best-practices-your-linkedin-company-page-need-to-followWhile Facebook, Twitter, and newcomers like Periscope and Snapchat get all of the attention in the social media industry, the reality is that LinkedIn is one of the most important platforms out there. Whether you’re a B2C or B2B organization, your LinkedIn company page needs to be properly optimized in order to enjoy maximum benefits.

4 Suggestions You’ll Want to Follow

LinkedIn started as a website for personal networking and resume circulation. Since its launch in May 2003, LinkedIn has evolved into a powerful platform for marketing, branding, and content creation. No longer optional, it’s now critically important that businesses develop quality company pages that engage customers and reflect the brand’s core values. Here are some suggestions worth following:

1. Humanize Your Brand

In order to understand the real value of LinkedIn, you need to cut through the noise and identify what exactly the site does. LinkedIn doesn’t exist to do things like provide contact information and present a professional front. The site is designed to humanize brands and organizations by giving them a vessel – outside of their own website – through which they can connect with customers.

Park West Gallery, one of the largest art dealers in the world, gives us a fantastic example of what this looks like. The Park West Gallery LinkedIn company page goes far beyond the basics of a description, contact information, and profile picture. Company officials use it as a tool for engaging people with useful content and information. If you want to build a successful page, you need to do the same.

2. Fill Out a Comprehensive Profile

While you need to humanize your brand, don’t overlook the importance of filling out a comprehensive profile. Leaving out information or failing to include all of the suggested details can make your business look unprofessional and disengaged.

If you want a fine example of a comprehensive profile, check out AppleOne Employment Services. Their LinkedIn page is frequently recognized as one of the best because it doesn’t lack anything. If there’s something a potential customer or user would want to know, they can find it on the company page.

3. Share Original Content

In a study of 5,000 businesses, researchers found that traffic coming from LinkedIn generated the highest “visitor-to-lead” conversion rate at 2.74 percent. That’s considerably higher than both Facebook (0.77 percent) and Twitter (0.69 percent).

The takeaway is that businesses need to be creating and sharing more original content on LinkedIn. By creating content that drives traffic to your website, landing pages, or product pages, you can increase conversions and put your brand in front of more potential customers. If you’re sharing content on Facebook and Twitter but ignoring LinkedIn, your priorities need to change. This is especially true if you’re in a B2B industry.

4. Create Compelling Updates

According to LinkedIn, “Company Updates are a powerful way to reach and engage professionals with relevant content across devices.” If you want to create traction on your company page and consistently show up in the newsfeeds of your connections, then you should invest in regular and compelling updates.

Top tips for compelling updates include using rich media, asking questions, incorporating specific calls-to-action, and consistently reviewing data to understand which types of updates perform better.

BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers, is particularly adept at publishing valuable and timely updates. On their company page, you’ll notice that they publish relevant updates whenever they need to communicate something important.

Don’t Skimp on Your LinkedIn Page

Simply creating a LinkedIn company page just to have one is pointless. You need to make your investment worthwhile by creating a page that properly reflects your brand’s image. Use these tips and examples to get started today!