Health IT, Patient Engagement

6 ways to use LinkedIn company profiles to build stronger B2B connections

LinkedIn has earned its reputation as the top professional networking website with 175 million members, […]

LinkedIn has earned its reputation as the top professional networking website with 175 million members, but for most companies the LinkedIn Company page remains the road less traveled with a paltry 2 million businesses. I tapped some LinkedIn experts, Susan Gunelius, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to LinkedIn and KeySplash Creative founder, and Donna Serdula, author of LinkedIn Makeover and social media/Web strategist, to share their insights and came up with six ways companies can make better use of a profile page to grow business.

One caveat about Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Keep the Facebook page, but think of LinkedIn as a way to improve B2B connections.

Use images that provide a call to action: AGFA Healthcare, a healthcare IT and diagnostic imaging company, for example, uses images and logos to encourage users to check out its company blog.  Each service is represented along with a compelling image, said Serdula. While we’re on the subject of images, on a related point, avoid using an individual’s mug for the company profile picture.

Recommendations: Recommendations at the company level can be more effective than employees because when the person leaves they take that recommendation with them. Anchoring recommendations to the company pages avoids that. AGFA uses recommendations from clients and vendors on its profile, Serdula notes. People can put in ratings and reviews, and can get customer testimonials to improve the image of the company.

Add employees on LinkedIn to promote team spirit:  It might sound a bit shiny, happy people, but companies should encourage their employees to connect with the business’ profile page. It makes it seem like they are part of a team and underlines a sense of employee affirmation and unity. As Gunelius puts it: “Your employees are your most powerful brand supporters. If they don’t believe in the company, why should anyone else?” Of course, that goes hand in hand with the need to ensure employees have a unified description of the company to avoid confusion by newbies to the brand.

Recruiting: Having a company profile on LinkedIn can be great for recruiting. Jobs can be posted on the site and LinkedIn users get regular email on jobs that could include ones from your company. Employees can make recommendations for potential candidates who probably are also on LinkedIn, which will facilitate the vetting process and open the opportunity for a potential referral bonus or at least some brownie points.

Update, update, update your status:  It’s 2012, so, if your last company update was 2009, you’re either too busy to do this yourself, don’t have enough going on, or you’re not aware that it’s important. The status update could be used to let visitors know what’s new with your business, flag interesting trends, new customers or employees (gotta love the recruiting potential). As Gunelius points out, don’t update your status for the sake of it — have something to say that’s meaningful.

Video: Within the niche of companies using LinkedIn pages is another niche: those using video. It’s a great way to illustrate product and it animates the profile. Pfizer uses video on its page to provide an uplifting overview of the company’s global business, which is downright cutting edge for the pharmaceutical industry. Some video production companies use video, unsurprisingly, but oddly enough, notes Serdula, not the high-profile companies in the movie business like Disney and Warner Home Video.

Shares0
Shares0