Building the Perfect LinkedIn Company Page
When was the last time you posted anything on social media? What platform did you use? Chances are, it wasn’t your LinkedIn page.
Maybe, it’s because you don’t know what’s appropriate for this specific medium or how often a company should be putting out new content. Whatever your reasoning is, I’m here to help!
Step 1: The Basics
Whether you’re creating a new profile or revamping an old one, there are a few basic elements that must be present.
Logos and photos:
Your profile picture should be your company’s official logo but the rules for a cover photo aren’t so clear-cut. Facebook and LinkedIn differ in this area. On Facebook, your cover photo might be an exterior shot of your office or a group picture of your team. However, on LinkedIn, you need to select a graphic that is cleaner and high quality.
Think of a cover photo as a digital billboard. You wouldn’t invest in that real estate just to show off your building, would you? As a successful businesswoman, you would strategically use that space to broadcast a message or achieve name recognition. Your cover photo can be a place where you advertise that you are hiring, provide a call to action that’s on brand, or reinforce the company’s visual cue with a unique, high-quality image.
The body:
Now that your page has a face, let’s ensure that there is a body to go with it. Ideally, a company should complete all the prompted subsections.
- About: Make sure to include a brief word about your company. You will also want to link the official company website, identify the company’s size, list where the headquarters are located, identify the type of company and the year it was founded. Lastly, you will be prompted to complete a “specialties” section. Think of industry buzz words and concepts that can help make your company more searchable.
- Life: Now is the time to steal some ideas from your company’s Facebook and other social platforms. This section is included to help highlight your company’s culture. Think bigger than the go-to “we have a healthy work-life balance.” Explain some values that help make your company different within the 9 to 5.
- Jobs: This is the one section that is okay to leave blank. If you are not actively hiring, then there is no need for spending time in this section. However, LinkedIn provides a great opportunity to recruit talent. So make sure to keep this area in the back of your mind for when your company is hiring again.
- People: LinkedIn will complete this section for you based on the information provided by employees. In order to have the most up-to-date data, urge your employees to list your company as their current employer on their own personal accounts. The data that is gathered and presented in this section helps to determine who picks up the phone and calls your office.
Step 2: The Strategy
When thinking of your content strategy, keep in mind the different audiences that you will be talking to. There are current and prospective clients that will be watching your page. Employees and future interviewees will be analyzing the content. Industry pros and competitors will be watching for company updates. So how do you speak to everyone while maintaining a clear, consistent, and on-brand message?
Based on an article by Sprout Social, the following is a summary of the six most commonly used strategies among company pages.
- Question-based content: One of the basic rules of conversation is to ask questions. By asking your followers a question, you are increasing the possibility of engagement. Consider it bonus points if your followers start to engage with each other on your original post.
- Articles: Unlike social platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn doesn’t care if you aren’t using original content every post. Just be aware of dragging and dropping. In other words, don’t just drop an article to your followers without providing context. By giving some context to the article, you will increase views and engagements.
- Case Studies: One of the best ways to simultaneously build credibility and to help/influence your followers is to share resources and case studies. By no means do you have to give away company secrets, but there’s no shame in dropping a link for a freebie, sharing some professional tools that you swear by, or giving advice on how to convert leads to clients every once in a while.
- Event Coverage: If you or a team member is attending/hosting an event or conference, take advantage of all the possibilities for original professional content. Remember hashtags are used on LinkedIn, just like any other platform, to help build digital communities. Sprinkling the right hashtags into your posts will help add to your credibility and link you with others from the conference/event.
- Showcase Employees: Taking the time to brag on and highlight your employees helps to humanize your company. It also tells others that company X cares about those who work for them and their accomplishments. Maybe an account manager has worked towards earning her APR, and after years of hard work, has finally achieved her goal. Showcasing her will make her feel proud to work for you and will tell others that your company recognizes and appreciates hard work among other core values demonstrated.
- Culture and Community Involvement: Several companies encourage employees to get involved and give back to their communities in one way or another. A great way to insert emotion into your page is by shining a light on the caring side of your business. Did your team spend last Friday helping at a soup kitchen? Do you sponsor a puppy learning to be a service dog? What about encouraging workouts over lunch by providing free fitness classes? These are examples of culture-centric posts that people want to see.
Step 3: Maximizing Engagement and Followers
Now that you have created an account for your company and you have a better understanding of what to post, let’s focus on who you’re posts are reaching.
- Employee advocacy: Without a doubt, employee support is the best and farthest reaching tactic out there. When employees publicly back the company, your profile will reach far beyond those who are actively looking for you. Ways for employees to get involved include: sharing a company post, highlighting a blog or article, providing a case study on a previous personal project, or selecting any pre-approved company message from a platform like Bambu.
- Visual content: Recently, the best way to stand out from the crowd on any social media platform is by using video content. From GIFs to company commercials to a time-lapse, multimedia storytelling is king.
- Research and Analytics: Take advantage of the built-in tools that LinkedIn has for you. Make sure that your social marketing team is sticking to a content calendar to stay consistent and studying their reports to learn about peak posting times. Want more insight? Use Sprout Social to get even more in-depth information such as which style of posts are working best for your company and active audience growth tracking.
Like any platform, LinkedIn is its own animal and requires a unique strategy to stay ahead. Through trial and error and the above steps, you will no doubt find the right style and voice to engage with your company’s following. If you find yourself at a loss, look at your competitors’ sites and ask yourself what is working for them. Lastly, stay up-to-date with the latest tips and tricks as new strategies evolve.
By: Miranda Hardesty Hoffpauir
