Company Pages And Followers

Company Pages and FollowersRelationships That Drive Results5 steps to engaging followers on LinkedInlinkedin.com.companies 1

Table of contentsSTEP01STEP02Intro03Establish your presence05Attract followers06STEP03STEP04STEP05Engage followers07Amplify through the network10Analyze and refine12linkedin.com.companies 2

Build relationshipsthat drive resultsFor businesses, relationships matter more than ever.Why? Because people tune out irrelevant orpromotional messages to focus on useful, engagingcontent. Companies that inform and engage aren’tjust selling – they’re building relationships.LinkedIn helps marketers forge relationships withthe world’s largest professional community. Ourmembers are almost 50 percent more likely to buyfrom a company they engage with on LinkedIn.1And a whopping 80 percent of LinkedIn memberswant to connect with companies 2 – because thoseconnections provide them opportunities to enhancetheir professional decision making.Use this proven model to fuel successSocial media leaders employ a 5-step model for establishingrelationships with customers and prospects.After reading this guide, you’ll understand how to apply this5-step model to your social media strategy on LinkedIn.5 steps to engaging followers on LinkedIn1. Establish your presence2. Attract followers3. Engage followers4. Amplify through the network5. Analyze and refineIn this guide, we’ll show you how to use yourCompany Page to build relationships, attract newfollowers, and create brand advocates.1. LinkedIn Audience 360 Study, August 20112. Ibidlinkedin.com.companies 3

Set your team upfor successQuick tipsIdentify expert contributorsContinuous, relevant communication createsstrong relationships. Here are some teambuilding strategies to help you create and deliverstrong content:Enlist colleagues who understand customers’ needsor have specific content creation skills (e.g., videoproduction, infographic design).CentralizeMake an editorial calendarAppoint a social media “champion” tocoordinate content creation and trackperformance. Product and brand managerscan help the champion ensure content reflectseverything your company is doing.Divide and conquerSplit ownership between a global social mediateam and your company’s HR or recruitingdepartment to meet both marketing andhiring needs.Create a calendar with campaign themes and postingtimelines. Stick to it as much as possible – but don’thesitate to throw in timely content as opportunities arise.Make content go furtherBreak up big themes into a series you can publish atfixed intervals to get followers regularly “tuning in” fornew content.linkedin.com.companies 4

STEP01Establish yourpresenceYour company page is your home on LinkedIn.Here’s how you can use it to tell your brand story.Design your pageClick the “Edit” button in the upper right ofyour Company Page to update your companydescription, specialties, industry, website, andmore. Use rich, descriptive language that helpsreaders understand your vision, purpose, and thevalue you offer.Optimize for searchCompany Pages are very SEO-friendly. Googleshows previews of up to 156 characters of yourpage text, so be sure your description leads withpowerful, keyword-rich sentences. Memberscan also search for companies by keywordon LinkedIn, so include words and phrasesthat describe your business, expertise, andindustry focus.Showcase your Products & ServicesMarketers who build out their Products & Services pagetend to have twice as many company followers. Use thispage to tell members what you do best – and give themcompelling reasons to follow you.Tailor your offeringsYou can design multiple configurations of yourProducts & Services page based on one or twoof the following criteria: members’ geography,company size, seniority, job function, or industry.Go beyond productsYou can link to just about anything from yourProducts & Services page. Direct membersto your latest and greatest white papers, casestudies, or how-to content.Tell a story through videoIf your company has a YouTube channel,embed product demos or customertestimonial videos that tell a compellingnarrative about the value you offer.linkedin.com.companies 5

STEPAttract followersOnce you’ve established your companypresence on LinkedIn, you can begin fosteringrelationships by attracting followers to yourCompany Page. Here are some simple, effectivestrategies for attracting followers.Engage your colleaguesEmployees are 70 percent more likely to engagewith your Company Updates. Encourage themto add a link to your Company Page to theiremail signatures.Announce your Company Page to customersand partnersOnce your page is all set, drive traffic its waywith a compelling blog post or email newsletterannouncement.Add a “Follow” button to your websiteYour web team can pull code for a “Follow”button from developer.linkedin.com to add toyour blog or website. This lets LinkedIn membersfollow your company with a single click.02Join the discussion in LinkedIn GroupsThe members of LinkedIn’s 1-million-plus Groups oftenengage with companies, so it makes sense to join thediscussion! Participating in these discussions is a great wayto attract new followers from targeted audiences.Find the right GroupsTarget Groups relevant to the industries or customersyou serve. Use LinkedIn’s search bar to find groupsby keyword.Step up to the micContribute to popular discussions members have started.As people like and reply to your comments, you havea chance to become a “Top Influencer” in the group.When appropriate, link to your Company Page to helpinterested members gather more insights and info.Be a connectorWhen you post in Groups, aim to help members solveproblems and share insights with one another.linkedin.com.companies 6

STEP03Engage followersThe best relationships are rooted in great conversations – and your tool for starting thoseconversations is the Company Update.Every update should convey your brand promise and values. But don’t forget that LinkedInmembers want informative, insightful, inspirational content – not self-serving promotion.By delivering useful and engaging content, you’ll foster engagement and help yourmessage spread faster.So, what makes a good status update?Be helpful and friendly, not sales-yOne-sided conversations are no fun. So don’t postoverly promotional messages. If you do postoccasional company-related news or productannouncements, make sure they deliver a specificbenefit to your followers.Think about timingUpdates posted in the morning usually earn thehighest engagement, with a slight bump occurringagain after business hours. Experiment to see whatworks best for your company.Link to great contentPost at least once per weekdayConsistent posting encourages engagementand fosters familiarity.3. LinkedIn U.S. survey-based follower report, January 2012Company Updates containing links can have up to45 percent higher follower engagement than updateswithout links.3 Just remember to write a compellingsentence to accompany the link, inspiring membersto click through.linkedin.com.companies 7

STEP03Tailor your content tospecific audiencesWhat resonates most with followers? Content that’scustomized to their professional interests. WithLinkedIn’s Targeted Updates, you can easily matchyour message to your audience.When you create an update, you can decidewhether to share it with “all followers” or a“targeted audience.” Choose the second option tosend your update to a subset of followers basedon geography, job function, industry, company size,or seniority.Audience targeting best practicesAudience size mattersLimit yourself to one or two targeting criteria per updateto ensure that your content receives many high-valueimpressions. Targeting too narrowly limits your reach.Engage locallyUse Targeted Updates to let colleagues in regional officescontribute content that speaks directly to your customers orprospects in different areas.linkedin.com.companies 8

STEP03Learn from the bestAcross LinkedIn, companies are seeing the benefits of engaging their followers: recent research showsthat LinkedIn is 277 percent more effective at lead generation than Facebook or Twitter.4Here’s how some leading marketers are engaging their followers.Enterprise cloud computing companysalesforce.com used Targeted Updatesto promote its Cloudforce Londonconference to a UK audience. Duringa five-week period, the companyexperienced a 30 percent increasein follower engagement. Plus, theseTargeted Updates showed a 30 percentincrease in amplification (the ratio oflikes, comments, and shares to totalupdate impressions).HP wanted to engage professionalsand gather recommendations for itsproducts. The company launchedits own page, inviting members torecommend and comment on itemsin their Products & Services page.The company also ran LinkedIn Adsto generate recommendations atscale. The results: more than 2,000recommendations, 20,000 newfollowers, and 500,000 viral updatesabout HP products in two weeks.A relative newcomer to the HR space,Reconverse wanted to raise awarenessand create conversation about itsmission to change the corporaterecruiting model. Speaking to anaudience in the HR field, the companyused status updates to stage a contest.The first update alone generated 1,403likes, 120 comments, and 87 newfollowers. Reconverse attributes 90percent of its revenue to its LinkedIncommunity-building efforts.4. Rebecca Corlis, “LinkedIn 277% More Effective for Lead Generation Than Facebook & Twitter [New Data]”, HubSpot Blog, January 30, .companies 9

STEP04Amplify throughthe networkNothing impacts people’s perceptions andbehavior like the recommendation of a trustedfriend, colleague, or family member. When youpost content to your Company Page, your followerscan like, share, or comment on your updates,amplifying your messages to reach their firstdegree connections too.Each amplification acts as an endorsement of yourcontent and brand. In fact, a study of thousandsof Company Updates found that amplificationwas a primary driver of over one-third of allimpressions.5 Each additional impression is achance for your company to nurture relationshipswith LinkedIn members.5. LinkedIn study of all Company Updates with at least 1,000 impressions postedJune 1-15, 2012Encourage amplification outside LinkedInWhile your followers spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, yourrelationships should continue off the site too. These plugins(available at developer.linkedin.com) will help you furtheramplify members’ enthusiasm into endorsements for yourbrand off-site.RecommendRecommend plugin: Embed this plugin on web pagesthat showcase the products on your LinkedIn Products& Services page. With one click, site visitors canrecommend a particular product to all their first-degreeLinkedIn connections.ShareShare plugin: Empower site visitors with LinkedIn accountsto share your content with their networks. Using the Shareplugin turns every visitor into a potential champion foryour brand.linkedin.com.companies 10