Unlock the Power of LinkedIn for Your Business | Social Media

LinkedIn has more than half a billion members worldwide. Recruiters love it. HR pros mine it. Job applicants tend their profiles with care. Even though many executives have LinkedIn profiles, a surprising number of small- and medium-sized businesses don’t have LinkedIn Business Pages. Or, if they do have a business page they don’t take advantage of all its features.

A LinkedIn Business Page is a valuable way to be found on the world’s foremost business network. Such a page can help any business to network, to connect, and to recruit the best talent.

Create a LinkedIn Business Page:

A basic LinkedIn Business Page consists of a concise, natural-sounding description of your business that includes key search terms, some basic company details, and list of specialties. Yours should also have a quality banner image and logo.

Consider Adding Showcase Pages:

These pages are part of your main business page and will allow you to talk more directly with specific audiences on LinkedIn by letting community members follow those subpages. For example, Adobe has Showcase Pages devoted to several of its products.

Unlock LinkedIn’s Power to Help You Hire:

If you want to make the best use of LinkedIn’ magic power to recruit talent, your LinkedIn Business page should have a Career Page, a premium that requires a monthly subscription. This page describes your corporate culture, highlights job openings, and makes it easy for LinkedIn members to apply. A Career Page can also give applicants a chance to connect with current employees before they apply so that you have the best chance of getting a person who will be a good fit.

Once you have a well-constructed LinkedIn Business Page, you should begin to build a following and expand the influence of your business on LinkedIn.

Build Your Following from the Inside Out:

The fastest way to begin to build your Business Page’s following is, of course, to encourage your employees to follow the page. Integrate LinkedIn with your website and make it simple to see the LinkedIn profiles of your team members on pages of your site that include team bios.

Create a Content Plan:

Success on LinkedIn requires the same diligence that successful engagement on other social platforms requires. You should have a content strategy and measurable objectives so that you can build out a content plan. A few tips for content success:

• Publish a combination of short and long format post that include links. Long format posts work well on LinkedIn but also publish short format content from time to time.

• Embed video in published content. LinkedIn is a wonderful place to feature your “How To” videos and for introducing new products.

• Create educational content on SlideShare. SlideShare is also a great place to re-purpose valuable content.

Sponsored Content:

LinkedIn has extraordinarily powerful tools to target advertising by job category and by geography. LinkedIn offers advertising options that are priced by the impression and those that are priced by the click. These paid options may be the best way to expand the reach of your best content.

Join Relevant Groups and Contribute: On your personal profile, you have the opportunity to join up to 50 groups. However, it is better to join a few groups and become a regular contributor. Quality regular contributors and commenters are usually the most successful at building their network and influence on LinkedIn. Never sell in a LinkedIn group.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium version that allows you to find prospects with a robust search feature, track and understand them and to engage. No longer will you need cold calling. Sales Navigator helps you identify quality prospects and engage with social selling.

IN Learning:

IN Learning is another premium feature you may not think of for generating leads. It’s easy to see how this feature would help you and your team expand their knowledge, but have you considered becoming an instructor? Share your knowledge and leverage LinkedIn’s power for distribution. There is an application process that’s well worth the effort.

Achieving success on LinkedIn comes down to one basic rule. Be real. It starts with a solid personal page and business page and a willingness to engage with your network. Contact BFO for more best practices for building influence on LinkedIn. 

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