LinkedIn, as we see it today, is the Facebook for working professionals. It’s also the only place where it’s acceptable to send a stranger a message that starts with “I see you viewed my profile, would you like to connect and discuss synergizing our respective value propositions?” But let’s not digress.
Like Facebook, you can use LinkedIn to share motivational quotes – the professional equivalent of cat videos — or leverage the social network to further your business goals. But when it comes to your company page, it’s best to think of the platform as a valuable tool to build brand authority, reach new audiences, and find new talent – even without pouring down a huge chunk of your marketing budget.
In this blog, we look at some best practices to consider when leveraging your LinkedIn company page for content marketing.
First, let’s get the basics out of the way.
There’s the descriptors. Your logo is your identity, make it your profile picture. Use the banner image to reflect your company’s ethos and write a compelling “About Us” section. Think of your LinkedIn company page as your school yearbook. Except, instead of answering “Your 3 Best Memories”, you are telling the world the story of your company – how it started, what it does, problems it solves … you get the gist. People may want to know more, so use custom buttons to redirect them to your website or a contact form. Most critics make sure you fill out all the fields on the page. Pages that have all the information filled out get 30% more views than the rest – straight from the horse’s mouth.
Then there’s the hygiene stuff. Use relevant keywords in the “About Us” section and your posts, so you show up on Google search results. Utilise relevant hashtags to increase your chances of being found on LinkedIn. Engage with your audience. Respond to comments and participate in conversations elsewhere on LinkedIn. Fostering an employee-only space with the “My Company” tab can also be helpful for building engagement on your page.
Okay, now that Step 101 is out of the way, let’s get down to some specifics.
Be Visually Engaging.
Blame TikTok and Instagram, but we have successfully transitioned to a visual-first culture. That doesn’t mean you should throw out your keyboards, but using eye-catching images and videos helps grab way more attention than plain old TXT. This applies to both organic posts and sponsored content.
Stock images are the easiest way to make your page visually appealing. Pexels is a free option for stock images and then there are paid ones, such as Shutterstock. But stock images can get boring pretty quickly – and they won’t do much to make you stand out. There is only so much of “laptop on a cluttered table” or some variation of a “growth graph” that can catch the eye.
What then?
Inject some personality into your brand.
Use images from your behind-the-scenes action. Use your employees’ pictures instead of downloading generic stock photos (ask them first, of course!). And if these don’t seem to resonate with your brand and you’d really much rather go the stock route, check out Death to Stock for some really innovative stock imagery.
Use short-form videos to grab attention. People are used to watching Reels and Stories on Instagram. Give them more of the same on LinkedIn too. It could be as little as a 40-second-long informative video announcing your latest product or the new research report you have come out with. Short-form videos have the highest ROI among all video formats. Use free video editing tools such as Splice and Inshot to create content quickly.
Humanise Your Page.
Nothing puts people off as quickly as a brand that comes across as lacking “personality.” No matter what you are posting on your LinkedIn company page, make sure it is a reflection of your brand’s voice and tone. Align your LinkedIn voice with that of your overall brand. Now, personality doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be funny or witty (although humour does help). Here, figuring out who your primary target audience is helps. If you are (mostly) reaching out to the younger demographic, you could take a cue from Four Seasons’ LinkedIn page. The hotel chain keeps it light and breezy for the most part while still sharing useful updates. The company’s LinkedIn content works to attract potential talent by way of aesthetically drool-worthy photos and language that speaks to the young.
On the other hand, there is BlackRock’s LinkedIn page. The investment firm doles out serious investment advice through digestible videos. Their recent content also talks about sustainability vis-a-vis their investment programs. The tone is geared towards serious professionals who are looking for trustworthy investment-related content.
Other ways to humanise your LinkedIn page? Share in-house stories, highlight employee achievements, and get on the trends every now and then – but only the relevant ones (remember, only put out what your audience will care about) and it’s best not to overdo it!
Maintain a Balance Between Link Posts and Non-link Posts.
Attention is currency, and to maximise engagement, it’s crucial to understand the difference between link posts and non-link posts on LinkedIn.
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- Link Posts: These are your gateways. Every time you publish a new blog post, launch a product or share a noteworthy news article, a link post is your go-to. They redirect your audience to a specific destination, potentially increasing website traffic. However, a common pitfall is over-relying on them, which can sometimes be perceived as too promotional or redirective by your audience.
- Non-link Posts: Non-link posts, whether they’re thought-provoking text statuses, infographics, videos, or images, keep your audience right where you want them: on your LinkedIn page. They tend to foster direct engagement, accumulating likes, comments, and shares. These posts are your community builders, sparking discussions and fostering a sense of connection.
Consider a Showcase Page.
Think of your company as a multi-story building, and the showcase pages are its individual floors. While your main LinkedIn page gives an overview of your entire company, a showcase page allows you to spotlight specific aspects, be it a brand, business unit or an organisation initiative.
Showcase pages are displayed as “Affiliated Pages” on your main company page.
Why is this powerful?
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- Segmented Engagement: Different followers might be interested in varied aspects of your business. Cater to their preferences with dedicated content.
- In-depth Content: Delve deeper into topics, campaigns, or products that deserve more than just a cursory glance.
- Optimised Advertising: If you’re using LinkedIn ads, showcase pages can help in targeting specific audience segments more effectively.
Spotlight Your Products.
LinkedIn is more than just for networking and content sharing; it’s a place to showcase your tangible value. LinkedIn Product Pages are dedicated spaces for organisations to highlight and showcase their products directly on their LinkedIn Company Page. Once you set up a Product Page, a ‘Product’ or ‘Products’ tab becomes visible to LinkedIn members, making it a prominent section of your overall LinkedIn presence. Experiment by adding up to 5 images/videos of your product. You might want to give your audience an inside view into your design process, and highlight the features and differentiating factors to make it appealing.
If your strength lies in the services sector, LinkedIn also offers the option to create a Service Page, allowing you to showcase your specialised services and business expertise. Currently, Product/Services Pages are available for business-to-business (B2B) software, computer hardware, financial services, insurance, education, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.
Why Use LinkedIn Product Pages?
Featuring your products provides direct insight into what you offer and helps visitors get a quick understanding of your offerings.
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- Enhanced Visibility: Dedicated tabs for products mean your offerings won’t get lost amidst other content. They are readily accessible to anyone visiting your LinkedIn Company Page.
- Targeted Engagement: Potential clients or partners can directly interact, inquire, or provide feedback on your products, making it an interactive showcase.
- Trust Building: Providing detailed information about your products and getting endorsements can help in building trust among your LinkedIn audience.
Celebrate Featured Clients.
Your clients are more than just revenue streams; they’re the proof of your company’s promise. Showcasing them, similar to what Keka HR does, can enhance your reputation manifold.
Here’s why:
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- Builds Trust: New prospects are often looking for “social proof.” Seeing that other reputable clients trust you can be a significant push.
- Highlights Success Stories: Share case studies or success stories. They not only showcase your competency but also highlight the collaborative spirit.
- Encourages More Collaborations: Potential partners or clients may feel encouraged to collaborate, seeing the success you’ve achieved with others.
Keep Content People-Centric.
People follow you on social media either because your brand is already famous, they are acquainted with you more so than your brand, or your company offers something that is relevant to them. Unless you are a Fortune 500 brand, the first reason goes out of the window. And you can only leverage the second reason among your employees, friends, and friends of friends (of friends) – limiting your reach to your immediate circle. That brings us to the third reason.
Do you have something useful to share with people online?
Let’s say you are a SaaS company selling security solutions to enterprises. An example of people-centric content could be sharing valuable tips on how to secure your WordPress site. Or even as simple as tell-tale signs of phishing emails, or the latest security vulnerability in Chrome browser. You are not marketing yourself in every post. Instead, you are quietly building trust and credibility with your audience by giving them something useful.
Here, you can apply the 4-1-1 rule. For every post that promotes your brand, make a post that is genuinely helpful for your followers. And share 4 posts from among your follower network. These could be by your employees or other industry leaders. If you have gotten yourself into a content rut, use LinkedIn’s Content Suggestions tool to quickly shortlist relevant ideas. You can also cannibalise your older content. Break up that long blog post into short videos that you can post as a series.
Very often, it can be helpful to combine organic strategies with LinkedIn ads. Document ads, for example, can be a great way to find your audience quickly on LinkedIn. These ads let you showcase research reports, ebooks, case studies etc. People can access them for free. If your content is original and useful, people will start following your company page.
The New Push: LinkedIn Premium for Company Pages
The feature is rolled out to attract SMBs signing up on LinkedIn to engage their audiences and establish an online presence. If you are someone who loves to experiment and seek results, you should try out the LinkedIn Premium Company Page to test features. They are custom CTA buttons, auto-inviting users who engage with your content for lead management, a testimonials section for credibility, and insights into page visitors to analyze your audience better. These features have got us excited too.
A few other features, like the ‘gold badge’ similar to premium accounts and AI post writing, may be enticing for people who want to get started and create some content conveniently.
The intent here is to allow businesses to do a bit more than just maintain an online social presence. You can use it like a CRM to generate new leads and business, solidify trust, and create journeys with custom CTAs for better conversions. Additionally, it allows users to ‘request services’ directly from the company page to further help your lead generation endeavor.
There are many more features on the way, and you can read them here.
Some notable mentions:
- Every month, LinkedIn rolls out 250 invite credits that you can use to invite relevant industry connections to follow your page (Pro tip: If someone accepts your invitation, some of your invite credits will be credited back).
- Schedule posts to reach your audience at the right time
- For relevant mentions to your page, comment, repost and engage with the post
- Write articles and dive deep into topics that matter to your audience
- Expand the reach of your posts by notifying your employees to interact with it
The Bottomline
As with every other social media platform, goal-setting comes first. What is your purpose for running a LinkedIn company page? Is it brand awareness? Or are you looking to leverage the social media platform to attract talent? Or is it finding new business? Your primary goal should dictate your content strategy for LinkedIn, the tone you adopt, and your content propagation strategies.
While you are doing all of that, don’t forget the human part of it. Keep it relevant, relatable, and real. And as always, when in doubt, turn to the experts.
Got questions? Get in touch with us.