Do I Need a LinkedIn Company Page?

A question that I’m asked over and over is, “Do I need a LinkedIn Company Page?”. That is quickly followed by, “Do I post to my LinkedIn profile or my Company Page?”

In a nutshell, my answers, respectively, are “yes” and “both, but via sharing”. Let me explain.

Everyone must start out with a LinkedIn profile. Your profile is meant to tell your story, not your company’s story. So be sure you are using your own photo, name, and your experience (which does include a bit about your company).

But here’s the difference, and it’s key to building engagement on LinkedIn.

People want to do business with PEOPLE, not COMPANIES.

So don’t crowd your LinkedIn profile with stuff that reads like your company brochure. Instead, let your audience get to know you as a person.

Next, those in business should establish a LinkedIn Company Page for their company. The main reason why…Google loves LinkedIn. Creating an optimized LinkedIn Company Page will help spread your message to those searching on the internet. It will also allow you to build your company brand apart from your individual self. This makes sense if you work for a company with a number of employees, but what about if you are the only one at your company?

Even if you ARE your company, you need a LinkedIn Company Page. 

Remember, your company is only one part of who you are as a person. Therefore, the content that you share to your personal LinkedIn network should be proportional.

Here’s the path to sharing content on LinkedIn:

1. Post an update to your company page.
2. From your personal profile, share the post to your network.
3. From the update that you are personally sharing, share it into a select number of groups.

 

How to Build a LinkedIn Company Page

Getting a Company Page started is not difficult. However, before you dive into building it, we advise that you ask yourself a few questions.

What do I want to achieve with my LinkedIn Company Page?

First thing up…establish your goal for your LinkedIn Company Page. That will determine the content your share in your page description as well as the type of content that you share. Here are four possible goals for your company in using LinkedIn. Your goal could be just one of these or a combination of two or more.

• Engage with your customers
• Generate leads
• Build brand awareness
• Recruit talent to your company

What should I include on my LinkedIn Company Page?

• Description: This makes it easy for people to understand what your business is about. Put the most important point at the top of your description as the content will be truncated. However, use enough detail and keywords to help with both your SEO on LinkedIn and the internet.
• Company URL: Allow people to easily navigate to your website with a simple click on this link.
• Admins: Multiple admins can be added to each page. It’s a great idea to have multiple people in your company to help you keep the page running. Posting content and engaging with your audience can be shared across multiple departments or positions.
• Images: Use a hero image that helps to tell your story. It’s a good idea to rotate this image a few times a year to add interest to your page.
• Company Specialities: Use terms that people would actually be typing into a search bar to find you.

How will I attract followers to my LinkedIn Company Page?

Followers could be customers, prospects, employees, industry leaders, or friends and family. These are just a few ways that you can let people know that your page exists.

• Talk about your Company Page in conversation. For example, end a call with a prospect by saying, “If you’re interested in staying up-to-date on our company, you can follow our LinkedIn Page.”
• Put a link on your marketing collateral. Include the link on your business cards and any other marketing material.
• Send an email inviting people to follow you. If you are just launching your page, make an email announcement to your email contacts asking them to follow you. Then, include a link to your page in each email newsletter you send.
• Add a link to your email signature. With all the emails that are sent each day, capitalize on the exposure by including a link to your Company Page in your email signature.
• Share your company updates to your personal network on LinkedIn.
• Ask your employees to share the company updates to their networks. Your employees should be ambassadors for your company. Encourage them to share updates from the page. It will be in your company’s best interest to train employees on how to do this if they are unfamiliar with LinkedIn.
• Post in LinkedIn groups. By using the posting sequence outlined above, your will be keeping the original link pointed toward your company page.

Best Practices for Company Updates and Building Engagement

• Post daily. The best LinkedIn Company Pages have shown that posting daily results in the best engagement.
• Consider updates as a communication tool. Use them to share relevant information about your company and industry.

• Share blogs you’ve written.
• Share articles that you’ve read that you think your following will also appreciate. Establish yourself as a thought-leader by including your thoughts about the article when you share it.
• Post job openings at your company.
• Welcome new staff members.
• Ask questions to prompt discussion. Be sure to check back and engage with those that left a comment.
• Include facts about your industry. Stats are something many people like to share with their networks.
• Create snackable-sized content. Break down large pieces of content into sections that are more easily consumed by the reader.
• Add images, videos and infographics to create interest and make your update more likely to be shared.

Monitor Your LinkedIn Company Page Performance

 

Once you’ve posted a few updates, check out the analytics on your Company Page. Look at the results (number of impressions, clicks, and interactions) to determine what type of content works well. From there, you should strive to post more of the type of content that worked well, and try something new with the content that didn’t perform well.

You can also look at trends in your follower growth. Was there a specific piece of content that promoted more people to follow you? Well, share more of that type of content.

Look at the demographics of your followers (seniority, industry, job function, company size). Are you reaching the right people to reach the goal(s) you set for your LinkedIn Company Page. If not, you’ll either need to change up your strategy or re-evaluate your goals.

4 Things to Do Today to Get Started

1. Define the goal of your LinkedIn Company Page.
2. Create or optimize your LinkedIn Company Page.
3. Post a status update to your page.
4. Invite personal contacts to follow your page by sending them a short email announcement.

Bonus: We love to follow the LinkedIn pages of our readers. Share the link of your Company Page in the comments below.

Need help crafting your company updates? Check out this infographic shared by LinkedIn. 15 Tips for Compelling Company Updates