LinkedIn is not only a site for individuals to create an online CV and search for job opportunities; with over half a billion users, it’s also a great platform for businesses to use in order to grow their brand and find new customers.
And, research proves that LinkedIn is certainly worth your time. 93% of B2B marketers say LinkedIn is the most effective site for lead generation, whilst 50% of LinkedIn members say they are more likely to buy from a company they engage with through LinkedIn.
In comparison to Facebook, LinkedIn’s popularity amongst businesses may be attributable to the fact that the Facebook algorithm prioritises content from users over companies.
If you’re considering creating a LinkedIn page (which you definitely should be!) and using it to market for your business, this blog post holds all the key things you should think about when doing just that!
This blog will cover our top advice for what you should and shouldn’t be doing through your LinkedIn marketing, so sit back and read on to find out everything you need to know about using LinkedIn for your business.
The Dos of LinkedIn marketing:
First up, let’s look at the things you should be doing when you start using LinkedIn for your business:
- DO: Complete your page,
- DO: Find the professional edge,
- DO: Promote your page,
- DO: Vary the content.
1. DO complete your page:
The first step towards acing your LinkedIn marketing is setting up a company page, and this is one of the most crucial elements of the LinkedIn process. What do you want your audience to know about you? Highlight the best aspects of your business, what you sell, and any other key information that is integral to your ethos.
Did you know that complete pages get 30% more views? When you begin creating your page, make sure to fill in all the details it asks you for. This includes location, a cover photo, your website URL, a company description and more.
The more detail you add, the more information about your business your audience can find. This is not only important for ensuring your potential customers are wholly informed, but also improves your ranking in Google and LinkedIn search results.
2. DO find the professional edge:
Your LinkedIn page is your first opportunity to secure a great first impression with your audience (some of which may have never come across your business before), so make sure you:
a. Keep it professional: Much like your other online platforms, make sure your brand is represented in a professional manner. Use quality images, take time over the copy and proofread everything before you publish your page.
b. Ensure consistency: Just as your website and social media platforms are likely to have a similar design, colour scheme and font, your LinkedIn should represent your brand in a consistent manner. Insert your business logo and make sure the text is written in the same tone of voice you use across other platforms too.
3. DO promote your page:
Once your page is published, ask your team to follow the page and also add it as a place of work. This means your logo will be displayed on their profiles, and your business will also be registered as having ‘x employees.’
Another top tip is to share the page with your customers through your newsletter, social media sites and website. Promote your brand new LinkedIn page, and encourage your audience to follow you so they can stay up to date with the latest information.
Finally, add the LinkedIn logo alongside the other logos on your website and newsletter with a URL embedded, so people can easily navigate to your LinkedIn Page.
4. DO vary the content:
Much like your social media content, it’s important to share a variety of content on your LinkedIn page.
LinkedIn posts that contain images recieve 98% more comments than posts without images. Accompany your posts with quality, professional-looking images that showcase your business positively.
You can also try using video content on your LinkedIn; videos recieve five times more engagement than any other type of content. Wow your LinkedIn audience by sharing creative and engaging videos for them to learn more about your business. If you’d like to find out more about creating and using video content in your marketing strategy, we have plenty of tips in this blog post – check it out!
Whilst we’re on this topic, ensure your content is going to make a positive impact. Can your audience connect to your posts? Are your posts relevant? The LinkedIn algorithm ranks posts based on personal connections, interest relevance, and engagement probability, so take time to consider what content ticks these boxes and maximise your chance of ranking highly on the LinkedIn feed.
You might want to share the latest news from your business, promote recent blog posts, showcase your products/services or start discussions on topics that are important to your industry. Whatever content you’d like to share on LinkedIn, ensure it stays relevant to your business and your intended audience.
The Don’ts of LinkedIn Marketing
Now we’ve looked at what you should be doing with your LinkedIn page, here’s what you should not be doing:
- DON’T: Forget to update your page,
- DON’T: Write long posts,
- DON’T: Ignore the analytics,
- DON’T: Send spam-like messages.
1. DON’T forget to update your page:
There’s nothing worse than setting up a wonderful LinkedIn page and then leaving it alone for months; it suggests you’ve gone MIA or lost interest in communicating with your customers. Just as you update your social media platforms and regularly send newsletters, ensure your LinkedIn page also becomes a place where people can find the latest updates.
With this, you should also monitor the messaging application on your page, as people may get in touch with you there. Don’t leave their messages unread – schedule time into your week to check your LinkedIn messages and reply to them in a swift manner. Your LinkedIn page will help you establish and maintain a positive impression for potential customers, so don’t leave them hanging and respond to their messages in reasonable time of receiving them.
2. DON’T write long posts:
The longer your LinkedIn posts are, the more work you’ve got to do to keep your reader engaged. Long posts can be a huge scroll-trigger, as people don’t even bother reading the first sentence.
Instead of publishing long posts, grab people’s attention with a snappy headline or question so they can’t resist scrolling past your post. You could try using bullet points to share the key information, create a poll to make your post interactive, and conclude your posts with a call-to-action to encourage your audience to do something. The main goal is to keep your audience engaged, so think about the kind of content you’d stick around to read, and resist creating the content you think you’d scroll past.
3. DON’T ignore the analytics:
As with your website, social media sites and emails, you can analyse your performance on LinkedIn using the analytics dashboard. You can track which posts people engaged with most, how people find your page, what sections of the page receive the most engagement with, how many page views you recieve, who is visiting your page through visitor demographic profiling, and more.
Make sure to keep an eye on how your page is performing, so you can make any necessary adjustments to your LinkedIn strategy and ensure you’re using the page to the greatest effect. For example, if your video content is performing better than your static content, you may want to consider adopting more videos into your strategy. If your page views rate is low, consider how you can maximise your visibility – is there a part of your page that is lacking information, or could you add more detail in places?
4. DON’T send spam-like messages:
LinkedIn is a great platform to find new customers and connect with a larger audience. However, don’t fall into the trap of bombarding random users with spam-like, annoying and tedious messages. It won’t do your brand image any favours and may contribute to negative word of mouth.
Rather than sending a message that someone can easily ignore or delete, take time to consider why you’re sending this message and what you’d like the recipient to take from it. Achieve the personalized edge by introducing the message with ‘Hi, [insert name]’, and thank the user for taking the time to read your message at the end. Ask questions and start conversations rather than simply promoting your latest discount and using the message as a way to grab the user’s email address. Consider what messages you’d like to receive as a consumer, and use these insights to shape your messages so they feel bespoke, friendly and not annoying.
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LinkedIn is an excellent platform to consider using when marketing your business online. It gives you the potential to connect with a large audience, build professional relationships with other like-minded companies and organically promote your business. Follow the steps outlined above, and you’re all set to create a lead-generating, sale-boosting LinkedIn page!
Got a burning question about using LinkedIn for marketing? We’re here to help! Simply drop us a message @WeAreCandescent or get in touch using our contact form.