While the are companies of various sizes on LinkedIn, its the small and midsize businesses that should benefit the most from this social media.
In an announcement, the business and employment-oriented LinkedIn said that owners of SMB businesses can start listing the services they offer, directly on their LinkedIn profile pages.
When these SMB businesses add their service listing to their profile, they will automatically be eligible to show up in relevant search results for those services.
“From now on, members looking for help will be able to filter their general LinkedIn searches for service providers,” wrote LinkedIn’s Group Product Manager Vidya Chandra. “When you add services to your profile, you’ll show up in these search results.”
In other words, LinkedIn is trying to embrace SMB businesses in more ways.
Acknowledging that the platform has more than 10 million small businesses in the U.S. alone, giving SMB owners the ability to list their services directly on their profile pages should help them grow on both LinkedIn and beyond.
To add services to profile, business owners should:
- Visit their profile page from LinkedIn's mobile app or desktop. There, they can see a box under their profile photo/headline that talks about how to showcase the services they provide.
- Click on the 'Add Services' to fill out a form. Here, users should provide details about the services they offer. "Be as detailed as possible so members who view this section have a good sense for what you provide."
- Click 'continue' to automatically add the information to their profile.
From acquiring new customers, bringing in exceptional talent, or extending your professional network, LinkedIn is already the platform for business users and professionals, the medium in which the two parties can connect and engage.
And with the ability for businesses to add their services directly to their profile, this "is a great way to quickly indicate to members that you are open for business,” said Chandra.
The feature should be a bonus for any companies lacking the time and resources to build out a comprehensive social media marketing presence.
"Based on our research, small businesses heavily rely on word of mouth to bring in new customers. That being said, we recognize that this traditional marketing strategy is changing and small businesses can, and should, take advantage of the new digital 'word of mouth' conversation," Chandra continued.
LilnkedIn is rolling out this feature to all small business leaders and freelancers who have a Premium Business subscription in the U.S., before making it available for all business leaders and freelancers on the platform.