By April Harter
Director of Public Relations & Social Media
Last week we had the opportunity to speak to 100 bankers about the benefits of using Linkedin. 95% of those in attendance said they had a Linkedin account, but only about 40% claimed to be actively engaged. Most agreed that one of the biggest challenges of Linkedin is finding the time to participate.
50 minutes per week is all it takes. The best approach is to spend about 10 minutes per day commenting and connecting, or at the very least, following what’s going on and adding new connections. If this is a challenge, start by dedicating about an hour each Saturday morning to Linkedin.
For Mustang, Linkedin has been a tremendous B2B tool, enabling us to connect and interact with other marketing professionals, clients and clients-to-be. In fact, in the past year, we’ve attributed 75% of new business to Linkedin.
By actively engaging with Linkedin Groups, we’ve been able to share thoughts and ideas on marketing and public relations issues. Using Linkedin Questions and integrating the Twitter application for Linkedin have enabled us to share timely updates and gain information from our connections.
By designating 50 minutes per week to Linkedin, you’re opening the door to speaking opportunities, recommendations, new clients and lasting connections with existing clients.
Are you using Linkedin to its fullest potential? Here are a few more reasons why you should:
• 44 million professionals in the United States use Linkedin (up from 32M last May)
• 900,000+ CEO’s worldwide use Linkedin
• Linkedin adds more than two new members per second