Jodi Amendola is the CEO of Amendola , an award-winning public relations and marketing agency based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
For companies, LinkedIn was like the boring corporate networking events that were popular in the 80s; A group of strangers standing awkwardly alone, hoping to collect and distribute business cards that could lead to new business or new employees.
Well, LinkedIn may still be the most formal social network, but it recently added a bar and DJ to do the same, including new features and capabilities like videos, newsletters, and in-depth articles that can be embedded on the site. . , corporate accounts. Because of this, this "networking event" that you should attend makes a lot of sense. Your business can not only be there, but also produce results.
This post isn't enough to cover everything you need to know about LinkedIn. It's designed to encourage businesses that don't pay enough attention to their LinkedIn page to do so.
Why is LinkedIn important?
LinkedIn has more than 900 million members and 61 million registered companies worldwide. This is where most candidates, clients and suppliers learn about the company.
The best thing about LinkedIn for business is that it's all about business. It does a great job of filtering out politics, hostility, trolls and other forums. Yes, there are many self-serving humble "lovers" advertisers and posters, but the ratio of useful content to clutter is still high.
It has also become more than a place to find new employees; It is a great platform for businesses to tell their stories in different ways. While Instagram, Twitter and TikTok are more for creative content, LinkedIn is becoming more versatile and content-friendly, avoiding the controversy and inaccurate content that often plagues other media outlets.
Compared to other platforms, LinkedIn makes it easy to present your entire company, not just photos and snapshots. And because it's a business-oriented enterprise filled with (mostly) serious people, hackers are less likely to steal or misuse content.
Promote LinkedIn
Take a moment and open your company's LinkedIn page. Do you like what you see? Is it mostly a collection of job ads and press releases? Is anyone, including your employees, really making an effort? Can you sign up for a site if you don't have one?
Here are some organizations that work well with LinkedIn as examples of what your site might look like: Deloitte, The Nature Conservancy, and Coca-Cola. But don't make the mistake of thinking you have to be big to use a platform. I've also seen some small businesses make the most of their sites. What they all have in common are vibrant pages, clear messaging, great graphics and engaging content.
Companies are realizing that LinkedIn is a great place to communicate and build relationships with customers, partners and suppliers. This is an opportunity for companies to show their human side in a professional environment, for example by participating in an online chat.
Best practices and features
A site that served your business well 10 or five years ago is no longer good enough. If it's been a while since you last updated your page, here are some LinkedIn best practices and features to keep in mind.
SEO. The content should not only be relevant and interesting, but also convenient. Some visitors will search for your LinkedIn activity, while others will search by topic, business type, or other criteria. An optimized site improves traffic not only within the forum but also from search engines. Here are some easy ways to get started.
Video. LinkedIn has allowed native (not embedded) video since 2017 and has expanded functionality to include seven different types, including posts and articles, announcements, live broadcasts, profiles, meetings, direct messages, and connection requests. Video keeps visitors on your site longer, which LinkedIn's algorithm rewards.
Events. The Events feature helps you increase the visibility of your events online and offline and reach more people. Events can be public or private and invite people to your network. When we use this feature for a client, it provides an additional button on their company page that speeds up registration, connects the event form to their customer relationship management (CRM) system, and notifies attendees that the event has started.
Articles : LinkedIn will allow businesses (not just individuals) to write long-form content in 2021. Essays are a great way to go deeper than posts and show big ideas. They also appear in search results.
Newsletters allow you to subscribe and notify subscribers of each new release, which is a great way to increase your reach. You can also invite people to join.
There are many sources of information on how to create a great business page, but the best place to start is probably LinkedIn, which offers valuable lessons on everything from SEO to graphics.
So join the party! Invest in LinkedIn and your company will reap the benefits.
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