LinkedIn has been around as a business-focused social network since 2003, so it’s a platform that many of your employees, customers and prospects will be aware of. On the whole, LinkedIn is probably best known as somewhere for people to share their business experience, connect with other professionals in their sector, or search for a new role in the job market.
But in recent years, LinkedIn has branched out into company business pages, access to learning and education and targeted ways to sell and promote your business. And that’s broadened the appeal of LinkedIn as a place for your company to have a presence
So, how useful is LinkedIn when it comes to marketing your brand and your business?
Key reason to get proactive with LinkedIn
Having a LinkedIn company page isn’t a compulsory requirement when you set up a business. It works best in industries where networking is important. LinkedIn’s top industries are IT, construction, healthcare, retail, education and financial services. LinkedIn allows you to convey the right air of corporate professionalism and respectability.
A company page gives you an online hub where you can post company news, share thought leadership, advertise your latest job vacancies and drive your latest marketing activity.
These are the key ways to maximise your LinkedIn experience:
- Create your LinkedIn business account – to set up a company page, you’ll need to upload your business logo, a clear overview of the company and links to your website and contact details. This will be your main hub for posting content and news, so make it informative, but keep it short, concise and engaging.
- Advertise your current jobs – LinkedIn has a large job market, so one obvious use of your company page is to advertise your latest vacancies. There are various talent solutions and paid-for features for searching the job market for suitable candidates, but at the most basic level you can post details of the vacancy and link back to your hiring page on your website. Promoting these vacancies widely helps to get the company name out there and raises awareness of the brand in the hiring market.
- Market to a huge business audience – advertising within the LinkedIn platform helps you to reach your target audience and there are a range of advert formats and tools to choose from. You can run sponsored ads that appear in the LinkedIn Feeds, simple pay-per-click (PPC) desktop ads or highly targeted dynamic ads. With so much information on LinkedIn members’ business activity and background, it’s possible to hone in on a very specific target audience and deliver your ads to them.
- Enhance your sales activity – Linkedin Sales Solutions give you the tools to find leads, increase your business intelligence and improve your ability to convert leads into sales. Using the data that’s available in the LinkedIn Platform, you can use these solutions to target the right people, the right decision-makers and the best prospects.
- Make good use of analytics – LinkedIn Analytics helps you to track and measure your marketing activity and spot the opportunities and threats to your marketing activity. You can delve into analytics for your company updates, your visitors and followers and also your hiring and talent posts. By tracking these metrics you can start to improve your LinkedIn marketing and improve your overall return on investment (ROI).
Start exploring the benefits of LinkedIn for Business
LinkedIn’s focus may be on the corporate world of SMEs, but the platform has a lot to offer for any business that’s looking to engage with a business-to-business audience. With the additional marketing, advertising and sales features now available through the platform, LinkedIn can play a key part in your company’s digital and social media marketing strategy.