Having a LinkedIn company page is no longer an option for businesses serious about their customers. You need to have one if you don't already. But having one is not enough - optimizing the potential of your LinkedIn page is critical for making your page work for you effectively.
Are businesses really using LinkedIn Company Pages?
According to recent LinkedIn statistics there were:
- Over 4 million companies with a LinkedIn business page
- 500,000 company pages added between 2012 and 2013
- 148 different industries were represented on company pages
There are currently over 1,300,000 products and services featured on LinkedIn company pages. Is yours one of them? And, if so, how well is it working?
There are a number of great reasons for setting up a LinkedIn page for your business. But at the heart of all these are your customers and prospects. That's because a LinkedIn Company Page is a powerful and effective way to nurture leads and increase sales. Research has hsown that 50% of LinkedIn members are more likely to purchase from a company they engage with on LinkedIn.
So what are the three main reasons for having a LinkedIn Company Page?
1. To Increase Brand Awareness. With the vast numbers of people using LinkedIn and the growing trend for using LinkedIn to find businesses, prospective employees, and job offerings, it only makes sense to leverage the potential exposure.
With over 330 million people using LinkedIn worldwide and almost 110 users in the U.S. alone, it is becoming one of the fastest growing social media networks on the Internet. And when you consider that there are currently 2 new users signing up every second this means you have access to an audience of prospective customers that is growing by over 170,000 people daily.
2. To Engage With Your LinkedIn Followers. LinkedIn Company Pages are a natural platform for publishing content to engage your audience by sharing company news, industry articles, thought leadership and more using the company updates features. In addition, you engage with your followers by sharing video and SlideShare content from your Company Page.
Another great tool that can be leveraged through your business page are Showcase Pages. These are designed for building long-term relationships with members who want to follow specific aspects of your business. According to LinkedIn you can, "create a Showcase Page when you want to establish a dedicated page to represent a brand, business unit, or company initiative. Before creating a Showcase Page, ensure that you have a plan for maintaining an active presence."
3. Build and Nuture A Community Around Your Products and Services. According to Stephanie Sammons, Founder and CEO of Wired Advisor, "Think of your LinkedIn company page as an extension of your business website within LinkedIn and use it to display compelling graphics, add products and services, even include job opportunities.
Invite existing employees, clients or customers, vendors and partners to follow your page, and showcase it to relevant LinkedIn members and encourage them to follow by using LinkedIn’s paid targeted advertising.
Filling your LinkedIn company page with compelling and interesting status updates about your industry or business requires ongoing management, but it’s the most effective way to grow followers for your page and increase your company’s visibility. As you grow your following, remember to segment your members and target them with more relevant updates."
An Optimized Company Page Needs Company Engagement
Setting up, building and actively maintaining an effective company page on LinkedIn is not a one person task. It can be, perhaps, if your company has the resources to hire one person to be primarily responsible for creating content, publishing, monitoring, and analyzing all of your business's social media efforts!
But a truly effective effort should include the input of as many of your employees as possible. Remember, this is a company page, not a business owner's page. Unless you are a solo-professional or only have one employee, then you should engage the contributions and perspectives of your staff.
LinkedIn, while not the only channel you should utilize, represents one of the most powerful venues for showcasing your company, engaging with your customers and prospective customers, and building a robust online community to support your brand.
Many times it is helpful to have the insights of a third-party, a marketing professional, to assess and assist with your LinkedIn strategy. It can be an investment that will ensure an optimal online presence and a quantifiable return.
Free Consultation
When you are ready to learn more about the role of a LinkedIn Company Page plays in inbound marketing, we would love to sit down with you for a Complimentary Inbound Marketing Session. During this session we will help you to "dig" into your goals and identify what is stopping you from achieving your goals. With that out of the way we'll discuss inbound marketing and what you can do to use it to grow your business.
Call BroadVision Marketing at 707-799-1238 or click the big obnoxious orange button below for your complimentary inbound marketing strategy session…
J
aco Grobbelaar is the owner and CMO of BroadVision Marketing. BroadVision Marketing works with business owners to put in place inbound and outbound marketing strategies that consistently secure new clients. The BroadVision Marketing Training Center is located in Petaluma, CA and primarily serves companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
Jaco can be reached at jaco@broadvisionmarketing.com or 707.766.9778 or connect with Jaco on Facebook -www.facebook.com/broadvisionmarketing - and LinkedIn -www.linkedin.com/in/JacoGrobbelaar.