According to current data (2Q13), LinkedIn had 238 million members. The professional social network's popularity grows unabated, remaining a sought-after online destination for business networking, hiring, and even financing
It makes sense, then, to take a second look at whether your LinkedIn business page is up there with the best. And if you don't have a presence on LinkedIn, here's an opportunity to announce your presence in style.
1. Get your branding right
LinkedIn visitors trying to find out more about your company will first see your cover image. So it's important that the banner on your LinkedIn company page be easily recognizable; it should be in keeping with your brand identity and of high quality. Here are a couple of pointers:
- Try as much as possible to keep your LinkedIn banner different from your Twitter and Facebook banner images.
- You have the option of a standard logo (on top of the page) and a square logo that will accompany your updates. Choose each of these carefully, ensuring that they fit properly and do not appear distorted (remember that the logos will be compressed before being added).
- Ensure that all the links to your company website are properly inserted and working correctly.
2. Present your products/services attractively
How well you showcase your offerings will have a direct impact on the number of Linked members who'll end up visiting your website. On the Products & Services page, testimonials and recommendations are highlighted prominently. Harness their power by requesting your customers to recommend your offerings via the LinkedIn Request Recommendation module.
3. Be seen and heard
Optimizing your LinkedIn company page content is a good bet. To improve the page's searchability, embed the right keywords—the ones your customers are most likely to use—naturally. Avoid stuffing the content with too many keywords or buzzwords. Tweak the wording in a way that ensure your company's name pops up at the top during a LinkedIn Companies search.
If your business operation spans multiple locations, you may want to list all of them. LinkedIn allows visitors' location as a search criterion to narrow down results. You can add up to five different locations to your page.
And how about keeping it interesting by adding a video to your LinkedIn company page? A short YouTube video of about 30 seconds, summarizing your company and its offerings, should do. A well-made and appropriately branded video can encourage many to hit the "follow" button more easily.
4. Attract audience via advertisements
The advertising options provided by LinkedIn are certainly worth checking out. They can help you build a large follower base in no time. The advertisement can be targeted by job title, location, and many other parameters.
Even though the advertising option is an expensive one, it is highly focused and very effective. Spending a little on your company's business page can help you build a larger audience with ease.
5. Add LinkedIn buttons to your site
Social plugins are a great way to quickly share your content on various social media platforms. In addition to getting your content shared, you could also drive visitors from your website toward your LinkedIn business page. You choose from any of the recommend, follow, endorse, or share buttons on your site to drive traffic to your business page. Choose the ones that you feel are important and place them strategically over your website for maximum potential.
6. Make full use of insights
LinkedIn Insights also form an important part of developing your business page. These insights are exhaustive in nature and provide you with a thorough breakdown of impressions per post, user engagement, follower demographics, and so on.
Insights should take an important position in your efforts to develop your business page, especially if you are using targeted posts to attract audiences. Insights give you an opportunity of better understanding your audience and catering to their needs. In addition, you can monitor whether your efforts are paying dividends.
7. Create a LinkedIn group for your company
LinkedIn groups are ideal to start conversations on LinkedIn. By creating a group for your company, you can encourage your followers to engage in dialog with you and other followers. Creating a LinkedIn group dedicated to your company is essential to building your authority with your posts and comments.
8. Keep it social and update regularly
As all your followers can see your updates, keep them coming by posting information, comments, and tips on a regular basis. When you share information, keep in mind the professional demographic; your objective is to engage them and give your brand as much positive publicity as you can. Embed share buttons that allow your users to share content easily. A LinkedIn share button on your business website and blog is also a good way to encourage social sharing.
