LinkedIn is a fantastic social media platform for aging in place professionals that we should be embracing and using (on any device) – even if we don’t particularly like the idea of using social media.
Social media abounds
Social media is a fact of life. It’s part of our culture. Some of us use it more than others, some like it, and some don’t. There are platforms for a variety of purposes and ways to express ourselves. However, as aging in place professionals, it is something that can help us promote our business, connect with the marketplace, and establish ourselves with strategic partners that we want to engage to help us to deliver our services effectively to our clients. It doesn’t even matter whether we like using it – it is a tool that we can elect to use to promote our business or tell our story.
Nevertheless, in terms of building and growing our aging in place business, some social media sites may be better for us to use than others. Part of it depends on what our prospective clientele is viewing and what type of content we want to share. Some sites are more oriented toward photo and video postings, while others have more text along with photos or videos. It’s up to us to decide where to devote our time in creating and posting content that we think our existing and prospective clients and customers – along with business relationships we are trying to establish or nurture – would like to see.
Check out LinkedIn
Many of us are familiar with sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest – primarily because we use them personally rather than for business. These can be strong sites for our businesses, but one site that is often overlooked in crafting a business marketing strategy is LinkedIn. For any of us where this is the case, we need to take another look at it.
LinkedIn has millions of users and is the number one site for business-to-business connections and activity. It is a very strong search engine as well but is quite underutilized by CAPS professionals.
Linked in has many moving parts that showcase our credentials, skill sets, accomplishments, work history, certifications and awards, endorsements, and additional content. It can also host our YouTube videos and SlideShare presentations for additional visual content and impact.
Consumers may find us here, but primarily LinkedIn is the place for us to look for and attract strategic partners that we to use to deliver our services. As we look for other CAPS professionals that we want to reach out to or people that possess the training or expertise that we need to engage – regardless of where they might be located – we can build our network. We can find people in our immediate service area that we thought about or were previously unknown to us also.
Our new year’s resolution
Having a LinkedIn profile may be second only to having a good website. In many ways. LinkedIn serves as a website. It provides solid information for people who want to learn more about us before engaging or deciding to do business with us. Consumers certainly can find us on LinkedIn – it is social media after all, and it’s free for anyone to use – but our major thrust is going to be in creating business relationships.
If LinkedIn is something that has been on the edge of the radar, it’s time to reevaluate and boost our online presence with a strong LinkedIn profile.
Let’s make this a 2022 priority!