If you haven’t created a LinkedIn profile yet, you’ve missed the chance to make new partnerships with people who are important to your business, target new customers, and present yourself as an expert in your field of business. But nothing is lost yet. In this text, we are showing you a detailed guide on how to take advantage of this social network.
LinkedIn is the largest “business” network with almost 800 million users worldwide. Like Facebook and Instagram, it is used to connect people virtually, but in this case, for business purposes. In particular, LinkedIn is an ideal network for promoting a company and its products/services, creating connections with potential clients, partners, and other interested parties, and it is also used for recruiting job candidates.
If you are missing something like this to “give a boost” to your business, continue reading to see why LinkedIn is a channel that modern businesses cannot do without.
LinkedIn Profile and LinkedIn Page – Where to Start
Just as there are personal profiles and company pages on Facebook, the situation is the same on LinkedIn. Therefore, the first thing you should do is create your profile (LinkedIn Profile), and then use it as an administrator for your company’s page (LinkedIn Page).
How?
Once you’ve created a profile, find the Work icon in the top right corner. Clicking on it will open a window where you should find Create a company page. Then you will choose one of the four-page types: Small business, Medium to large business, Educational institution, and Showcase page.
All options are clear to you, except the last one. A showcase page is a page that actually acts as a subpage of the main page (LinkedIn page). It is used to highlight some aspect of a business, product, or service that requires a unique space for promotion and management. Once you’ve created it, it will appear on the right sidebar of your main page in a section called Affiliated pages.
The next step is to upload a profile and cover photo and add a description about your company, similar to the “About Us” page of your website.
Here are some tips:
▪ Profile picture – your company logo
▪ Cover photo – you can place a product, a message that symbolizes your company’s values , or something else that depicts your company
▪ Description – In the about section, which is almost equal to the “About Us” page from your website, write clearly what you do, what your products are, what your values are, and how you can help your target group. Make sure that the description is optimized for search engines and the LinkedIn algorithm itself. This means that you should use keywords, stating the industry you operate in and the products/services you have as this will make it easier for customers to find you
That’s it. You’ve created a company LinkedIn page, which brings us to the next step.
Tell the world you exist by promoting it. You can use these ideas:
▪ Share the page on your personal LinkedIn profile. Below the cover photo, you have the option to Edit the page and Share the page
▪ Place the LinkedIn page icon on the website. Along with shortcuts to Facebook and Instagram profiles, add LinkedIn to the website footer.
▪ Ask employees to add on their profiles that they work for your company, linking to the page.
▪ Send invitations to other network users to follow your page.
How to use LinkedIn for business
LinkedIn generates leads 227% more efficiently than Facebook and Twitter. This is the result of research done by the Hubspot company, whose sample was as many as 5,000 companies.
We have already mentioned some of the advantages of LinkedIn for business, now we will highlight them and explain them in detail.
▪ Connecting with people important to your business;
▪ Positioning the company as a leader in the industry in which it operates;
▪ Leads and customers generating;
▪ Recruitment of job candidates.
Networking
If you have been trying for a long time to connect with people who would be interested in investing in your business, with colleagues from the university who would give you support, and with new opportunities to expand your business – try LinkedIn. Success is certain.
Firstly start with sending out requests for connections (what friends or followers are on Facebook and Instagram, on LinkedIn are first-, second-, and third-order connections). It would be good if you did it strategically. This means that you should send requests to those people who you assume would be interested in your services, those who could help you, or with whom you could enter into business cooperation. In this way, you create a meaningful network of contacts that are valuable in any business.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t connect with your favorite basketball coach or high school friend. The point is to primarily pay attention to those contacts who could be a good match for you.
Another way to expand your network is to share other people’s content and comment on their posts. So don’t be passive. Compliment someone’s post, agree or disagree, and even join the discussion. These are all ways to show people in your niche that you are there and have something to offer.
Stand out as an expert
LinkedIn is a network where you can showcase your skills and convince potential clients that you are professional and knowledgeable in your industry. By gaining trust, you open the door to new business opportunities.
How do you show that you know your business?
Create posts to showcase your knowledge and experience. It is very important not to fall into the trap of self-promotion and advertising because it turns people off. The point is for the content to be useful to the community you want to connect with – educational, interesting, and humorous.
Of course, in addition to creating educational content, a certain percentage of your posts should unambiguously introduce your products so that potential customers become familiar with them. But it is important to be original, interesting, humorous, and not aggressive in the promotion.
Here’s what you should pay attention to:
▪ Make posts of different lengths. Sometimes a short quote, and sometimes a longer article in which you will show your expertise. Linkedin, of all networks, is the only one that allows writing articles.
▪ Give examples from your experience with previous clients. Feel free to write about personal struggles, failures, successes… People like to know what’s going on in other people’s backyards. Posts like this get more attention. Of course, you should not cross the line of good taste. Smart and humorous.
▪ Ask your connections what they think. This will encourage discussion and your page will grow.
▪ Use photos, videos, and infographics whenever you can.
When it comes to publishing content, it is important that you do it continuously. Create a calendar of posts where you can prepare everything and even schedule posts to be published automatically at the time you define.
We advise you to join LinkedIn groups whose topic is related to your work. They work on the same principle as Facebook groups – people advise each other, share useful material, discuss, and argue. This is your chance to chime in, give some advice, and if you feel it’s appropriate, link to your website or LinkedIn page.
Generating Leads and Customers
All of the above (creating relevant content, connecting with people from your industry, commenting on other posts and discussions in LinkedIn groups) will increase the visibility of your business to the population that needs your services/products. In this way, clients will contact you spontaneously and naturally.
In addition to organic traffic, LinkedIn offers numerous options for paid promotions.
Recruitment of Job Candidates
If you have just started a company and do not yet have the funds to open an HR department, LinkedIn can be a great substitute.
Here’s what you can use:
▪ Job advertisements
▪ Sending direct inbox messages to candidates whose occupation and education match what you are looking for
▪ LinkedIn’s premium package enables an advanced search for candidates with exactly the qualifications you need
Of course, apart from this, it is also possible to search candidates by selecting the name of the position you need in the search bar.
Keynotes
▪ LinkedIn is a business network that is an indispensable station for every modern business.
▪ It is used for networking with other business people and companies, creating an image of a leader in the field of business, generating leads and customers, and recruiting job candidates.
▪ It is necessary to create a LinkedIn profile and LinkedIn page for the company and regularly post mainly educational and interesting content, with a smaller percentage of promotional posts.
