How to Successfully Use LinkedIn for Business
Jul 16, 2021
Social Media Marketing News
With over 800 million users and counting, LinkedIn has evolved rapidly in the past few years. What started off as a small platform for industry professionals on which to connect has grown into a massively successful corner of the internet.
LinkedIn allows companies to build their community, reach out to potential employees and customers, and much more. As a result, it is essential for brands to establish their own Linkedin Company Page and utilise LinkedIn for business.
Creating and running a LinkedIn Company Page is a key part of marketing for the modern company, so let’s dive in and hash out all the little details so you can ace your LinkedIn era.
HOW TO CREATE YOUR LINKEDIN COMPANY PAGE
Let’s start with the basics. Creating a successful LinkedIn Company Page takes a little bit more thought than simply filling out your details and pressing enter. Follow our guide and you will be sure to lay the foundation to use your LinkedIn for business.
1. Create your page
The first step in using LinkedIn for business is creating your page. To create a LinkedIn business page, you must first open an individual page. Then, select the button that allows you to switch to a Company page.
Next, make sure to choose the right type of page for your business. You will be given four options, small business, medium to large business, showcase page and educational institution, so choose what suits you best and move onto the next step.
Finally, plug in your logo and your tagline. As you know, first impressions matter.
Your logo and tagline are what potential customers and employees will see first when they come across your brand, so make certain they promote your business the right way.
2. Complete your profile
It may seem obvious, but completing your profile is an integral part of using your LinkedIn for business. Studies show that complete Company Pages receive 30% more views than those that lie unfinished. So, set aside thirty minutes and click through all those little buttons.
While filling out your profile, there are several things to keep in mind.
Use Translations
Broaden your audience by using LinkedIn’s translation feature.
By leaving your profile in only one language, you are missing out on a whole bunch of potential viewers! This is especially important for global companies; rather than having to create a new LinkedIn Company Page for each region, you can just stick to one page and have it translated into the necessary languages.
Add Keywords to Your Description
A neat little fact about LinkedIn, is that your page is indexed by Google. What this means is that like all other websites, if a customer types in a word that appears lots on your page, your page is going to pop up first.
To get the most out of this, make sure to use lots of keywords in your page’s description. Try and keep it natural however, we don’t want you sounding like a robot.
Add Hashtags
Much like other social media platforms, LinkedIn hashtags are a powerful way to attract new eyes to your page. When filling out your profile, there will be a tab where you can type in hashtags that are relevant to your business.
Make sure to keep your hashtags relevant and up to date to draw in the most new viewers possible!
Create a Branded Cover Image
To add that extra touch of professionalism, create your own branded cover image. A great trick is to update this cover image regularly with promotions for your brand. For example, an exciting event that is happening that month, or a new product launch.
A branded cover image makes your page appear put together and visually appealing, thus encouraging viewers to trust your brand.
Add a Custom Button
When setting up your LinkedIn Company Page, there will be an option to add your own custom command button. You can change this to commands such as “Contact Us!” to make it easier for your audience to find out more about your brand.
3. Build up your following
Now that your LinkedIn Company Page is set up and looking gorgeous, let’s get into how to build up your audience.
Building up a LinkedIn following is a continuous process but an integral one when employing LinkedIn for business. Ensure that you are getting your page out there as much as possible!
Share it on your other social media platforms for example, and make sure your current audience is well aware of your new page. You can even invite them to follow your page in the LinkedIn app.
Another key way to build up your LinkedIn following is to embed a link to your page on your website. This way, whenever curious customers are having a poke around on your site, they are able to easily find out more about you from your page.
Finally, have your employees update their own LinkedIn pages. When they originally created their profiles, they weren’t able to list your company. Now that you have a page, they can! Make sure to make use of this, as it allows their audiences to find you.
4. Create and carryout your LinkedIn marketing strategy
So, you have a LinkedIn Company Page and it is thriving. You have a following who are ready to enjoy your content and engage; what next?
Now it is time to create and carry out your LinkedIn marketing strategy.
Have a think about what goals you have in using LinkedIn for business and how you want to achieve them. How often will you post? What sort of content will you post? Who are you trying to reach? How much is your LinkedIn ad budget?
Having a clear marketing strategy laid out before you begin makes it far easier to achieve your goals and stay on top of your progress.
HOW TO USE YOUR LINKEDIN FOR BUSINESS
Now that you are all set up, let’s take a look at how to actually use your LinkedIn for business.
Advertising
Utilising your LinkedIn as an advertising tool is a fantastic way to broaden your reach and drum up interest in your brand.
LinkedIn is perfect for advertising, as it offers a broad range of ad types for you to use. Thus, it is super easy to find the perfect ad format for your business.
LinkedIn ad types include:
- Text ads
- Posts
- Message ads
- Dynamic ads
- Job ad listings
- Photo carousel ads
You might have an idea already of what ad type suits your brand and audience most, or you may want to have a fiddle and try out a few before deciding. To do so, keep an eye on your analytics to track which ads are most successful for your goals.
Post Job Listing
As mentioned previously, a major benefit of utilising LinkedIn for business is growing your employee base. Utilise the LinkedIn job listing feature to draw in applicants for positions at your company. Forty million people look for new jobs each week, so you would be remiss to skip this opportunity.
It is also worth considering paying to promote your job listings, if your company has the resources. This pushes your listings to the forefront of the listing page; paid job listings are so successful that they receive 25% more applicants than non-promoted listings.
Networking
An integral part of engaging with LinkedIn for business is networking. When it comes to LinkedIn for business, successful engagement is owed to good networking.
Whilst simply operating your Company Page and engaging with your audience through it can be enough to build your network, utilising LinkedIn Groups allows you to go that extra mile.
LinkedIn Groups aims to bring together communities of like minded individuals to connect over shared interests. Now, a Company Page cannot join LinkedIn Groups – but individuals can. Thus, encouraging key members of your company to join LinkedIn Groups and engage with community members is a sure fire way to expand your network and broaden your reach.
Thought leadership
Finally, LinkedIn is the perfect platform for your company to practice thought leadership.
LinkedIn allows you to post long form content such as written articles and blog posts. By posting written pieces on your industry, you can establish your brand as an industry innovator and a key company to look to for expertise.
Thought leadership is an important part of using LinkedIn for business as this kind of content is particularly loved by B2B decision makers. It has been found that these individuals are far more willing to work with companies that publish thought leadership content. So, definitely hop on that train!
HOW TO MARKET YOURSELF ON LINKEDIN
Last but surely not least, let’s have a look at how to successfully market your company on LinkedIn.
Optimise your posting
Much like other social media platforms, LinkedIn’s algorithm shows users more of the content that they are already liking. What this means for brands engaging with LinkedIn for business, is that it is important to prioritise relevant over recency.
Put simply, focus on putting out content that your audience will definitely enjoy. If this takes longer, that’s ok! Quality over quantity is the key here.
To ensure that your posts are prepped to be as successful as possible, consider including the following:
- Images
- Calls to action
- Short copy – unless you are engaging with thought leadership content, of course!
- Tag the people and places you wish to draw to your post
- Polls to encourage engagement
- Lead with a question to draw readers in
- Hashtags to attract new audiences
- Eye catching headlines that stand out
- Name your audience so they know you’re talking to them!
Use LinkedIn Analytics
Another great part of exercising LinkedIn for business is that it provides its users with base level analytics that are fantastic for tracking engagement. Make the use of these numbers, as they will help your brand understand who they are reaching and how. This way, you are not just shooting in the dark; your company can hone in on what content is most successful and continue to produce it.
Post according to your audience
Once you have established your audience by using LinkedIn analytics, it is time to tailor your posting schedule to their needs.
For example, if your audience is mainly made up of industry professionals, then posting while they are on lunch break, on the way to work or even on the way home, will ensure your content gets maximum readership. There are many factors that go into posting times on LinkedIn. For a more detailed overview, click here.
Much like the previous point, the key here is to make your content work for you. To most efficiently utilise LinkedIn for business, understand your audience and how they align with your brand’s goals.
FAQs
What is a LinkedIn marketing strategy?
One of the most vital parts of implementing LinkedIn for business, a LinkedIn marketing strategy is the plan your company creates to advertise your brand on the platform. This will include ad budget, content planning, posting schedule, and other details on how your brand will be advertised on the platform.
When is the best time to post on LinkedIn?
The best time to post on LinkedIn depends solely on your brand’s audience. Different demographics engage with LinkedIn at different times, so when using LinkedIn for business be sure to narrow down when it is best to post for your particular audience.
How to use LinkedIn hashtags?
LinkedIn hashtags can be included in your profile and in your posts. Much like other social media platforms users can search via hashtags, so make certain to include a variety of relevant hashtags in your posts and profile when you are engaging with LinkedIn for business.
What are LinkedIn influencers?
LinkedIn influencers are influencers that operate on LinkedIn. They have a large following and can work with brands in influencer partnerships; thus making them a crucial part of using LinkedIn for business. Some key LinkedIn influencers include Neil Patel (digital marketing), Gary Vaynerchuk (communications) and Marsha Collier (ecommerce).
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