We continue to talk about social media and now we move from the more mainstream ones to the more corporate social media. When we think about corporate relations, Linkedin automatically comes to mind. No, this social media is not just for recruiting – although it can help a lot in this task. Do you want to find out all its potentialities for your business?
Linkedin was created in 2003 by the American entrepreneur Reid Hoffman with the mission of connecting professionals from all over the world in a single corporate platform. The success generated led to Microsoft acquiring Linkedin in 2016. According to the most recent data, it has more than 575 million users, of which 310 million are monthly active – not bad for a professional network, no?
Despite not competing with the mass social media regarding the number of users – such as Facebook, YouTube or Whatsapp – it definitely did something well to be so popular among professionals – proof of that is that, recently, Facebook also decided ‘copy’ one of its most important features, now allowing companies to also place job offers online.
But it is not just to advertise vacancies that this social media works. Linkedin can have a giant impact when it comes to your company’s good reputation and we will show you the best tips to boost your business here.
Professional Profile
Linkedin is the most important platform for you to have all your professional information, companies you have been through, complementary training, and it can be very important for an entrepreneur who wants to position himself as an authority in the market. In addition to working as a real CV, here it is also possible to share updates that are of interest to your business area. By doing so, commenting on them, you will show the world all your know-how and positively impact your business, as this improves your followers’ perception of your knowledge in a certain area and, consequently, makes them trust your work. In addition, Linkedin allows followers to recommend skills or even leave a written recommendation about a connection. Imagine having your customers recommending you for a certain service and the impact this may have on your business… Done?
Company page
Company pages are similar to Facebook fan pages. Attention: do not confuse company page with professional profile on Linkedin. Many users do not notice the difference and end up creating a professional profile for the company instead of a company page. A mistake that can come at a cost in the reputation of a business. So, for you to understand better, here’s a ‘cheat sheet’:
- Professional profile – used by people;
- Company page – used by companies or entities.
Now that we have established this difference, let’s focus on the company pages: these are for you to publicize your company’s activities in a more institutional way. The best way to start gaining traction on your Linkedin page is through your employees: let them know the page, ask them to follow it, and to indicate on their profile where they work, as well as to share its content. Your employees are your best friends when it comes to promoting your business, if they advertise your page, you will certainly go further. Furthermore, you can place the link to your Linkedin page on your company’s communication channels – website, emails – in order to generate more traffic for it.
It is also through company pages that it is possible to benefit from a series of other potentialities of Linkedin, such as:
- Advertise job offers;
- Run advertising campaigns, but we will get to that later.
Groups
Corporate groups are a good way to bring together people who are interested in a certain topic and compile, in a single space, information that may be relevant to that audience. These groups should not be advertising channels – as there’s a risk of quickly losing the interest of the people involved -, but of disseminating the content of interest in a given topic, creating an open discussion and interaction among its participants.
Advertise job openings
It is, in fact, to advertise job vacancies that people better perceive Linkedin. These ads can be expensive for the employer, but if done with the right targeting, they allow you to more easily have applications from potential employees who really have the skills you are looking for. Through these ads you can define:
- Type of offer;
- Needed skills;
- The location where you want the ad to appear;
- Set the daily budget for the ad.
According to Linkedin, nine out of ten users are open to new job opportunities, which supports a high probability of finding the ideal person for the job.
Paid campaigns
In addition to job advertisements, it is possible, through Linkedin Ads, to run several marketing campaigns. By default, this is a platform where advertising is more expensive when compared to other social media, but Linkedin argues that its level of segmentation – whether by business sector, experience level, position, among others – is higher than that of others advertising platforms, making these ads more attractive when you think about the outcome.
Ads can be of the most varied types:
- Promotion of feed updates for company pages;
- Inbox messages;
- Text or video ads;
- Lead generation form.
To create a Linkedin Ads account you must have, as mentioned above, a company page through which you will then make your promotions. Depending on your goals, Linkedin can be a good long-term investment in attracting new customers for your business.
Convinced about the potential of Linkedin for your business? Contact us to help you boost your business through social media!
Rita Justo, press officer at Media em Movimento
Bio:
PME Magazine – Pedro Caramez: Social CEO e Erros de uma empresa no Linkedin