LinkedIn is the professional social network where real people do real work. As such it is a bit more buttoned down but it also draws in some of the biggest names in many industries. Having a presence on LinkedIn gives your business a certain credibility that Facebook doesn’t, making LinkedIn an especially helpful rep-building tool for B2B.
LinkedIn isn’t just for recruiting employees. It has become the place many go to research companies and to check out what the company does, who it hired, and to join in discussions with you.
None of this will help you grow your business if you are not using LinkedIn correctly or to its fullest potential. Here are some of the most common mistakes businesses make with LinkedIn.
1) No Company Page
LinkedIn can’t work for you if you aren’t even there. As of 2013, 2.6 million companies have a LinkedIn company page. Are your competitors some of them? LinkedIn company pages are more than an extension of your website; they offer their own statistics, at no extra charge, to help you determine if your page is working for you.
There are many helpful examples of company pages to help you see how yours could look. LinkedIn also provides advice for the best use of the platform.
2) Not Monitoring Competitors
What better place to go than LinkedIn to see how your competitors are using the platform. If they have filled out a proper profile you can get a well-rounded look at how they do business, what their specialty is, and how they treat visitors.
LinkedIn allows you to “follow” people and companies. You receive notifications of new postings, you can keep up with discussions, and see how many employees they have. Or who they are losing. Individuals who use LinkedIn often change their profiles well before a company will post their position for backfilling.
3) Your Employees Don’t Use LinkedIn
Employees are an extension of your brand and business. Depending on your industry, the completeness and effectiveness of the individual LinkedIn profiles of your employees can reflect back on your company.
Are you in the business of telling others how to marketing themselves? Your absence from such a platform may be a deal breaker, showing others you either don’t think the site is worthwhile, or (worse yet) that you don’t really understand the digital landscape at all.
Encourage your employees to complete their profiles and upload a picture of themselves. Besides making you look more human, a profile with an image is 7 times more likely to be seen.
There are a couple of employee segments that need a little bit more than a basic profile. That is your sales and HR departments. Both departments depend on LinkedIn to a higher degree than your other employees for sales or for recruiting.
As it happens, there are LinkedIn packages available for these departments to provide premium services. Your team will have access to more profiles and communications than others. They can also do more powerful searches and send more messages to those they aren’t connected with.
4) Sharing the Wrong Stuff
As stated before, LinkedIn has a different style than other social networks. It was created with business people in mind. You aren’t going to find dessert recipes here. Everything you share or post must be professional.
When you post on LinkedIn make sure the topics are highly relevant to your business and your customers. Use the same types of marketing techniques you would on your website: enticing headlines, calls-to-action and valuable content.
You can put videos, images, and links within your company page and in your discussion area. LinkedIn company pages also have special areas for promotions, job postings, and discussions. Smaller companies may not need this but you can create special groups for your employees and for your customers. It is a social network, so you want to encourage engagement.
Do discourage sharing office gossip on LinkedIn. When your employees are there they should act just as they would at a conference. You don’t want your company to look bad and you don’t want to give competitors any tools to use against you. Office gossip will turn off your customers, too.
5) Not Sharing the Right Stuff
If you have products and services, make sure your LinkedIn company page promotes those with affective calls to action to go to your website for more. LinkedIn is a site where you can relate a problem and how your company solves it. And you can interact with others who have further questions or comments.
Alternatively, your website should have a LinkedIn button so visitors can share your company with their connections. Business is all about networking and that is what LinkedIn and other social media is for. Along with employee profiles, get your staff to share information with each other across LinkedIn. By connecting with each other they will expand their personal networks and spread the name of your company to others who may work for one of your target customers.
6) Ignoring Group Discussions
Group discussions are another platform for interacting with others and showing your expertise. Answer questions, weigh in with opinions and ask your own questions so you can determine what customers are looking for.
And don’t forget, you may run across a company that can solve some of your problems as well.
There are many specialized groups on LinkedIn that match your company’s industry. If you can’t find one, get ahead of your competitors and create one. You’ll have first crack at customers this way.
LinkedIn is not just an essential network for those looking for jobs. It is becoming more essential to business as a selling and recruitment tool. Don’t send the wrong message by ignoring it.
