There are over 250 million LinkedIn users in the world, but not many people will be utilising the social network to its full potential.

Many of us will register to LinkedIn, find a couple of new connections, and then start asking ourselves ‘What else is there to do on the network?’. The short answer; there is so much more to do. From updating personal profiles, to investing in LinkedIn Ads for company pages. Here are just some of our insights into making the best of LinkedIn…

 

PERSONAL PROFILES

For businesses, it’s important to make sure that employees are representing your brand positively. That doesn’t mean restricting your employees to using LinkedIn strictly for business activities, but they can contribute by doing the following:

• Posting at least 2 times a week – Posts can be relevant or personal.

• Policy Guidelines – You can create policy guidelines for your employees on how they should update LinkedIn. Remember, every employee represents your brand, so it’s important they reflect the brand the right way.

• Updating profile photos consistently – Try to make photos look as professional as possible, for example, employees can use photos where they are against a plain background to add a professional touch. The better these photos the more confidence you give as they are the first thing people see.

• Include a consistent company description under their profile – LinkedIn allows users to describe their experiences in each company they have been part of. This will give them the option to describe the companies they work for; businesses should provide employees with an accurate description of the company. This description can then simply be used in their profiles.

Continuing on from ways to get employees to join in all the action, CEO’s and Managing Directors can also make an impression on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s ‘Recommendations’ is one feature that makes the network the place for professionals. For instance, business owners can ask clients and colleagues to write a recommendation from their LinkedIn profile. Prospects can then get a more balanced view of your work, with the recommendations there is a higher likelihood of others connecting with you.

Although this can require a lot time and effort from clients who have a busy schedule. So we would suggest that you write recommendations on their behalf, and ask clients to approve them. Alternatively, you can start recommending others in your network and hope they return the favour.

 

LINKEDIN COMPANY PAGES

It’s important for businesses to make sure company pages are consistent with their brand messages. Take a look at how you can improve your company page below:

• Update your company page with products and services that you offer – Try to post at least once a week about what you offer. Whether you have promotions on or are releasing changes to your services, include these in your page posts.

• Including case studies in your company’s page – These can be in the form of videos or images, and this element can drive prospects to your company page. Case studies can be added to the description in your company page, and these case studies can subsequently be used by employees in their profiles.

• Sponsored Updates – Why not consider investing in LinkedIn’s ‘Sponsored Updates’? These types of updates can reach a wider audience and the right people, e.g. if you are posting about a white paper relating to digital marketing, you can target people that work in the digital marketing industry and CMO’s.

 

LinkedIn is a powerful social network that can help businesses and individuals show a professional front online. This network should be treated as a more formal social media platform where brands can broadcast their messages on; but that doesn’t mean to say brands can’t show their personality (in moderation, of course) through the different features available on the platform including media in posts and eye catching sponsored updates.

Brands are increasingly using LinkedIn for engaging with their consumers, so it makes sense to engage with this growing population of social media professionals.