How do you use LinkedIn?

[emmabjones]

So far, I have used mainly Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to promote websites. My boss wants me to promote our carpet cleaning website on LinkedIn too. Any suggestions what kind of posts I can post there? How do you use LinkedIn for your business and do you think it's worth it to spend money on LinkedIn Ads?

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

Linkedin is just full of recruiters and spam these days. I think your boss should look at spending his budget elsewhere, there's far more targeted and cost-efficient ways of promoting such a business than on Linkedin.

 

[StartUpC]

Hello,
I would not buy Ads on LinkedIn at first - however the target (audience) is out there: officers, owners, people working in offices... and they possibly have homes to clean, too.
Anyhow with a well written "why is it important to keep the office clean" -ish article I would try to invade into their mind. With some interesting trivia (defeat diseases, why it is important to clean regularly, how to prevent colours, and so on... anything interesting and eye catchy) in it and shared within your network. It worth a try.

Cheers,
Chill

 

[Benjamin Sherwin]

Scott is right, Linkedin is a waste of time and money for advertising. If you're going to place ads on any social media network, it should only be Facebook (for far too many reasons to list). Mostly the advanced targeting options, high Click Through Rates and low Cost Per Click (up to 90% cheaper than AdWords for many of my clients).

What is your companies monthly spend on online advertising?

 

[emmabjones]

What is your companies monthly spend on online advertising?

The boss is about to decide what the online advertising budget will be. So far, we have advertised only on Adwords and the results were not very satisfying although our landing page looks really good on both desktop and mobile devices and the keywords were carefully selected...

 

[emmabjones]

there's far more targeted and cost-efficient ways of promoting such a business than on Linkedin.

Are you talking about Facebook or something else?

 

[OllieRoddy]

Hi Emma,

Agree with the previous comments on LinkedIn being way too filled with spam these days.

Disagree though that LinkedIn is a waste of time. If you create InMail campaigns and actually write them well (i.e., not a huge long pitch and just one or two questions so it's personal) and get your targeting right, you can have a lot of success

 

[fisicx]

So far, we have advertised only on Adwords and the results were not very satisfying although our landing page looks really good on both desktop and mobile devices and the keywords were carefully selected...

It wasn't very satisfying because your homepage is all wrong for an adwords landing page. People expect to land on a highly targeted page when the click on an advert. So if the wanted a carpet cleaning they should land on a carpet cleaning page with the quote form on the page along with testimonials and all the prices.

Linkedin is pointless. People don't look for carpet cleaners on Linkedin. Or Facebook for that matter.

Build decent adwords landing pages and try again.

PS: you site doesn't work at all well on a mobile. It's not even that good on a desktop. The homepage links don't lead to target pages. I clicked on bedroom carpets and landed on a page that included sofa cleaning. It's not targeted and suggest you only do London but you also have a map with the home counties. Get a website review and your eyes will be opened as to the multitude of problems with the site.

 

[emmabjones]

PS: you site doesn't work at all well on a mobile. It's not even that good on a desktop.

Thank you for your comment! I believe comments like this one can really help us improve our website. Can you be a little bit more specific about what you didn't like about our website running on a mobile device?

 

[emmabjones]

If you create InMail campaigns and actually write them well (i.e., not a huge long pitch and just one or two questions so it's personal) and get your targeting right, you can have a lot of success

I will test this strategy. Nobody likes a huge long pitch...

 

[fisicx]

Emma,

Can't answer your question as website reviews are only for full members. But there are loads of things wrong with your site, not just how it works on a mobile.

 

[emmabjones]

Emma,

Can't answer your question as website reviews are only for full members. But there are loads of things wrong with your site, not just how it works on a mobile.

We have used Peek user testing a few times so that random people can review our website. All of them said our website looks very good and is easy to navigate. Maybe, you're just too pretentious.

 

[Clinton]

Ouch!

emmabjones, before dismissing someone's opinion in a forum it may be worth first browsing through a few of their previous posts to see if they know what they're talking about.

Though he can't provide a full review, there's a major clue in fixicx's post which I suggest you follow up. I've checked your site as well, bear in mind that I've owned numerous online businesses over the years, and I agree that it needs a lot of marketing input (which is not the same as user input).

 

[The Byre]

It's not too bad on a mobile, though I've seen better! Some of the pages just miss stuff when on the smaller screen, but it does take a bit too long to load and as @fisicx said, it could do with being more targeted. It's OK, I suppose!

Google - It is only on page four for unpaid listing and the ad is third from the top for "carpet cleaning London" so some basic SEO is required, before you worry about LinkedIn or any other social media site. Anyone can buy their way to the top of PPC, but it is cheaper and more satisfying to be on page one organically.

LinkedIn really is not really where any normal person would be looking for a carpet cleaner. At work, we just have tiles and at home we have a machine which my wife uses to drive the dogs bonkers.

Were I to be looking for an impecunious and unemployed insurance salesman, Linkedin is probably ideal!

 

[Jtabb7]

Emma, I would say that Linkedin could offer potential for your carpet cleaning website. With Linkedin mainly being a B2B network I would say that is where you'd get the most value out Linkedin if you do have/ are targetting business clients.

With less traffic clogging up news feeds than Facebook and Twitter and an audience that is naturally potentially more engaged with what you'd be posting ( don't get me wrong there is a time and place for Facebook/ Twitter for a carpet cleaning website as that's where consumers would be but people mainly want to see what their friends/celebrities are talking about on Facebook/Twitter).

Free content can go a long way on Linkedin especially if you can get across how your target market can benefit from what you are offering. For example a post such as ' Top 4 easy to avoid things that ruin carpets in your home (or business if you're targetting B2B)' or ' How small businesses can attract more clients by staying on top of their office' would resonate with an audience on Linkedin because the post is relevant to a large proportion of people using the network ( small business owners/ people have a home anyway)

I hope this helps you in some way.

Jon

 

[fisicx]

We have used Peek user testing a few times so that random people can review our website. All of them said our website looks very good and is easy to navigate.

If they were right the phone should be ringing all day long and you wouldn't need adwords.

You said the adwords weren't too satisfying. If the adverts are right and the keywords properly targeted then the problems lies with the website. It's not about being pretentious, it's many years of experience in knowing what makes a website effective. Your comment was that the site looks good on a phone and on a desktop. I don't disagree with that, it does look ok. But looking good does not mean it will convert. That's why you need a review. I can see two obvious problems on the homepage. Fixing those would be a major improvement.

 

[HazelC]

I can assure that as much as @fisicx and I don't always see eye to eye, he does know his stuff so probably best to look into what he says instead of dismissing it so quickly.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn is worth having a look at and using it, but I wouldn't recommend paid ads on there. As others have stated it is full of recruiters and such like but there are some good connections to be made. If you are looking to sell your services to businesses then I would recommend it is website that you should use.

 

[Ian J]

Maybe, you're just too pretentious.

Your quote made me laugh as anyone who has spoken to fisicx will know that pretentious he ain't