LinkedIn has long been thought of as the social media network for professionals. It is the way in which professionals can market their skills and experience to prospective employers. Indeed, this does serve as one of Linkedin’s functions, but LinkedIn can do so much more. 25% of American adults are on LinkedIn. That is a potential consumer base of 64,575,000 people who can benefit from your products or services. So, the question remains, how do you get started marketing your business on LinkedIn?
Step One: Build Your Page
To have access to LinkedIn, you must first register an individual account. This person will also be in charge of your Company Page. Later on, you can add more administrators to your company page. It is advised that a professional email is used for this step as it may be seen by visitors to your profile through apps like Seamless. Once you have created an account, you will be able to begin building your company Page.
A LinkedIn Page serves as your company's online voice. It enables users to discover more about your company or school, brand, goods and services, and employment openings. You must have a Page on LinkedIn to communicate with members as an organization. Currently, mobile devices are unable to be used to create a LinkedIn Page, but you may use a laptop or desktop computer to do so.
1. In the upper right corner of your LinkedIn homepage, click the Work symbol. It looks like 9 little squares forming one larger square.
2. Select Create a Company Page from the drop-down menu. You'll also pick this option if you want to establish a Page for a school.
3. Choose the Page type you want to create from the options below:
Small business: small businesses are corporations, partnerships, or sole
proprietorships with fewer employees and/or lower yearly income than a larger firm or corporation. Small businesses usually have 100 employees or less.
Medium to large business: medium businesses have a larger revenue than smaller businesses but less revenue than large businesses. They usually only employ 100-999 people. Large businesses have large revenues and employ over 1000 people.
Showcase Page: Showcase Pages are LinkedIn Page extensions meant to highlight a brand, business unit, or effort. You may construct Showcase Pages for different elements of your business, each with its own set of messaging and audience segments to share.
Educational institution (high school or university/college): These pages are for schools or other academic institutions.
4. Enter your Page's identification, Company or Institution information, and Profile information.
5. Check the verification box to indicate you have the authority to create the page on behalf of that company or institution.
6. Click Create Page.
7. To begin developing your Page, click Start building your Page! If the Page is for a school, contact LinkedIn to enable the Alumni tool.
Step Two: Making Your Page Stand Out
Marketing expert Brian Carter once said that "You cannot get anybody to do something if they're not paying attention to you." There is a great deal of truth in that. If your page is run-of-the-mill, ho-hum in design, people are not going to pay attention to it. If they aren’t paying attention to your page, they also aren’t buying your products or services. So, what can you do to make your page stand out?
Optimize SEO
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the act of optimizing content for higher placement in search results. The words you use on your LinkedIn page will have a big impact on how they show up on search engines like Google. SEO optimization allows you to control the flow of traffic to your site naturally. SEO is a good way to boost your site's visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs). When you improve your Page's SEO, you enhance your chances of getting discovered not only by LinkedIn users but as well as by relevant online searchers you would have missed otherwise.
The most important thing to think about when using SEO on your LinkedIn Page is the use of keywords. Consider your major offers when deciding which keywords to include on your LinkedIn Page. Your profession, locale, and expertise are all critical keywords to include on your LinkedIn Page. One place where keywords can be very important is underneath your banner on your LinkedIn Page. Consider your tagline or elevator line. You want to express what you do and who you serve as rapidly as possible. Consider adding your location, main product, etc...
For Example: Carter’s Home Flooring: Makers of fine hardwood flooring in Oakland since 1987.
Make the Most of the About Us Section
Here again, is where those keywords come in handy. This is the section where you should insert those relevant keywords and phrases that will help people find your Page on LinkedIn and through search engines. This section may include up to 2,000 words. You may also build slogans and descriptions in several languages on LinkedIn. Make sure you are using trustworthy translators to do so if taking advantage of this. A bad translation could prove an embarrassment for your company down the road.
Hashtags For the Win
Although hashtags on LinkedIn Pages are unusual, they give a unique approach to interacting with followers and participating with postings. Add up to three hashtags relating to your business, industry, and target audience. They will be posted to your Page as Community Hashtags. You may increase the reach of your post by utilizing hashtags. If you utilize a hashtag, which has 300,000K followers, your post engagement will easily quadruple what it would have been without hashtags. Increased interaction can assist you in establishing credibility and facilitating meaningful relationships with other LinkedIn users.
Image is Everything
A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. The pictures displayed on your LinkedIn Page could be worth a lot more. The images used in LinkedIn business profiles follow slightly different guidelines than the images used in personal profiles. Businesses frequently include their logos on their LinkedIn banners. There isn't as much diversity as there is on personal pages. So, to make your picture truly worth its weight in gold you need to stand out where you can.
Consider first, your company’s culture. Would you describe your company as sophisticated or playful? Are you futuristic or more of a classic? Your company’s vibe and culture should be on full display when looking at the banner. One view of the banner on your Company’s page and the prospective client or customer should have a good idea of the kind of company you are.
Once you have an idea of the story you want to convey with your banner, you can begin its creation. The ideal LinkedIn banner size is 1584 by 396 pixels, and the picture format should be JPEG, GIF, or PNG. The file size should not exceed 8 MB. Software such as Photoshop or Canva can be a great place to design your banner.
Step Three: Gather Your Followers
In a world full of Social Media influencers on Instagram or Tic Tok, the term followers have taken on a whole new meaning. Followers are no longer disciples but rather an interesting fanbase eager for new content from their favorite creators. The same is true on LinkedIn. Professionals regularly follow their favorite companies waiting for new content about their brand or industry. So how do you build that following?
Post regularly. Content is king in the world of social media. Posts your company makes can vary.
Share Your Wins and Milestones
Celebrate and highlight big winners among your employees or give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your company's goals and ambitions. Don't be afraid to celebrate corporate victories and express thanks to followers and consumers for assisting you in reaching your goals. Big wins garner big attention!
Video is Everything
Since video can drive significantly more engagement on LinkedIn, it is especially effective at generating reactions, comments, and shares. For example, over the course of a year, LinkedIn video posts generated over 300 million engagements. They also received thrice the engagement of text-based posts. Think of the possibilities that entail for your business!
Your best bet is to go with LinkedIn Native Video. The native video refers to a video that is posted directly to LinkedIn or made on the site. In contrast to embedded videos, LinkedIn native video auto-plays in user feeds. This means that they can draw user attention much quicker than an uploaded video. Native video can be up to 10 minutes long from your phone or 15 minutes long from a desktop computer.
Show Your Expertise
One of the best ways to sell a product or service is by showing you are the expert in your field. Most people would rather buy from someone who knows what they are selling than from someone who does not. Maybe your company has a blog about their industry. Maybe you have images discussing statistics in your field. Share those on LinkedIn. When readers come to your page knowing they are leaving more well informed than when they first came, they are more likely to come back for more.
Invite Followers In
You don’t have to just wait for your followers to come to you. You can reach out to them too! Here is how it's done.
1. Log in to your LinkedIn account and your company page.
2. On your desktop, go to your Admin View, which is located on the left side of your LinkedIn site.
3. Select Admin Tools from the dropdown menu. You'll notice an opportunity to invite connections here.
4. Choose who you want to invite to your LinkedIn company page.
5. Select Invite contacts. This will send an invitation to the individuals you've chosen.
There are a few caveats.
- Page administrators with less than 500 connections can invite everyone with whom they are linked. Those with more than 500 invitees must manually select who they want to invite.
- Companies that already have more than 100,000 followers are unable to use this feature.
- Company admins must have at least 3 connections to be able to invite members to follow the company page.
- In order to prevent spamming, Admins can only send one invite to each of their contacts.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, LinkedIn is set to become the premier social media platform for professionals and businesses alike. LinkedIn allows companies to share their expertise with other professionals and businesses in their field. It helps showcase the company’s identity to potential clients, customers, and future employees. If your company is not taking advantage of all LinkedIn has to offer, then they are following behind!