Wednesday, January 18, 2012

How to Leverage From the New LinkedIn Company Pages!

In the social media sea, LinkedIn is considered to be the truly ‘professional networking platform’. Company pages always existed on the network; however, it was only recently that LinkedIn announced an update to company pages facilitating companies and small businesses to become more engaged on the network.

What can you do with new company pages?

The empowered company pages allows businesses to make their individual company pages (quite like Facebook) and can have fans/followers interact with them; give out company updates and news; share new and existing employees’ profiles; as well as new job opportunities.

Apart from that you can put out interesting status updates, and basically network and interact like never before. Make a connection with prospective business clients, customers, vendors, industry associates and even new potential new recruits. Yes, all of this is now possible, all you need is a smashing business page on LinkedIn.

hp-linkedin

Why should you have a company page?

The sheer number of users on LinkedIn is the main reason you must make an effort to stake your space on the network. The network is expanding rapidly and the other reasons you must have a company page are:
  • 122 million members to approach and connect with
  • People here mean business. Take your business forward. (A survey revealed 22.5 million people use LinkedIn and other platforms to research brands and products. In the year 2011, 21.3 million people came across a new brand through social media.)
  • Great spot for building a brand among peers and clients
  • Serious job seekers present here
A visit to the new LinkedIn Company Pages will give you a better view of what all possibilities are there for you to make the most of your LinkedIn company page.


How to make the most from your LinkedIn Company page?
Leveraging your company/brand is really easy. All you need to do is update a few details, and go all out with your ‘people approach’ to network better.

1. Update Your Profile- Begin with updating your Company Description, Company Specialties, Blog and other information fields. This is a great tips for showing up in search results too. With more content you show higher on search engine results for the services you offer. Make your profile a very rich informative one. It should stand its place between the 2 million or so business pages on LinkedIn presently. So you can use things like images, banners and links to your site and blog as well as videos from YouTube into your company profile. All these inputs not only provide great credibility in your brand but also make for rich and interesting content.

Words of advice here- while it is important to fill out the ‘Overview Page’ do not make it a replica of the content on your site. You have to give out the standard information about who you are and what you do and who you serve and how. But do this in an interesting and interactive manner.

Similarly, while filling up your ‘products and services’ page, list your key products, best sellers, but highlight the new offers here. Do not forget to link to your site, or to related videos on YouTube. You can also link to a positive product review you received. Basically try to integrate as much as you can, but do not duplicate your site on to the LinkedIn page.

Most importantly- while filling out the information, do not forget to use your company’s keywords!

2. Post Interesting Updates!: After you have filled out everything, then you must allow for status updates to be posted on your page. Apart from the regular updates about your new products and services and even job openings, post other interesting stuff too. You have to engage your fans/followers with informative and value-added updates. Give out industry updates as an expert and see your followers grow if they see you as a source of insightful news and information. Capture attention by posting videos/images to support your updates. You can save effort by connecting your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts so that the LinkedIn page is updated automatically when you send out a Tweet. Tools like HootSuite and Ping.fm are great for writing one update and updating it at the same time on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.

Most importantly- do not sound like a company news letter. Sound like and industry expert.

3. Try To Gather More Followers- Your updates and company page will flourish only when there is a decent and steady increase in the number of your followers. Yes, it is quite like getting fans for your Facebook page. So firstly, post your LinkedIn Company profile on other networks to get the followers there to follow you on LinkedIn too. With more followers, your updates will be shared more and your brand will truly spread. Building followers is an ongoing task that requires constant effort, as you have to try to get the relevant followers to reach your page. You have to be ready with the answers to ‘why should I follow you’ that the prospective followers have on their ming
Here are a few tips on the same:
  • You make the first move by following similar pages and other pages of your clients, vendors and customers.
  • Have all your employees join your page. Their contacts will see this can also come on board.
  • Invite your personal connections on your Page.
  • Add your LinkedIn page URL to your email signature.

nokia-linkedin

Remember, the more relevant followers you have for your LinkedIn company page, the more opportunities you have to be visible and build influence with your target markets!
  1. Network better and Connect with New Contacts in Groups and Answers – You must use LinkedIn Groups to get in with the industry peers and similar interests businesses. They are a great platform for learning more and even finding peers interested in your work. LinkedIn Answers allows members to pose questions and it is a great place for you to set yourself as an industry expert and highlight your ideas and insight. Explore Open Groups  to take part in enriching discussions and benefit from them while being secure in the knowledge that these open discussions are mostly picked up by search engines.
  2. Monitor Your Company Page’s Success- LinkedIn has a very useful Analytics tab for Company Pages that provides you with detailed data about the page. You can view the details and do an indepth analysis on who visited the page, what areas interest them, and how are you doing as compared to similar companies. These data graphs are a guide to help you work better to get more followers.
Follow these steps to get the maximum from your LinkedIn page. How  has your experience been till now? Do share your views.

Source: http://www.pagetrafficbuzz.com/leverage-linkedin-company-pages/13055/

No comments: