So, now you (we) have your (our) Start Up ready to run, with an amazing product (service) and the first important connections you made during Fairs, Events, meeting friends of friends etc. But, what is your next step? Well, get out there in the Online world, where you can reach those people that can really make the difference in your business – clients, partners, retailers, investors etc. – wherever they are.
A Company Page on Linkedin could be the answer you are looking for. Furthermore, in a seeding phase where you and your team may experience a lack of time, this may be a temporary valid substitute for both your Website and your business card (“I run out of card Sir, I’m afraid. But look for me on Linkedin, you’ll find everything there. And please, feel free to add me as your Connection.”).
BUILT YOUR PAGE
1) Who can do it.
Before you considering to create a Company Page, make sure that you can meet all of LinkedIn’s requirements:
- You’re a current company employee.
- Your position is listed in the Experience section on your profile.
- You have a company email address added and confirmed on your LinkedIn account.
- Your company’s email domain is unique to the company. (Note: A domain cannot be used more than once to create a company page.)
- Your profile strength must be listed as intermediate or all star.
- You must have at least 50 connections on your personal profile.
2) Get started!
- Choose “Companies” Under the “Interests” section on the main page (your profile is the starting point).
- Choose “Add a Company” from the right-hand side of the page button.
- Fill in your company information (company name and your email address).
- After receiving an email from LinkedIn confirming your page, you can go to your company page and start building it properly.
3) The Overview Section.
The information you need to include are company language, name, type, size, website, industry, operating status, year founded and locations. Remember, the company description is critical! Google scans company pages, so make sure you choose the right Keywords to rank high in organic search results. The results will also display the first 156 characters of your company description, so be sure to put the most important information there.
Then add a banner image and your logo. Make sure it’s appealing and consistent with your brand values and identity. Here are the image requirements, which must be either jpg, png or gif formats: Image – Minimum 646 x 220 pixels, maximum 2 MB. Logo – 100 x 60 pixels, maximum 2 MB.
4) Products and Services Page
Since many people don’t bother to fill out this section you may have an advantage over competitors and don’t forget to include keywords in the description, images and video if you have any.
- Go to your Main Company page and choose “products.”
- Click on “edit page” and choose “add product or service” from the drop-down menu, and you’ll get to this page.
In the same drop-down menu you can also find the space to include a Call to Action.
If someone is spending the time to visit your page and have a look at your product you don’t want him or her to leave without (hopefully) providing contact information, right? You can even provide a download link with free ebooks or white papers.
And remember to ask for recommendations to those who have already benefited from your product!
MANAGE YOUR PAGE
1) Establish presence
- Put someone in charge.
- Involve all the team members in proposing topic and write specific and consistent content for your page feed.
- Set a Calendar, to define when to publish your posts. It will be easier to follow for your Followers (couldn’t find a different word).
- Share other people and pages posts.
2) Analyse
Check regularly the views on your page and analyse trends and followers profile. You will be able to better refine your communication style this way.
There would be much more to say about Linkedin, but so far is a good start.
And, if you are wondering, flI. doesn’t have a Company Page yet… but we are working on it.
thoughtfromthemace 