The Ultimate Guide To Linkedin Marketing
In this article, I will cover core platform features and show you how to set up an “all-star” profile. We’ll then discuss the best ways to build your personal brand and grow a high-quality network on the platform. LinkedIn offers both personal and company pages, so we’ll talk through the different types of company pages and the best practices for their use. Lastly, we’ll talk about how best to communicate on LinkedIn and how to optimize posts so they resonate with your target audience.
LinkedIn is a B2B-focused social media platform for building and developing professional connections, and reinforcing the mission and vision of a company.
LinkedIn is a platform that is largely leveraged by business professionals to find new employment or to advance one’s personal brand. However, marketers can also leverage the platform in a relevant way. Let’s discuss some of the platform’s features that can help achieve that:
#1 Connections in LinkedIn marketing
People in your network are called connections. Your network is made up of your 1st-degree, 2nd-degree, 3rd-degree connections, and fellow members of your LinkedIn groups. Your communication options for your extended network vary based on the degree of connection:
#2 1st-degree in LinkedIn marketing
People you’re directly connected to because you’ve accepted their invitation to connect, or they’ve accepted your invitation. A 1st-degree connection is typically a contact whom you know personally and trust on a professional level as they are given access to the primary email address on your account. You’ll see a 1st-degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. You can contact them by sending a message on LinkedIn.
#3 2nd-degree in LinkedIn marketing
People who are connected to your 1st-degree connections. You’ll see a 2nd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. You can send them an invitation by clicking the Connect button on their profile page, or by contacting them through an InMail.
#4 3rd-degree in LinkedIn marketing
People who are connected to your 2nd-degree connections. You’ll see a 3rd degree icon next to their name in search results and on their profile. If their full first and last names are displayed, you can send them an invitation by clicking Connect. If only the first letter of their last name is displayed, clicking Connect isn’t an option but you can contact them through an InMail.
When inviting members to connect, you should add a personalized message to the recipient to introduce yourself or add context to your relationship.
InMail
Private emails on LinkedIn, available only to Premium accounts, sent to fellow professionals without the need for an introduction, contact information or connections.
Pulse
An algorithm-driven content engine that delivers insights and news specifically catered to an individual’s networks and industry interests.
Premium Accounts
Paid-for subscriptions utilized for the purposes of career progression, recruitment, lead gen, business insights and learning. Premium Accounts unlock additional features like Premium Career, Sales Navigator, Recruiter Lite and Premium Business.
SlideShare as part of LinkedIn Marketing
LinkedIn’s content hosting platform that works as a web service, letting you upload presentations, videos, infographics and PDFs to share with everyone. It is a very convenient way to house all of your brand’s shareable content in one place.
Viewed your Profile
A feature which allows you see who has been engaging with your personal profile.
Referrals
Or the ‘Get Introduced’ feature, are introductions which allow a LinkedIn member to contact 2nd and 3rd degree connections within their network through a mutual connection.
LinkedIn Group as part of Linkedin Marketing
A page that supports specific, topical discussions moderated by group owners and managers.
Let’s discuss the attributes of an “All-Star” LinkedIn profile. For starters, a LinkedIn personal profile is a webpage on which a business professional can detail their career history, education, interests, skillsets and any other career-related information. In order to be given an “All-Star” profile status by LinkedIn, you should have most, if not all, of the following:
- A profile picture and cover Photo
- A clear, concise Headline (usually which describes your current role or what you’re looking for)
- Your educational history
- Your location
- A summary of your professional journey
You also need to show that you’re an active member of the LinkedIn community by sharing articles and posting any thought leadership or professional updates
You should detail your career history and showcase your experience complete with rich media examples of your work whether it’s articles, video or a SlideShare.
And you should solicit endorsements of specific skills from colleagues and credible members of your industry. Additionally, your profile should feature personalized recommendations from colleagues.
Do include any relevant courses you’ve taken from prior or continuing education, as well as any compelling projects that further demonstrate your experience. Be sure to highlight any honors or awards you’ve received too.
As previously stated, LinkedIn is a great vehicle to build one’s personal brand. It’s important to share updates on your LinkedIn Profile as a way to demonstrate thought leadership, provide relevant news and gain influence on the platform.
You should also join existing Groups and be sure to engage with other member’s posts, incite commentary with your own discussion topics and even start your own group.
LinkedIn Elevate makes it easy to discover and share content curated by experts at your company. Its also a great way to increase the reach and engagement of your thought leadership (boosting your personal brand) and distribute your company’s news amongst top trending content to ultimately drive more leads, and attract top talent with employee advocacy.
The power and impact of LinkedIn really lies in your network. It’s necessary to have a high-quality network to access the full potential of LinkedIn.
To do so, you must first connect with relevant contacts, colleagues and alumni. Next, join alumni groups and other groups related to your industry and interests. Thirdly, be sure to include a link to your profile in your email signatures to encourage new connections.
Now that we’ve discussed personal profiles on LinkedIn, let’s dive into the benefits of a Company Page.
This type of page can be used to tell your company’s story, engage with followers, share career opportunities, and drive word of mouth at scale.
To customize your Company Page you will need a:
- Profile picture and cover image
- Company summary
- List of specialties
- Your company’s website URL
- Your company’s industry
- The address of your company’s headquarters
- The size of your company
- The year your company was founded
Google previews up to 156 characters of your page text, so be sure that your company summary leads with powerful, keyword-rich copy. LinkedIn members can also search for companies by keyword, so include words and phrases that describe your business, expertise, and industry focus.
An affiliate company page is a company page that is linked to another company page that can represent a separate affiliated, subsidiary or related company, or used to connect parent and child brands. Really, there are two main reasons why using an affiliate company page may be necessary:
- There are distinct recruiting needs from the parent company page
2. As part of LinkedIn marketing, a team needs to separate page analytics, admins, a distinct hero image, distinct followers, and/or a showcase page.
Alternatively, a showcase page is an extension of your company page, designed for spotlighting a brand, business unit, or initiative with their own dedicated messages and audience segments.
So what does an optimized LinkedIn post look like?
- In terms of schedule, posting daily company updates is the most effective way to start a conversation, drive word of mouth, and directly engage with your target audience – but posts published in the morning usually earn the highest engagement, with a slight bump occurring again after business hours.
- Short, snappy headlines with thoughtful questions and clear CTAs achieve higher engagement.
- Posts with images or rich media achieve a higher comment rate.
Links to YouTube videos play directly in the LinkedIn feed, resulting in a higher share rate.
Now tell us your own side of this story.
We would also like to hear what you feel about the topic we discussed today. Your feedback is very important to us. Feel free to drop your comments and recommendations. If you have a contrary opinion, you can drop that too.
You can also join our Facebook Page CRMNigeria for more updates. You can do that by clicking on the link or searching for our page on Facebook.
You can also join our WhatsApp Group Here.
Work from Home. Work for PropellerAds.
Finding the right Long-tail Keywords? Start your journey here.