Just under a year ago in November 2011 LinkedIn updated the capabilities of their company pages, enabling company pages to have followers and enabling company admins to share status updates with their followers. This enabled companies, and especially small companies, to become more engaged with their LinkedIn networks.
This week LinkedIn has rolled out a new design to select companies, like American Express, Citi, and Expedia. LinkedIn has said the redesign will be available to everyone, “later this year.” I will be looking forward to this. LinkedIn company pages offer a lot of value, which is often overlooked by businesses. I understand why people do not want to hassle with company pages; even I find myself getting frustrated with the layout and navigation of company pages at times. However, with the new design released, hopefully there will be no more excuses – because LinkedIn company pages really should be utilized.
To publish or not to publish? Considerations on using LinkedIn company pages.
- LinkedIn is a network of professionals, so what better place is there to show you are a thought leader in your industry than sharing your knowledge via LinkedIn? Through updates, you can share thoughts as well as links to your blog and articles you find of interest. If you use Facebook for marketing, you are probably familiar with this concept. However, here your audience is much more targeted, and if you are a B2B company, LinkedIn company pages can be a great tool to help boost lead generation.
- You can use rich media. You can post videos, pictures, and hyperlinks in your status updates. Using mixed media, you can really engage your followers. With the new design, which hopefully we will all have access to soon, companies will be allowed to post an image to complement the company. This will help with branding and identity.
- Just like your personal profile, it is best to fill out your company page with as many details as possible. You want to inform potential customers who your ideal client is. Use the products page to tell about your products and services. What I really love about this is that on the product page, you can write a description of your product or service as well as post an image, a You Tube video, and a link to any landing page. This can be a great way to sell – show the product, what it does, and then direct back to your site so you can convert your followers into clients.
- With the new design, company pages will be available on the iPhone, Android and iPad. There will also be better navigation, as members will be able to view updates in a stream. And as I mentioned earlier, companies will be able to post a photo that will display across the top of their profile. This will help with branding and identity on LinkedIn.
To learn more about LinkedIn Company pages, check out this video. [pk_button size=”small” align=”left” color=”” icon=”” action=”link” link=”http://youtu.be/gMknZutnVWE” link_target=”_blank” title=”” lightbox_gallery_id=””]GO TO VIDEO[/pk_button]
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-Michelle Loeb, social media and content strategist
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