With more than 900 million global users, LinkedIn is widely known as the be-all and end-all of professional social media channels. What began primarily as an online networking tool has evolved into a breeding ground for thought leadership content, pithy commentary on business trends, employee recruitment opportunities and more.
You’ve likely encountered a large swath of strategies and account types on the platform, including individual profiles and company pages. When it comes to the latter, some organizations take full advantage of their pages and use them as a vehicle for communicating who they are and what they stand for. Others may emphasize their company culture to attract top talent. An increasing number of organizations are leveraging LinkedIn to share their leaders’ expertise and continue the conversations they’re already having with customers, prospects, patients and business partners.
Audit your page
No matter if you’re looking to elevate your position as an industry thought leader, recruit new talent, connect with partners or something else, the first step is to make sure your company page is filled out appropriately. While this may seem like a no-brainer, many companies forego key pieces of information or forget to update their profile as their organization evolves. Complete your company page in full, from the banner image to your headline, founding details, size and more. You’ll also want to take stock of your leaders’ personal pages and make sure they appropriately reflect their expertise and the company’s brand standards.
Once your page is established, it’s time to cultivate a social presence—and this goes well beyond merely filling out each section of your profile. Here are a few strategies for enhancing your approach to LinkedIn that will ensure you’re getting the biggest return on your investment.
Evaluate your content strategy
We’ve helped countless organizations establish content blueprints for LinkedIn. While each company’s brand, product or service mix, and target audience is unique, one universal rule of thumb remains true: Don’t post just to post.
When auditing your organization’s LinkedIn page, analyze the type and frequency of content you are posting. Are you posting regularly and consistently? Does the content you’re sharing align with your company’s mission and goals?
Whether it’s original thought leadership or curated content culled from trusted industry sources, you should seek to share information that 1.) resonates with at least one segment of your audience and 2.) encourages user interaction. Sometimes the goal may simply be to educate your readers, but whenever you can include a clear call to action, do it—this will help increase engagement and get your content in front of more people. Don’t forget about keywords, either; the same SEO principles that apply to your website can be used to amplify your messaging on LinkedIn.
Track your progress
To determine if your content is resonating with your target audience, use LinkedIn’s built-in analytics capabilities, which can provide insights into your follower demographics and overall engagement. The platform also makes it easy to track the performance of individual posts, including the number of views, likes, comments and shares.
If your organization is investing heavily in LinkedIn, you might consider using third-party analytics tools, such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social. These tools can provide an additional layer of information, giving you more detailed insights into your activity that can inform potential strategy adjustments and help you track progress over time.
Showcase your leadership’s expertise
While company pages are valuable, people interact with people, not logos. Your leaders are the ones people look to for information about your organization and industry. That’s why a key aim of any LinkedIn strategy should include building proficiency across your organization and encouraging employees to engage with company posts.
Leaders, in particular, can help to bolster your brand’s credibility and reach. However, company leaders are often busy juggling multiple priorities and penning a LinkedIn thought piece might not be at the top of the list. Don’t let that deter you from leveraging their influence and coming up with tactics to relay their knowledge and experience. A communications strategist can help you develop a sustainable LinkedIn strategy that includes generating content for leaders to share and educating your staff about best practices.
Highlight your company culture
One of the first places potential job candidates look is a company’s LinkedIn page. The platform makes it easy for businesses to highlight their culture via the Careers page and more specifically through the Life and What We Do tabs, which are enhancements available through LinkedIn Talent Solutions. You can use these sections to promote your company’s benefits, mission, vision, values and more.
This is also the perfect opportunity to leverage imagery and video to showcase your company culture. Did you recently hold a company offsite or volunteer event? Do you have photos or videos that capture your team in action? Have you considered interviewing employees and including these as shareable video snippets or testimonials? These assets are important to showcase as your best candidates will review your company’s LinkedIn page to get an idea of what it will be like to work there.
Need help crafting or auditing your LinkedIn strategy? Lovell has you covered. Reach out at info@lovell.com for more information.
