LinkedIn for Business: a Guide to Best Practices

· Blog

Established in 2002 and introduced on May 5, 2003, LinkedIn has united professionals worldwide for two decades. With its current membership surpassing 900 million as of March 2023, the network has become a go-to for both individuals and businesses. In Canada alone, there were 21.7 million members by December 2022.

Given the extensive network of connections, LinkedIn stands out as the ultimate platform for networking. To enhance your business presence on this social network, we have compiled several recommendations on how to maximize your utilization of LinkedIn, commemorating its 20th anniversary.

LinkedIn: a platform to increase your visibility and differentiate yourself

Boasting over 58 million registered companies[1], LinkedIn provides an exceptional platform for showcasing your services, endorsing your professional endeavors, promoting your brand, enhancing your credibility, and remaining open to new prospects.

When it comes to personal usage of LinkedIn, it is crucial to tailor your profile in a captivating manner. Likewise, your company page must stand out among competitors. How can your company distinguish itself from the rest?

On average, LinkedIn users spend approximately 17 minutes per month on the platform[2]. Therefore, it isimperative to optimize your visibility and generate public interest!

Optimizing your company's LinkedIn presence

Just as empty personal profiles fail to captivate potential employers or partners, a sparsely populated company page will also struggle to distinguish itself in the sea of competition.

Ensure all sections of your page are filled out and diligently maintainits relevance. A complete profile not only enhances credibility but also increases visibility and drives more traffic to your page.

Engage your audience through compelling storytelling

The “Home” and “About” sections serve as the initialpoints of interest for visitors. In the “About” section, seize the opportunity to introduce your company by sharing its narrative, discussing your industry, highlighting your organization's values and mission, and emphasizing what sets you apart from competitors.

Craft your presentation texts with a strategic approach, ensuring they are structured, concise, and free of errors. Incorporate relevant keywords specific to your field to maximize impact. While it's important to write persuasively, avoid overwhelming readers with excessively lengthy headings. Internet users tend to shy away from extensive texts.

Make sure you include a link to the company's website and the physical address of your organization.

Writing isn't your cup of tea? Call on an agency that specializes in writing this type of content.

Display your identity through visual content

LinkedIn, being a social platform, recognizes the power of images, as they convey messages beyond words. The profile photo and banner hold significant importance as they are the initial visual elements visible on your page.

In most cases, it is advisable to utilize the company logo as the profile photo. This logo should also appear on the personal pages of your team members, fostering a cohesive brand image.

The banner provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your company with a few captivating words or a visually appealing representation that aligns with your products and services.

Employ high-quality, professional photos or illustrations as they directly contribute to your brand image. After all, it's your brand's reputation that is at stake!

Expand your business and elevate your LinkedIn presence

Incorporating your LinkedIn page into your website and other platforms where your company has a presence can significantly boost your online visibility. By doing so, search algorithms will further enhance your discoverability. Additionally, consider promoting your LinkedIn page in newsletters and emails to widen its reach.

The LinkedIn Page Statistics dashboard serves as a valuable resource for optimizing your company profile. It offers a wealth of data that enables you to evaluate your page's progress and track trends based on various indicators such as content performance, subscriber growth, visitor engagement, and more. Leverage this information to fine-tune your LinkedIn strategy and achieve optimal results.

Foster active engagement

To increase your visibility on LinkedIn, it's crucial to consistently publish and engage with others on the platform. The initial step is to encourage individuals to subscribe to your page.

When members of your page actively engage with your posts, it amplifies your profile's visibility, leading to increased views. Encourage your team, partners, and customers to join your page and share your content, as their interactions play a vital role in expanding your reach.

Determine the ideal content for publication

Maintain a regular publishing schedule, urging individuals to engage with your posts, and invest time in interacting with those who provide their valuable insights on your shared content. Remember to also comment on posts from your peers!

Enhance your feed with a human touch, rather than robot-like postings! Scheduled posts devoid of feedback fail to stimulate communication with potential partners. Similar to other social networks, LinkedIn thrives on user engagement. Without engagement, interest wanes. Be proactive and responsive.

Share relevant and captivating content that showcases your company's expertise rather than solely focusing on self-promotion. Prioritize quality over quantity, aim for diversity, and occasionally incorporate third-party content.

When sharing content, attaching an image or video captures more attention, effectively increasing engagement.

Keywords, hashtags, and groups

Optimize both your company page and your publications with effective keywords: after all, you want to attract the right people to your profile! The use of keywords increases visibility not only in the internal search engine but also on Google, as LinkedIn pages are indexed there.

In addition to keywords, the use of hashtags is advantageous when publishing content. Hashtags allow users to discover your publications. Use them wisely and avoid overusing them.

Maximize your company's presence on the platform by joining related groups, communities linked to your field of expertise, and participating in discussions that will encourage people to subscribe to your page.

Your participation in quality discussions is also a way to demonstrate that your organization is a competent authority in its field. You can even create your own group!

Advertising on LinkedIn

Companies can leverage advertising tools provided by LinkedIn to execute targeted paid campaigns. This approach extends beyond organic content strategies, allowing businesses to reach specific audience segments likely to be interested in their products and services.

These advertisements can manifest as promotional content showcased inusers' feeds, shared messages through InMail, or text ads.

Even after two decades, LinkedIn continues to be a paramount platformfor professional networking. At Capital-Image, we specialize in promoting companies and brands across various platforms, including LinkedIn.

[1] https://kinsta.com/blog/linkedin-statistics/

[2] https://kinsta.com/blog/linkedin-statistics/