“LinkedIn right now is going through a Facebook 2012 moment. You, right now, have a business or are trying to build a profile or are trying to communicate something to the world, have no followers on LinkedIn, produce content and the organic reach and consumption is remarkably high.” – Gary Vaynerchuk, January 3, 2020 [1]
LinkedIn Corporation, the second-largest social networking player in the United States behind Facebook Inc. (which owns Facebook and Instagram), boasts 10% of the U.S. social networking market share [2]. The platform focuses on the interactions of businesses and business professionals [2]. LinkedIn has grown rapidly as a platform and offers great opportunities for professionals and businesses to spread their reach. In this blog, we cover the basic features of the platform, the benefits of creating a company page, and instructions for creating a company page on LinkedIn.
Basic Features
In general, LinkedIn offers many of the same features as other popular social networking sites. Users can create either a personal profile or a business page. Users can follow other users and pages and create and join groups. Posts are shared that contain text, links, images, videos, and other documents. To interact with posts, users can like, react, comment on, and share. For direct communication, LinkedIn offers a messaging tool as well.
What makes LinkedIn different, are the professional networking and recruitment features offered. User profiles are like interactive resumes, including work experience, education, volunteerism, recommendations, endorsements, certifications, spoken languages, special skills, and more. The posts also tend to be more professional in nature. On Facebook, a user may post more about liking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain, whereas on LinkedIn, the same user might share they enjoy writing proposals and getting caught organizing spreadsheets.
LinkedIn is also a great recruitment tool. Company pages can add job openings equipped with full details and a link to apply. Some even allow applications directly through LinkedIn. Users can search for jobs by location, company, industry, job title, experience level, date posted, benefits, and more.
Benefits of Creating a Company Page
Let’s get into why you should create a company page for your business. As mentioned above, company pages on LinkedIn allow businesses to post job openings and discover qualified candidates [3]. Company pages also allow you to share news about your firm, such as major business operation changes, revenue reporting, new services or products, awards earned, news article features, media engagements, and more. Having a page and sharing content helps your firm maintain a consistent brand image and accumulate a follower base of your organization’s fans. You can also connect your LinkedIn company page with other social media platforms to connect people across different media. In addition, creating a company page increases the likelihood of your business appearing in search engine search results. All in all, the goal is to create more conversions for your business. With a company page, you can drive more individuals back to your website to increase your sales [3].
How to Create a Company Page
To create a LinkedIn company page, go to the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions website, click “LinkedIn Pages,” then select, “Create a LinkedIn Page” and finally select, “Create your Page” [3]. If you already have a LinkedIn profile and are logged into your account, click the “Work” tab and select “Create a Company Page.” Choose your company type and size and fill out all your company details, such as name, industry, website, etc. Once all your information is added, click “Create Page.” You will get to the admin view for the company page, which suggests more content to add to the page. Add as much information as you want but note that more information will make your company easier to find [3]. (LinkedIn reports that company pages with all the information added get 30% more weekly views than incomplete pages [4].)
And with that, you are done creating your firm’s page! Now it’s time to create and share content!
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U39r1wLe9LU
[2} Hoffman, E. (2018). Expanding networks: Enormous growth will continue as sites find ways to monetize. IBISWorld Industry Report OD4574 Social Networking Sites in the US, 1-33. Retrieved from https://clients1.ibisworld.com/reports/us/industry/default.aspx?entid=4574