Written by: Clarene Mitchell, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
There is a world of opportunity that awaits small business owners on LinkedIn. Launched 19 years ago, the platform continues to evolve to be more than just the go-to social media for job seekers. There are long-existing and new features that entrepreneurs can leverage to establish and grow their businesses.
One of the seemingly well-kept secrets about LinkedIn is that small business owners can have company pages no matter the size of their businesses. This includes solopreneurs. Having a company page is a great way to connect with clients, employees, and the broader LinkedIn community. Let’s look at some of the top benefits that go with having a company page.
1. First and foremost, creating a LinkedIn company page is free! Even without having a premium (paid) level on LinkedIn, entrepreneurs can create a page in quick and easy steps. With there being no cost for the feature, it makes having it an affordable option that doesn’t break your marketing budget. Once you create your page, you lock in ownership of the company name so no one else can create one with the same name.
2. Having a company page helps to legitimize your business on LinkedIn. Adding your business logo is one of the must-dos for creating an optimized LinkedIn company page. Once this is done, your logo is seen in several key spaces on your LinkedIn profile. The first keyspace is at the top of your profile to the right of your name. Without creating the company page and adding your logo, the graphic would be a default one. The next keyspace is in your Experience section.
3. You can do direct marketing! This is a big benefit of having a LinkedIn company page. LinkedIn is a social selling platform, it goes against best practices to have constant content on your personal profile in which you directly pitch your services/products. It is preferred that personal profiles focus on providing value-added content. This includes educational, inspirational, etc. content. In contrast to this, it is more acceptable to have content that is sales in nature on a company page. You will lose your follower's interests if all your content is sales, so it’s best to mix in value-added content as well. No worries, LinkedIn provides suggested content for you to select from based on trending topics and your page themes.
4. When providing consistent content on your company page, it becomes a source for your staff to share the posts and extend the reach of the company information.
5. Company pages have features that allow you to gain credibility for your business. For example, you can publish articles and go Live from your company page. You can also run polls to get feedback from your target audience.
6. You can review a wealth of analytics regarding your followers. The categories you can get data on include visitors, updates, and followers. It even provides data on competitors and leads! When you review the analytics on a regular basis, it can help you develop opportunities for your business.
7. You can post open positions to get a quality pool of applicants. You can post a job for free or you can opt to run an ad. An added benefit of posting jobs is that your followers will see them and they can be shared with their networks.
Think of it this way. The connections and followers you have on your LinkedIn personal profile are like an ocean. It is a large mix of all kinds of fish. Some who may be your ideal customer/client matches, and probably many more who are not. But on your company page, people opt in to follow you there because presumably, they are interested in your products or services. It is like a small pond full of your ideal customers/clients. This may include some who don’t even follow your personal profile. When you properly nurture your company page, the process of reeling in the fish becomes much easier. If you don’t have a LinkedIn company page, it is a valuable option that you are missing out on.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!
Clarene Mitchell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Clarene Mitchell changes the trajectory of lives and businesses, one LinkedIn profile at a time. A dramatic job loss in 2016 led her to use LinkedIn more consistently. She started generating organic results and others started requesting her help with how to use the platform. TCM Communications was created to address the challenge many have with understanding and effectively using LinkedIn. Clarene is on a mission to empower as many entrepreneurs and executives as she can to Shine Online and generate quality results from LinkedIn.
