I recently engaged in a discussion on the LinkedIn Company Page Beta Testers group. We’re discussing upcoming features and talking about who is interested in testing them. As people raised their hand, some included the name of their company, others just said yes.
First things first, I recommended that people include a link to their company page to make it easier for others to find it. I encourage you to do the same. For the record, ours is http://linkedin.com/company/integrated-alliances. (Find related posts below.)
Here are considerations for building your LinkedIn Company Page:
The Integrated Alliances’ Business Methodology for LinkedIn
1. Craft a great presence. The message through words and images should tell a story or at least be consistent with what people will find when they visit your website or talk to you. SalesForce.com has a great page that illustrates this…http://www.linkedin.com/company/salesforce – read their overview and look at their product page and click through the banners to the landing pages. Don’t think you can be this polished? Ok. We didn’t eithre till we found a great graphic web designer that is very affordable. Let me know if you need on and I’ll get you his contact info. He’s got it down.
2. Build your network. In the company page space, that means getting followers while the follower getting is good. There are only a couple million company pages and the idea is still fresh and new to people. Once they get inundated, it will be more difficult to gain followers. This is really important so you can take advantage of more advanced features like targeted status updates.
3. Use the platform. Keep an eye on your page and follower statistics. Are you gaining followers that are potential clients or competitors? Use these tools to help you stay on track with gaining the right following and massaging your status updates to encourage more engagement.
4. Sell/Market/Get to Work. You can also look at who is following you, send them a thank you and continue to engage them in groups and where they play on LinkedIn. Encourage customers to recommend your products and services. Ask employees (like Megan described) to like the status updates and talk to customers about the page. Make sure you update your company page with blog posts and other value pieces for your followers so they continue to stay engaged.
Want specific ideas? I’d be happy to connect with anyone in this group to talk about applying these principles to your situation. Just reply privately or connect with me via our website, http://IntegratedAlliances.com.
Hope that helps!