by Brittany McSorley
Working in social media marketing on Cape Cod means mastering the art of juggling many digital platforms. Like physical juggling, this conceptual juggling can be a challenge. Back in the good old days (by which I mean before 2006), marketers basically only had to worry about Facebook. Imagine! They must have gotten so much done in their free time.
Today, in the era of everything happening all at once forever no matter how bad it is for your mental health (ha!), most small businesses maintain a presence on more than one platform. Twitter and Instagram are now major players, even though Facebook still seems to demand the bulk of everyone’s attention, just as I did when my little brother was born. (Talk about being blindsided. I was like, “Guys? Guys?! Who is this little person? Who approved this? Will this affect the tea party I have planned for this afternoon?” Did they have an answer for me? They did not, and they still don’t, and it did affect the tea party, and Thanksgiving is often very tense.)
It’s hard to give each platform the marketing attention it deserves, and a common victim in this scenario, the fallen only child, if you will, is LinkedIn. Remember LinkedIn? It’s professional, it’s approachable, and rarely will you see your relatives use it to sweepingly discount a female politician’s decades of experience by calling her shrill. It also predates Facebook; LinkedIn was founded in 2002, which is the year the unforgettable stage-to-film adaptation Chicago came out and absolutely rocked my world. Incredible songs and a bunch of murder? Twelve-year-old Brittany was all in. Social media platforms may come and go, but the Cell Block Tango is forever. #Girlboss!
Anyway, though LinkedIn is one of our wise social media elders, it can become an afterthought when marketers are focusing on the needier second-born platforms. But it really deserves to be center stage (again, Chicago), because it’s a great networking and marketing tool. With the summer season just kicking into gear on Cape Cod, this is a great time for small business marketers to take a fresh look at LinkedIn. Here are a few reasons why:
- According to Social Media Today, LinkedIn recently reported a 34% year-over-year increase in revenue, as well as record levels of engagement.
- In what the company has dubbed “The Great Reshuffle,” LinkedIn has been focusing on increasing connectivity now that more people than ever are working from home.
- New business features, such as Talent Solutions hiring tools and Showcase Pages, which allow businesses to expand on specific aspects of their offerings, are being introduced all the time.
- You can schedule interviews and meetings on the platform. No more Zoom rage when something goes wrong, probably!
- The ability to create polls, stream live video, and more create big opportunities for engagement.
- In a rare acknowledgement of how professional life does not always follow a neat, linear storyline, LinkedIn is allowing users to explain a career break in their profiles and hopefully access more job opportunities. Very cool for job hunters and hirers alike.
And last but not least, according to Insider, some people meet their soulmates on LinkedIn. That is lovely! Are you going to let that opportunity slip away? Of course you’re not. You’re going to put your misgivings aside, like Velma and Roxie working together to achieve their long-sought-after fame following their acquittals, and use LinkedIn for marketing and maybe love! And scene.
