As the most overtly “professional” of the social media platforms, Linkedin is an important and necessary part of any good public relations program. While fans look for inspiration on Instagram or Pinterest and journalists hang out on Twitter, those more focused on business — prospects, clients, partners, and employees for a given company — inhabit Linkedin. With an estimated 347 million users, and still growing, it’s not wise to ignore! Here are five ways to make sure your company’s Linkedin page is working to support your PR goals.
Have a killer front page. As the front page of your company profile, the “overview” should start with a compelling paragraph capturing your business offering in a nutshell. Make sure to highlight specialist expertise that may be a differentiator. Is yours a design firm with a special focus in sustainable design? Does your advertising intelligence company have recent expertise in mobile technology? A generic description simply won’t do it; try to take it a step further and spell out exactly how your brand is unique.
Make the most out of the “Careers” section. Now that the “Products & Services” tab is no longer, companies are using the “Careers” tab to make their profiles fuller and more robust. Linkedin is well known as a recruiting and job searching tool, and this tab is an opportunity to convey the culture and ideals of the company or brand, as well as create quality and searchable content. Include videos and other content your HR or creative team might be working on, not just the standard job openings, and make sure to have testimonials.
Content, Content, Content. Original blog posts, links to white papers and other research, commentary on published works, and videos and photos of all types related to your business — all are ways to stake a claim to the thoughts and ideas that are important to your industry today. Creating and sharing high quality content is a rule of thumb for search engine optimization purposes; on Linkedin in particular, because of its professional nature, it takes on significance in building a company’s reputation as a thought leader.
Take advantage of the “Analytics Tab” for company pages. This tool allows you to see how well each post does, measuring things like engagement, demographics, and how well your content performs vs. similar brands on the site — all valuable information. For example, if you find posting lists or tips (“10 Ways to Lose a Sale,” “The 5 Best Times of Day to Send An Email”) gets tons of clicks while updates about company promotions gets none, you know where to focus your efforts.
Promote your brand through “Sponsored Updates.” As with most platforms today, Linkedin has opportunities to push out paid posts. Sponsored updates are an efficient, affordable way to reach thousands of new viewers in a targeted manner. Use it for thought leadership content and include a strong call to action; treat it like a trial to see if it can be effective for your company.