The underlying purpose and market offering of LinkedIn is inherent in its very name: to establish links. Its focus on enabling people to connect with others in turn aims to help them perform their work more effectively—an option that is particularly relevant for marketers and sales professionals.
As a recent advertising campaign by the social media site emphasizes, users can turn to LinkedIn when they need to find contacts, assistance, and insights to achieve their career goals. The campaign highlights a range of creative approaches to personal selling, ranging across a vast spread of industries and career opportunities.
For one entrepreneur for example, tired by years of cold calling, rejections, and struggling to find customers for his financial services company, LinkedIn provided a novel channel that enabled him to expand his business substantially. Another business owner brought her experiences as a marketer with her when she struck out to open her own restaurant, leveraging social media to attract diners and reviews. A street dancer explains that he considers himself “my own business” and recommends that others realize that they can “be your own brand.”
By highlighting these disparate and diverse examples, LinkedIn is attempting to establish its role as the primary option that sellers should use to market themselves and their business. By leveraging its offerings, these sellers are using a critical tool in today’s toolbox of ideas for sales and personal selling.

Discussion Questions:
1. What are some other ways employees in the marketing or personal selling fields might use LinkedIn?
2. Is LinkedIn limited to interpersonal relationships, or can it help business-to-business relationships as well?

 

 

Source: Melissa Selcher, “Whatever Inspires and Drives You, We’re in it Together,” LinkedIn Blog, January 8, 2018; “3 of the Most Creative Marketing Campaigns of 2018 (So Far),” Digital Marketing Institute, May 2, 2018, https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/en-us/blog/05-02-18-3-of-the-most-creative-marketing-campaigns-of-2018