Debt collection agencies can gain many benefits from the popular business platform, LinkedIn. There are a few key reasons why having a LinkedIn profile should be part of your collection agency’s business development and marketing strategy. If you’re on the fence or would like to learn more about the value, below are 5 reasons that you should be using LinkedIn to improve your company’s digital doorstep and reach more potential clients.

1. Build Your Company’s Positive Reputation

With everything your company does to create positive consumer interactions, operate with integrity and give back to the community, your company’s voice should speak for itself and be “the loudest in the room”– or in this case, your search results. LinkedIn is one platform that can help your company harness its digital “voice” to share positive things like your company’s humanitarian and community involvement, employee highlights and achievements, and other examples of your company’s values.

Whether or not your business takes an active role in reputation management, words will at some point be written. The cost of doing business in an industry that is often emotional for many consumers, legally complex, and highly regulated invariably comes with occasional complaints or disputes– even when your business trains employees thoroughly and intentionally, rewards and incentivizes positive and professional service, and carefully complies with all regulations. It’s better to take ownership of your company’s online reputation and share your company’s good news.

2. Learn & Share with Industry Peers

There is a great deal of valuable information-sharing and networking already taking place on LinkedIn amongst industry colleagues and fellow professionals. Sometimes the benefit of getting involved in LinkedIn discussions or reading an interesting post is educational rather than promotional. Learning about what like-minded colleagues are up to with their businesses or how they are handling challenges similar to what we’re facing can spark growth within ourselves and our own businesses as well.

Your agency can get involved and add to the conversation. As an added benefit, your genuine interest and involvement in the shared posts of others, whether simply by “liking” or commenting, has an organic way of getting your and your company’s name out there amongst potential partners and leads. Find or create something valuable, educational, or inspiring to share and jump in. Add new connections by following relevant hashtags or businesses and seeing who your colleagues are following.

3. Organically Build Potential Leads

Business development takes intentionality, follow-through, and relationship building. Taking an active role on LinkedIn can help you establish and maintain relationships and get to know others on a little deeper or additional level than the occasional phone call, email, or networking event. Digital networking opportunities are generally unobtrusive and convenient for most people, which can be a great way to warm up leads, especially before conferences and events.

Staying connected on LinkedIn can also help you keep an eye on the tone of other businesses and the industry overall, gain insight into the needs and expectations of potential clients, and see what others are doing to gain and keep business. For example, perhaps the potential client you’re interested in is celebrating a particular certification or achievement that could give you insight into what that client may be looking for in new partners.

4. Reach Your Target Audience

Once your agency has specifically identified your target audiences, you can create a business profile with wording that can help you reach a larger and more relevant pool of potential clients. It is to your agency’s benefit to have a clear and concrete overview already written in your business profile, including specific services and specialties. If your profile has the keywords internet users are looking for, it can passively continue working for your company even when you’re away by getting pulled into keyword search results. As long as your business profile privacy settings are set to “public” and set to be searchable by search engines, it will do exponentially more work for you by drawing leads to your digital doorstep.

Be sure you have your “curb appeal” ready to accurately represent your company with a good first impression. Images should be quality and high resolution, content should be clear and specific with good flow, and contact information/website URL should be readily available. Encourage your employees to update their personal profiles with current company and job information to increase circulation when the company shares important news or information. When posting, utilize the “Notify Employees” button to encourage additional distribution and reach a wider audience.

5. Improve Your Company’s SEO

If you haven’t heard of or aren’t very familiar with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it’s likely worth some time looking it up to consider whether your website and digital presence are faring well in the land of web crawlers and SEO value. The good news is that there are concrete steps you can take to improve your company’s overall SEO value.

Your consumers, clients, and regulators are likely to search for your agency’s name. It’s important that those search results quickly direct searchers to accurate and relevant links about your agency. LinkedIn is an accessible way for internet searchers to quickly see your business profile and access key contact and business details. It can also boost the SEO value of your business website when users link to it from your LinkedIn page.

LinkedIn Is Your Online Business Card

If your collection agency is not already using LinkedIn, it may be a wise move to get started. If your profile is outdated, take some time to review it and make sure it represents your company accurately and favorably. Your LinkedIn profile is similar to a business card. You wouldn’t hand out old, smeared business cards at a networking event. You’d print them fresh if necessary, and you’d make sure all information was current and presented in a professional, crisp manner. Treat your business LinkedIn profile in the same regard by keeping it fresh with relevant news and information about your company. and see how you can put it to work for your business.

This post was sponsored by Alliant Capital Management. “Located in Buffalo, NY and Chandler, AZ, Alliant Capital Management is a professional debt collection company that provides recovery services for creditors. We have decades of experience in delivering compliant and affordable debt collection services. We are committed to delivering innovative, effective, and affordable solutions for our clients while providing the best possible experience for consumers.”