According to a recent Mashable report, the business networking site LinkedIn now stands at more than 175 million members. (mashable.com)

In numbers, that’s 175,000,000.

Not as impressive as the national debt, but it’s still a pretty big number. So, what does this mean for businesses?

Twitter and Facebook tend to dominate the social media conversation for businesses. If you’re a B2B service, however, LinkedIn’s vast network can be of particular use to you. Devoid of much of the noise inherent in the Twitters and Facebooks of the world, LI is all business. No “This is what I had for breakfast” or “Look at my cute ferret” here.

Some advantages to being on LinkedIn:

• Improved visibility – personal and corporate pages are picked up by search engines, and users can ‘follow’ your company page
• Groups – join in discussions with others in your industry, or in your target market
• Establish expertise – answer questions and weigh in on discussions within your groups to make your company the go-to solution in your particular field
• New opportunities – if you work on a sub-contracting basis, LI is full of potential client companies
• New vendors – similarly, if your own company needs to outsource work, LI is full of vendors who are ready, willing and able
• Expand your network – get introduced to potential clients and partners through people you already know

Food for thought.

photo by Chris Lester