LinkedIn for Small Business: The Company Page Part 3

Hello Small Business Owners! We've spent a great deal of time talking about the LinkedIn Company Page and how it can enhance your LinkedIn profile and your business' branding.  Today we will be talking about engagement and how to build that all important relationship with your followers.

Engagement = Relationships!

Remember a few weeks ago, we had a post about creating a homey feeling for your LinkedIn Group?  Well, we need to create that same sense of 'home' with the followers on your company page.

How do we accomplish that?  I'm so glad you asked!  First, remember that your followers are just as human as you are.  People love stories that involve a general human interest.  Think charities, social responsibility, good causes, etc.  Set up Google Alerts to search for these stories in your industry and share them on your company page.

Do you have a blog page on your company website?  If you do, share some of your blog posts on your company page.  Do watch the amount self promotion and sales pitches.

Do you have employees with LinkedIn profiles that work for your company and are in good standing? Encourage them to link their employer field to the company page, and FOLLOW your company page.  Once they complete these steps, they will appear on the company page as employees.  Now are you  giving a HUMAN face to your business.

Your Company Page following will take time to grow.  Be patient and continue to share your company page via your LI news feed.  DO acknowledge any likes, comments and shares so that your followers know you are paying attention to their feedback.

Sharing Human Interest Posts = Caring

Here's a quick summary of how to create that sense of 'Home' using your LI Company Page:

1. Share Human Interest Stories
2. Share Blog Posts
3. Encourage Employees to Follow and Link their profile to your Company Page
4. Acknowledge all likes, comments, and shares

AND, if you love the thought of having a Company Page, but don't have time to manage one, simply fill out my contact form.  You can also look me up on Google+ or LinkedIn.

Image courtesy of Boians Cho Joo Young at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

LinkedIn for Business: The Company Page Part 2

Welcome back small business owners!  In our last post, we talked about how a LinkedIn Company Page can enhance your own profile AND help you and your business appear in search results.

Today we will talk about how the LinkedIn Company Page can also enhance your business' brand.


What is branding? Entrepreneur.com defines branding as
"The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products."
source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/branding

There is a tool that can help you use your LI Company Page to differentiate your business from competitors: The Showcase Page.

LinkedIn Showcase Page = BRAND AWARENESS

Some of you may remember the 'products and services' page that LI done away with.  Those have been replaced with Showcase Pages that can be used to show off specific business areas, brands, products, services or long term innovative projects.  You can even list a distinct website on each Showcase Page - it's like have a landing page right there on LinkedIn.

Amazon's LI Company Page is a great example of how Showcase Pages are used.

For more information about LinkedIn Showcase Pages, visit the LinkedIn Help Center. 

Would you like to set up a LI Company Page but have no time?  I'd love to help! Look me up on LinkedIn or Google+.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

LinkedIn for Small Business: The Company Page Part 1

Recently, I posed a question to local business owners on the Greenville-Spartanburg SC Connections LinkedIn Group:

Question for local small business owners:

How do you use LinkedIn to promote your business?

One business owner replied, saying he doesn't use LinkedIn to promote his business, and admitted that he wasn't sure how to use the platform for his business.

Confident that other business owners share the same thought, we're starting a 'LinkedIn for Small Business Series' to help.

Today we will take a look at LinkedIn's Company Page Feature.

LinkedIn Company Page = Easy Access to YOU and YOUR BUSINESS

Why go through the trouble of setting up a company page on LI?  Well, you're on LinkedIn so potential customers will find you, right?  Did you know LinkedIn is like a search engine?  An LI company page can be linked directly to the current employer field on your profile. That means easy access to you and your business information via your profile, or a LinkedIn industry or keyword search.

Setting up a LinkedIn Company Page is quite easy to do, and it's FREE. Simply go to 'Interests', select 'Company', and then click on the 'Create Button' to begin setting up your page.  Click here for detailed instructions from the LinkedIn Help Community.

Two things to remember as you create your new page:

1. You will be prompted to input an email address during the set up process.  Once your page is set up, you will not be able to create another page with the same email domain.                                                                                           
2. Think long term!  You will have the option to assign page admins.  Is someone setting up your company page for you?  Will that email address or company page be accessible after that person leaves your company?   I've seen companies stuck with a page they can't access.  

Our next post will take a closer look at some of the company page features that can be helpful to the small business owner.

Do you need help setting up a company page?  Shoot an email to me at jeaninevidalsolutions@gmail.com.

AND if you would like to go even further and become a LinkedInfluencer, check out this affiliate offer from www.LinkedInfluencer.com!

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net