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Make the most of your LinkedIn company page

Posted: 18th June 2015

Your personal LinkedIn profile may be up to date, filled with keywords, skills and an appropriate photo, but LinkedIn doesn’t stop there when helping you to generate leads.

Company Page usage has gone up from 24% to 57% between 2013-2014, highlighting the fact that consumers find them useful tools and they are becoming ever more popular on the professional networking site for a variety of reasons –

  • They help potential customers to learn more about a company or brand
  • Customers are always looking for more information and LinkedIn can provides it.
  • LinkedIn keeps the audience updated with relevant industry news.  Dell, for example, has 940,000 followers and regularly keeps them informed of technology updates and industry development.
  • There are 1,275,000 products and services highlighted across company pages so it is an obvious place to go to get information
  • Company pages help to humanise a company by also showing the people who work there.

But, company pages aren’t just to inform the customer; they can really help a company to build its brand whilst connecting with its target audience.

The more you add to your company page and the more you build it up the better the results, you’ll see more followers and more engagement with your audience. They are so much more effective than a personal profile as it showcases a company rather than an individual employee. They increase your web presence and make your company look much more professional and are easy to find.

Make sure your Company profile is complete

An incomplete profile will only put your audience off so fill out all the sections available with relevant information.

  • In the ‘About’ section use this opportunity to let the audience know the most important things about you, make sure it’s helpful and up to date
  • Keep in mind how you can meet the needs of your target audience, what problem can you solve and what the solution is
  • Use keywords as much as possible and think about the words that you want to be found for – this helps you to be found in searches

Use your content to your advantage

The content that you post makes a huge difference to how your page is viewed. It can help to attract an audience and put your company forward in a certain way, showing that you can benefit your followers.

  • Post news, updates and anything that is relevant to your industry
  • Hint at exciting news and share exclusives, making your followers feel special and part of a community
  • It should be easy to take in and of high quality, as well as helpful
  • If you can post once a day but don’t want to spam your audience; be consistent and regular
  • Link to articles and blogs outwith your own website to encourage conversation
  • ‘Pin’ the most important content to the top as it’s the first thing your audience will see

Through posting the correct content and updates, you’ll be able to reach out to new followers and build an audience. This is the best way to market your brand, also helping with SEO strategy and a word-of-mouth.  Furthermore, it also sets your company up as a ‘Thought Leader’ meaning you’ll be seen as a credible expert in your field, becoming a trusted source.

Use visuals as well as words

Images help to break-up words and grab the attention of your audience.

  • YouTube videos often get shared more
  • The banner image is the first thing people see – use it to reflect your brand, drawing the audience in
  • Keep it eye-catching!

Engage, engage, and engage

Engagement is what it’s all about. Your company page should build a community with its followers and engagement is the best way to do this. It helps you to further your reach and grow your network, which ultimately leads more potential customers to your company.

  • Engage with comments and keep conversations going
  • Use interesting headlines and engaging introductions to capture attention
  • Ask questions, involving your audience and starting conversations

Plus all the extra bits

Having a company page that is complete and engaging can make a big difference and they come with some extra add-ons that you can use to make the most of your page.

  • Check your analytics to see how effective your updates are and change accordingly
  • Sponsored updates are a great way to expand your audience, reaching the right people – but they do come at a cost
  • Company pages can show your business as a great place to work – ‘Your LinkedIn company page is one of the best assets for attracting talent, promoting your employer brand and establishing your company as a great place to work.’ – and this encourages potential clients
  • Add your employees to your company page, allowing people to move between the two and open up your connections
  • Showcase pages allow you to highlight services or products

Ultimately your company page helps you to get your message out to a professional network and create a real chance to promote lead generation, with Hubspot finding that LinkedIn is almost 300% more effective for visitor-to-lead generation than other social media sites.

Through our own research we also found that 82% of Scottish Business People prefer to use LinkedIn than traditional methods.   This shows the importance of having an impressive company page as it helps to ensure that you don’t miss out on valuable connections – so keep your company page relevant and up-to-date.

I am running a LinkedIn Masterclass for the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce on 30 June where you will learn to make the most of Company Pages and Much more.  For details follow this link or get in touch with the Chamber Training Team or call them on 0131 221 2999 (option 3).

linkedIn co pages

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Business Comment is the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s bi-monthly magazine. It provides insight on Edinburgh’s vibrant business community, with features on the city’s key sectors, interviews with leading figures and news on new business developments in the capital.
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