LinkedIn, porential customersfor your business can be found. This is another opportunity to win new business or at least find prospective clients. Your answer to a question that has been asked will be posted and soon to be found when others search and use LinkedIn. What you have in your area of expertise will be your edge.

Acquire new customers through online recommendations and word of mouth.

  It is very effective to advertise through third party recommendations. By asking your happy clients to write you a recommendation, which is then published on your LinkedIn profile, has a far bigger impact to other customer than any form of paid advertising since a recommendation is social proof of someone who had already experienced the quality of your service or products. LinkedIn then informs everyone in your network of a new recommendation and it can be seen by anyone who visits your LinkedIn profile.

Build your industry network—online and in person

Finding an industry events that your prospective clients are attending could be another way of discovering targeted prospects. Through searching in theLinkedIn’s Groups category, it is  possible to find industry associations and networks tthat you can join and contribute to. You can also learn about events that your connections are attending , and if appropriate attend the event yourself, knowing that there is a great opportunity to connect with potential clients. An example for this is in an event planning or wedding industry, there are over 530 groups. It can be really helpful that you are able to find  industry events that your prospective clients are attending, by connecting with them first in an industry related group