LinkedIn is one of the core platforms businesses should tap into. It has over 433 million users, and that number only continues to climb. Business pages promote your company, provide valuable information about your company culture, and highlight current company news.
A business page is a strong option for companies that may have more than one location, service, or brand; nursing homes and assisted living facilities, for example, can showcase each location and its features or services. If you’re currently using LinkedIn’s recruitment resources, a company page will market your organization to potential employees and feature all of your open positions on your company’s page.
However, if you’re an influencer, known expert, or an individual whose personal brand is strong, you might be better served by sharing a great deal of potential Business Page content to your personal LinkedIn profile instead or in addition to your business page. Some companies, especially those with attractive employment opportunities or well-known brands, are more likely to attract followers. You may have a larger following on your personal profile, as is the case for most care managers, marketing directors, or even for our own company.
But how do you go about creating one, and what exactly do you do with it? LinkedIn certainly isn’t as casual as Facebook, but that doesn’t mean it has to be any more complicated.
Creating a Business Page
To create a page, log in to your personal LinkedIn account. Click the Work menu at the top right, and then click Create a Company Page at the very bottom of the next menu.
The next screen will allow you to put in your company name, which should be your official company name. Spell it out completely—abbreviations here can hurt your searchability here and be tough to remember. Your LinkedIn URL, however, can be an abbreviation or shortening of your company name with some strategic keywords tagged on.
Say I’m handing out printed fliers to advertise my pretend business, Central North Carolina Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. I would not want a URL that was as long as linkedin.com/company/central-north-carolina-skilled-nursing-and-rehabilitation-center. It takes up quite a bit of space on paper and will take additional effort for my customer to type into their browser.
However, abbreviating it to something like CNC Nursing & Rehab gives us a nice, short URL. Compare the two:
- linkedin.com/company/central-north-carolina-skilled-nursing-and-rehabilitation-center
- linkedin.com/company/central-north-carolina-nursing-rehab
Which would you rather try to type?
Most companies with longer names have standards around abbreviating them, so ask around if you aren’t sure, or refer to your official company materials (website, letterhead, etc). If there aren’t any standards, remember that URLs are one of the first things search engines check for keywords, so try and use one or two if you can. Above, we used ‘nursing’ and ‘rehab’, which are both also in our full company name. Don’t try and add keywords just for the sake of search; always write for your audience, not for search engines.
Follow through with the next instructions—this will include adding your logo, which should be a large resolution so it scales nicely, and a description of your company.
Your Description
Your company description is probably one of the most important aspects of the business page. It needs to be concise and engaging, which can be tough to achieve.
Describe very accurately what your company does. Give as much detail as you can while remembering that you’re speaking directly to your audience. You also want to keep in mind that Google will display your description in its search results (the first 200 characters or so), so while keywords aren’t vital to a successful page, they certainly don’t hurt. It’s more important to write for your audience than a search engine.
Once you’ve got a solid description, you can begin to think about what your company will share in order to engage your target audience.
What Kind of Content Should I Post?
While the process of making a business page is fairly simple, most of your focus should be on providing accurate, quality content.
LinkedIn seems so different from Facebook and Twitter that some people feel a little hesitant about what exactly they should post, or what’s appropriate for the medium. You have to be just as engaged on this platform as any other in order to get really good interactions. It’s not really any more complicated in terms of strategy, but there are some things you should keep in mind:
- Determine what content is going to do well with this audience. Your Facebook or Twitter audience may not be identical to your LinkedIn audience, so plan content accordingly. While Facebook tends to steer more towards consumer-driven content, your LinkedIn page may be more geared towards your colleagues or referral sources. What information is going to be interesting to them? They may be less interested in the latest top ten tips on preventing dementia and more interested in staffing resources, professional development, workshops, and company achievements.
- Always highlight wins, achievements, or big moments for your company. Your business page is all about your company and what you do. Use the platform as a place to really shine! If you have a staff member who received an award, even an internal one, it can be an awesome thing to share (with their permission, of course).
- Sharing content from/tagging other companies is a great way to get new followers. Obviously, there are millions of other companies on LinkedIn, and some of them are probably located in your area. Say you’re a nursing home that hired a DJ for an event. Is that DJ on LinkedIn? Can you post pictures of them or link to their page? Can you tag them in the post about your event? This is a great way to participate in your local community, which can be a big draw for potential customers. Plus, it can boost your relationship with those businesses.
Though your posting schedule should be tailored to your audience, the average for LinkedIn is about once or twice a week. Remember that engagement isn’t about frequency, it’s about quality. You could post every day and get one share overall, but that’s very little return on so much invested time. If you post twice a week and get 50 shares, that’s time much better spent.
LinkedIn business pages are a wonderful tool for businesses in that they allow you to really highlight your company’s talents to a professional audience. Between the job seekers and fellow businesspeople, it’s a really unique platform with a unique set of demographics.
Need more help beyond the basics? Reach out to IlluminAge for resources, consulting, and more!