Is your LinkedIn Company Page working for you?

During a recent client 121 strategy session I was asked whether it was better to have no LinkedIn company page or an inactive one where you don’t post.

I was resolute in my answer that having an inactive one was far better than none at all.

So, what exactly is a LinkedIn company page and why should I create one for my small business?

Your LinkedIn company page is a brand positioning tool. You can link to the company page in your experience section and the logo appears in this section and also at the top of your profile.

It’s so much better than a greyed-out logo section which says to me that you haven’t really invested in your brand and makes me wonder are you credible?

All employees at your company can link to the page.

Benefits of a LinkedIn Page:

1. Your LinkedIn company page is a free information hub for prospects – It’s a chance for you to showcase the behind the scenes of your organisation and give prospects a taster of what it could be like to work with you.
2. Your content is easier to access – when you share content on a personal profile it’s usually available for 24-72 hours (unless it goes viral).  With your company page all of your content is easily accessible in one go.

If you rely on personal profiles only within your company:

• Your brand is at the mercy of an individual – what if they leave in the future and take all of their connections with them?
• Not everybody that you’re connected with wants to buy from you.
• I see some companies setting up another LinkedIn profile in error instead of a company page. Rookie mistake as you risk your profile being shut down from LinkedIn if it does not relate to a person.

Some advice from the LinkedIn Pages Team on how to make the most of your company page:

• Optimise curated content by adding in your point of view – as I said before people buy from people so inject some personality.
• Always include a caption with a clear call to action of about 150 characters or fewer. Examples are register now, join us for, reserve your spot, share your thoughts, comment below, check out the full article / video…
• Ask thoughtful questions to engage your audience.
• Always include rich media (LinkedIn recommends uploading images that are 1200 pixels wide by 627 pixels tall).
• Attract an audience by aligning content to your members’ needs and interests.Make it about them versus you.
• Maintain an editorial calendar if possible but still react to timely events (newsjacking and your point of view).
• Make your content snackable and valuable, such as including short stats and quotes.
• Engage members through comments – ask them their questions, challenges etc.
• Have a content calendar (advance planning)
• Use a variety of content formats (the algorithm prefers a variety of content – photo, video, pdf)

The top ten most followed LinkedIn company pages worldwide are:

1. TED Conferences (12.5 million followers)
2. Google (12.1 million followers)
3. Amazon (8.6 million followers)
4. LinkedIn (8.2 million followers)
5. Microsoft (7.8 million followers)
6. IBM (6.4 million followers)
7. Unilever (6.2 million followers)
8. Nestlé (6 million followers)
9. Accenture (4.4 million followers)
10. Facebook (4.4 million followers)

According to LinkedIn, the most common themes between the pages are:

• Using video to get engagement
• Featuring what the company does from an ethical or corporate social responsibility standpoint as well as equality
• Talking about the people in the business
• What innovation solutions the companies are finding

If you want to create and grow your LinkedIn company page check out this amazing free resource to help you!

Even if you decide to not post on your page having one is a no-brainer as it helps build credibility in a trust recession.