There is a school of thought that says LinkedIn is necessary for small business owners to connect with peers in the industry. The site specializes in fostering relationships between professionals and staying connected with those in a given network. A number of leaders don't traditionally see the platform as a way of marketing for companies, and usually rely on Facebook or Twitter for that purpose.

However, many industry veterans would suggest that owners of startups take some nontraditional entrepreneurial advice and follow best practices to advertise using LinkedIn. There are certain tactics they can use to spread their company's message over that platform to boost sales.

Boost SEO

While a number of business owners know that there are multiple ways to increase a firm's search engine optimization, not many are aware that LinkedIn is one of the easiest ways to do this. According to Social Media Examiner, this can be done in the area where owners link to their various web presences.

Under the "Websites" section, where the company website, blog and Facebook pages can be linked, the leader should consider using a phrase that describes how individuals could find the company, Social Media Examiner suggested. The source used a mortgage website as an example and instead of simply saying "My Website," the business typed "Foreclosure Options," an SEO keyword.

Connect to new people through groups

Owners of smaller companies can market themselves to a previously untapped target audience by joining and participating in groups, Social Media Examiner reported, as some of the more popular ones have thousands of members. For example, the source said the Social Media Today group has more than 18,000 participants, while On Startups - Community of Entrepreneurs counts more than 123,000 members.

A better option might be creating an industry-specific group yourself, Entrepreneur explained. The magazine said this is a good way to get consumers and others in the sector excited and informed about industry news and can drive traffic back to the business' website.

Take advantage of Questions and Answers section

Finally, entrepreneurs can establish themselves as thought leaders by answering industry-related questions in LinkedIn's Questions and Answers forum, Entrepreneur noted. The source said that owners should not be overtly self-promotional and answer questions without pushing their own brand.

For the best results, the leader should consider giving a concise response, click on the "reply privately," which lets the individual know an answer has been posted, and then let that person know you are available to answer similar questions or be of help in the future, which may help make a sale.