Did you know that 64% of all visits from social media to company websites come from LinkedIn? And that 4 out of every 5 LinkedIn users are decision makers at their companies?
A massive and sales-ready audience is waiting for you on LinkedIn. Now is the time to join the 3 million other companies on LinkedIn. Start reaching your current and future clients on LinkedIn with the following simple steps…
1. Make a plan
Ready to get started creating or growing a company page on LinkedIn? Congratulations! We know you’ll be happy with the end result. Before getting any further, sit down and make a plan. Carefully read through the following steps and then choose someone to be in charge of LinkedIn and map out a timeline of when and how each of the following steps will be done. Begin thinking about analytics and setting expectations. When you start checking items off and seeing the results you’ll be grateful you made a plan!
2. Fill in and optimize your company page
Taking the time to fill in all the fields on your company page with keyword-rich text and descriptions will pull your page up in the LinkedIn and Google search engines. With three million other companies competing to be found, be sure to take full advantage of each of the fillable spaces on your page.
Fill in your description with engaging text that will capture the attention of visitors, lacing your most important keywords throughout. Use the Specialties field to add up to 20 keywords related to your company’s products, services, and general purpose.
Images are worth a thousand words and videos are worth even more. Add a profile photo – your company logo – and a company banner. Add images and videos wherever possible to make your company page more visually engaging.
3. Get followers
Now that your company page is optimized for search engines and visitors, it is time to grow your network and accumulate followers. This may take some initial effort, but as your company page and network grow it will start attracting followers without extra effort. Try some or all of the following techniques to get started:
- Add a Company Follow Button to your company page, blog, newsletters, email signature, and anywhere else you can! LinkedIn will even generate the code for you
- Ask your employees to follow the company page and share its posts and content with their networks
- Send out an email to your mailing lists advertising your new LinkedIn page. Get even better results by providing an incentive like a giveaway or promise to follow them back
- Advertise your new and improved company page on your blog and/or website
- Follow other company pages and interact with them to get your company’s name out there
4. Post on your company page regularly
As soon as you have even a few followers it’s important to be consistent about posting and interacting. If your company page sits quietly for too long it will be difficult to entice followers back. Make a plan to post at least a few times a week, if not every day.
Get creative with your posts – ask yourselves what would interest your followers and get them clicking, commenting, and sharing. LinkedIn researchers found that status updates with questions received nearly 50% more comments. Try asking your followers for their thoughts or feedback to encourage a response.
Videos are another great way to grab viewer attention and interest. LinkedIn says that posts with videos lead to followers liking, sharing, or commenting twice as much as on posts without videos.
Don’t forget to respond to your comments and return the favor by visiting other company pages. If your followers are trying to interact but being ignored they won’t be back.
5. Participate in groups
With around two million industry-specific groups, LinkedIn has a niche for everyone. Search through the groups and find a few that fit your company’s purpose and products. As you browse through groups in your industry and search based on keyword, check how active the group is – don’t bother joining a group that looks more like a ghost town than an interactive discussion. Take a look at how often new discussions are started and how many response they tend to get. Your company may benefit from a few large groups where brand exposure is high as well as a few smaller groups where relationships and connections can be formed.
We recommend you start with the Telco Service Providers Network. TSPN is a great place for all kinds of telecom professionals to ask questions, discuss hot topics, and make connections.
6. Track statistics
Great job! You’ve made it through most of the steps – you have a fully optimized profile and an ever-increasing network! But don’t let all your hard work go unmeasured. Track your progress in the Analytics tab on your company page. There you can find statistics on your page, posts, and followers. Additionally, use Google Analytics to track visitors from your LinkedIn page to your company website.
Want to start simple? Bicom Systems would love to be your first or next follower! Connect with us today!
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