The possibilities of using LinkedIn to promote your business are virtually endless. If you don’t know where to start or are having trouble finding the time, try our 5 easy steps to promote your business with LinkedIn.

First, you need a personal LinkedIn page. Make sure you have completed your profile and have a flattering position summary for the company to promote. Also, your profile must be 100% complete.

Next, decide how you will accept the connections. LION (LinkedIn Open Network) members connect with almost anyone who asks if they know them or not. The more conservative members only associate with people they know personally. This is your choice and you can adjust your settings to share or hide your connections. There are many security settings that control how much or little information is shared. If you are concerned about sharing information, start with very secure settings and can adjust them as needed. Never share personal information like your home address.

Now let’s go to business promotion:

1) Create a company page with your logo, overview, specialties, and statistics. Make sure current employees link to the page and that you have included your website.

2) Find groups to join that are of interest to your customers. There are many groups on LinkedIn that you can easily reach the 50 limit set by LinkedIn. Of course, you can join groups that are of personal interest, but if you are promoting your company the best groups will be those of interest to your customers.

3) Create a group based on your experience in the matter. It’s easy to create and promote a group. Create a group by choosing a name that describes the group and promote to your contacts. Better to approve new members rather than have open access.

4) Start group discussions and keep the conversation going. Some groups will be very active and others will need to be stimulated. Periodically promote your group to get new members. Be sure to check messages for appropriate content and spam. You can remove abusers from your group.

5) Watch the open question and answer discussions. Even if you choose not to participate, take a look at the types of questions and answers that are posted. You may want to experiment in this open forum before starting your own group. If you are (or want to be) a subject matter expert for your company, search this forum for questions to answer.

This will help you get started. Next time, we’ll add 5 steps to improve your LinkedIn experience.