What is the value of LinkedIn contacts than in business? Is there a difference? When to use one or the other or both? I’ve found that some companies prefer LinkedIn, some prefer Facebook and some use neither. In this article we will look at the two platforms to help you discern what is best for you.

The final decision on any social network use is at your corporate culture, goals and customer. Yet it is important to recognize that you can not choose “none of the above,” if you want to survive the new digital economy. Therefore, the question is what we choose and how do we start?

This message will help you begin to distinguish between the value of LinkedIn for business and the value of Facebook for business. In a previous article, I looked at Facebook vs Twitter.

It helps to see the evolution of these two platforms in order to understand an idea of what works best for each to get. Facebook began as a social networking tool for students. In 2004, MySpace launched in response to those young people together during their high school attached, Facebook targeted the student entering a university campus. In the early days it was a very social network similar to MySpace.

LinkedIn started as a social network, but as a business. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn rejected options for photo albums, or to freely talk to the contacts. In the early days, the founders of LinkedIn saw an opportunity for a social media site that was a little less “social” and make a little more “professional.”

While LinkedIn is extended to allow applications for many of the things we can do on Facebook and Twitter, it maintains its identity as a professional networking community. The limitations on the connection with people on LinkedIn are tighter than either Facebook or Twitter. These restrictions were loosened in recent years, but you should still say how you know a person before you connect.

In the early days began as a LinkedIn job search resource, whereas Facebook started as a social site for students.Headhunters and human resource professionals use LinkedIn to identify potential candidates. LinkedIn is still the goal, but it has become much more than a hotbed for those looking for a job. A strong professional network of trusted connections gives you a career advantage. Moreover, the ability to access information and resources quickly understand the global economy provides a significant competitive advantage. If you see LinkedIn as just a place for job search, you miss a lot!

Knowing how the two platforms began to help you understand the strengths of each and how to best respond to those strengths.

Value of Facebook to Business:

Primarily a social site. On Facebook you can share as much or as little personal information as you want. You can post photos of yourself and your family or your business and employees.Facebook gives you the option of a personal and professional profile of who you are making. People learn more about you as a person. In sales, we talk about knowledge, like and trust factor for a sale is made. Companies that focus on other businesses (B2B) as clients to understand this factor. Facebook gives you a great chance to be a number of barriers and help your business customers to know more about you. LinkedIn does not so much freedom that the person above a “resume” like profile as Facebook does.
Versatility. Facebook allows you to set up a personal profile, professional profile, a business page or a fan page. You have many choices for yourself and your business in front of your customers. People want to be part of a corporate feel. You can do that by creating a fan page for your business or for a unique product that you offer. LinkedIn offers only one type of profile.
Facebook ads. Facebook for Business gives you the opportunity to purchase a pay-for-click ad to a unique niche audience. These ads are very cost effective because you only pay when someone clicks, and you can limit how much you pay for any given month.

Value of LinkedIn to Business

Search. On LinkedIn If you have a large following, you can access to people in certain jobs, industries and / or groups that you otherwise would not have to win. Unlike Facebook which only can you find friends. LinkedIn allows you to search for companies, jobs and answers to questions, as well as for people. For sellers the ability to search and locate additional business networking within these companies give you a competitive advantage over others using LinkedIn to the fullest.
Gain Expert Status and credibility in your field. Then began LinkedIn, the question / answer section of the site was a powerful solution for you to showcase your knowledge. You could question whether a message to the entire population or segments of the network on LinkedIn. You could answer questions from other people posted. Many members answered questions and became experts in that field. Updated and expanded features on LinkedIn enabled members to ask questions and specific groups within which they are members to answer. By becoming an active provider of information, create credibility and trust with a wide range of people. Companies that use this lot to do visibility and credibility for their business. This is one of the most powerful features of LinkedIn.
Recommendation function. LinkedIn gives you a great opportunity to showcase the value of your positions without advertising.Companies that use the recommended category wisely not only this. LinkedIn requires three recommendations to your profile to complete. Many companies place more than three. We caution, however, to ensure your recommendations give an accurate picture of the value of your services. Think of them as a way to advertise LinkedIn.
Visibility of blog posts. Via a blog posting of the applications with LinkedIn, you can publish your blog posts directly to your LinkedIn profile and all of your groups. This feature allows you to give your blog much broader view of the entire LinkedIn network. Instead of just placing your blog to your profile or status update as is the case with Facebook, you can post it on any number of groups in your profile and you can have your niche blog posts. In my case, instead of posting only 350 friends on Facebook, my blog was heading to 30,000 + people in my LinkedIn network group. Often I do not think the postal mail to all my groups, only those groups I think there is an interest.

There are many more differences between the value of LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networks. Ultimately, you look at each platform and decide how a social media strategy for your business to create.