When building your social media strategy it’s tempting to funnel all your time, effort and resources into platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, while platforms such as LinkedIn tend to be less of a priority. However, with more than 700 million monthly users, as of January 2022, not having a LinkedIn presence could be doing your company a disservice, especially if your business sells to or works with other businesses.
Describing itself as a ‘networker’s tool kit’, LinkedIn can be used to build your network, engage your audience, raise brand awareness, increase revenue and generate leads and conversions.
Here’s how to get started on the platform.
Create a LinkedIn profile (if you don’t have one already)
You will need to create a user account in order to create a business profile or company page. Your user profile will also serve as the admin for your company page.
- To create an account go to the LinkedIn homepage. Hit ‘Join now’ in the top right corner.
- Input your email address and create a password.
- Hit ‘Agree & Join’ – It should be noted that it’s worth reading through LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy and Cookie policies first.
- Upload a profile picture. This should be of you by yourself and set against a plain background.
- Create a headline that tells your network who you are and what you do.
- Add details of your work, skills and experience.
- Start building your network.
Creating a Company Page
Now that you’re all set up it’s time to create a Company page. Here’s how.
- Log in to your LinkedIn account.
- Click on the Work icon in the top right corner of the page and select ‘Create a Company Page’ at the bottom of the list.
- You’ll now be given four options: Small business, Medium to large business, Educational institution and Showcase page. Choose the option that best suits your business. The options are pretty self-explanatory, apart from the Showcase page. Essentially the Showcase page acts as an extension of your Company page, spotlighting individual brands, services or aspects of your business and linking back to your main Company page. It also appears under Affiliated Pages on the main Company page.
- Input your company details.
- Click Create page.
Optimising your LinkedIn page
Once your company page is set up, it’s time to build your audience. The best way to do that is to optimise your page. Here’s how you do that
- Complete your page – According to LinkedIn, business pages with complete pages receive 30% more weekly views. A complete page includes a logo and cover images, organisation information including website URL, location and contact details, as well as an overview and custom button.
- Add translations – If your business serves a global audience, offering translations for your company page will make your business more discoverable, as people tend to search Google in their native language. Your page can be translated into up to 20 languages. However, when translating your page it’s worth considering cultural differences as well as a communications strategy to ensure you can actually respond to potential clients who find the translated profile.
- Use keywords – Using relevant, searchable and natural-sounding keywords in your overview will make your business more searchable, meaning that more people are likely to find it.
Build your following
- Share your page – No one will know your Company page exists until you tell them about it. Sharing your page to your personal LinkedIn profile is an easy way to let your peers and existing network know about your business.
- Link to it from your website – Add a LinkedIn icon with a link to your Company page on your business website.
- Ask employees to update their profiles – If your employees listed their job before the Company page was created then their profile won’t link back to the Company page. Asking your employees to edit their profiles to include the new link will make it easier for their contacts to find and follow the business page. It also lists the employee as working for your company, which helps to give your page credibility.
- Invite followers – You can invite your connections to follow your business page. However, LinkedIn does limit the number of invites you can send out per month so as to prevent spam, it’s also worth noting that many LinkedIn users ignore their notifications.
Struggling with your social media strategy? As one of the quality marketing agencies in Hertfordshire, Charlie Puffin Digital is here to help. Drop us an email at [email protected] or call 01462 558537 to book your free discovery call today.