Did you know: 65% of B2B companies have acquired a customer through LinkedIn?

As you know, I have always been a huge fan, and advocate of LinkedIn but they have always had one downfall. The likes of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest have extensive hashtag search functionality which is where LinkedIn has fallen short… until now.

LinkedIn and Hashtags

With 1 in every three professional on the planet using LinkedIn and social media being a huge part of how small businesses connect with their target audience, it was no secret that LinkedIn’s users were getting frustrated with the lack of hashtag search functionality.

Just two weeks ago a member of my private Facebook Group who had previously taken part in my 6 week social media bootcamp had asked whether it’s worth using hashtags on LinkedIn and my answer at the time was no. After LinkedIn’s latest blog, titled “Tap Into Professional Knowledge with Content Search at LinkedIn” my answer has now changed.

LinkedIn had the following to say about LinkedIn and Hashtags;

“Hashtags included in your posts (or others) are now tappable and lead to search results so that you can discover other posts with the same hashtag. Simply add a hashtag to your post and it will be automatically available publicly, or if you want it to be only visible to your connections you can easily change your sharing settings (more on privacy below). As you would expect, you can also search for a hashtag to see all public posts tagged with it.”

This is a great step forward for LinkedIn as hashtags have become a huge part of every small businesses social media strategy. This new hashtag functionality is only available on the Mobile App but LinkedIn have said they will be launching their new functionality to all members, on all platforms.

The LinkedIn and hashtags update is not the only news coming from LinkedIn over the last week.

New Search Functionality

We have all found a piece of content we have wanted to share whilst inside a social network and all of a sudden it disappears into the “social media noise”. LinkedIn have now made it easier for you to find a piece of content through keyword search under the posts tab.

If you want to keep up-to-date with a specific topic inside of LinkedIn use their new content search functionality. This will give you access to the latest conversations, ideas, and overall content surrounding a specific topic.

What are your thoughts about LinkedIn introducing hashtags to the B2B social network?

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

With 62% of marketers considering LinkedIn a successful revenue driver, I knew I had to create a LIVE TRAINING for you to help you achieve success on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is the best B2B social network and there is no doubt about that. Over 40% of LinkedIn users check their account daily, 42% update their LinkedIn profile regularly and LinkedIn has over 430 million members. Whilst LinkedIn has been around for over 13 years, small businesses are still finding it hard to generate sales through the strategic use of LinkedIn.

The one hour exclusive LinkedIn Training will cover the following;

• My Six step formula to building your profile and generating leads
• Build your LinkedIn network with 500 QUALITY business connections
• How to find potential customers using LinkedIn’s search functionality
• Get to the top of LinkedIn for your specific keywords in less than 60 seconds
• Utilise all of LinkedIn’s features to put you one step ahead of your competition
• How to share targeted and relevant industry information
• Learn 3 SECRET LinkedIn features you didn’t know about
• The do’s, and don’ts of your profile image
• Design and implement a networking strategy