If you run a business-to-business (B2B) company, you may want to take a closer look at your LinkedIn strategy.
LinkedIn is the platform of choice for B2B marketing strategies, as it’s known to be a top lead generator. It makes sense — when you advertise your B2B company on Facebook, you’re competing against announcements and cute dog photos. But when you advertise on Linkedin, you’re meeting people who are looking for professional tools to help them run their company more smoothly.
Here are some tips to start optimizing your company’s LinkedIn page and start generating more leads:
You’ve already made strategic user experience (UX) decisions for your website, so why aren’t you looking at your LinkedIn page the same way? Although social media platforms have a bit more of a stringent template, you still want to look at it through a user-focused lens. Make sure you’ve crossed your t’s and dotted your i’s for all the basics on your page: do you have a high-quality picture and cover photo? Are you explaining what your company does with the end user in mind?
First, ensure your “About” tab is filled out in its entirety — and accurately! This is the first place people are going to click when they go to your company’s LinkedIn page. Ensure you have the basics, like:
You’ll also want to tell your company’s story in a user-focused way in the “overview” section. Think: if I was a customer, what are the key things I would want to hear about this company?
LinkedIn has countless features, both paid and unpaid, that only so many brands take advantage of. For example, LinkedIn recently released an “event” feature that allows you to plan events and invite your followers. These are especially useful for planning webinars or Zoom networking events, now that many in-person events are on hold for the foreseeable future. Further, LinkedIn also released an option for “going live” recently, available to companies that apply and meet certain criteria.
The life tab allows companies to dive into what makes their company culture so special. That aspect is especially important today as companies face huge shifts in what they identify as culture in a remote world. Understanding what makes your staff love your company is not only good for generating new recruits, but it’s also a tool you can use to generate leads. This paid feature can set your company apart from your competitors and make your LinkedIn shine.
Content is the currency of the internet. Delivering smart content that showcases your team’s thought leadership is the most important step to driving traffic.
According to LinkedIn, company pages that post content 20 times a month will reach 60 percent of their network. And that’s without even paying to promote it.
Take a hard look at the competitors in your industry. How many followers do they have on LinkedIn? How does that average compare to yours? Are they posting original content? And how often? If their LinkedIn has more likes, shares and engagement than yours, see what features they have on their LinkedIn that you don’t — then start investigating how to add them.
Twenty pieces of content a month — especially when you’ve left your LinkedIn strategy on the back burner — can be daunting. It just takes a plan. Can you feature an employee once a week? What about sharing articles that featured your company in the news? These, in combination with original content, can make your company’s presence far more active. At Ample, we develop full-scale digital content calendars with weeks of advanced content.
Many companies have blogs on their website where employees can showcase thought leadership. If your company doesn’t have a blog tab on your website, you can still put out great content that drives people to your LinkedIn page. Start by self-publishing articles on Medium or even directly on LinkedIn. Not a writer? Plenty of agencies can outsource ghostwriting this content for you (like us).
Statistically, a company’s employees average 10 times more reach across all social media platforms, compared to your company’s official profiles. In most cases, their reach is significantly greater than anything you have. And it brings your content to brand new audiences.
When your employees are interacting with your company’s posts, the LinkedIn algorithm will push it onto the feeds of their followers — increasing exposure ten fold. Make sure your staff doesn’t have to go digging for social posts and make it easy for them to find and give a “like.” You can do this on whatever mode of communication you talk on most frequently, whether it’s email, Slack, or through the “notify employees” button directly on LinkedIn.
All employees should have a LinkedIn profile. Better yet, an active one. The more involved employees are on LinkedIn, the better off your company will be. People want to make their own personal brands shine, so hold a personal profile workshop. Offer tips for making your profile hit all-star levels, like writing a killer bio, getting & giving recommendations, and endorsing one another for skills. At Ample, we offer packages for personal profile workshops for companies.
If your staff is writing for the company blog, chances are they’re going to be inclined to read and share the blog when others write for it. The same goes for all the content you put on LinkedIn. If you have an opportunity to call out a “win” for a certain staff member, their birthday or their work anniversaries, do it. It’ll make your staff more inclined to engage with your company’s page in general, which in turn will lead to more engagement.
Sound like a lot? Don’t know where to begin? If your competitors are overtaking you on social media (and thus in sales), they’ve likely outsourced their content and social media strategy to a company that excels in doing just that.
At Ample, we specialize in full-circle strategy for LinkedIn and other social platforms. Under our LinkedIn plan, we can provide:
See our content marketing packages and contact us today if it sounds like something you’d like to learn more about.
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