3 Reasons Companies Need to be on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is much more than just a tool for recruiters.  With over 300 million people on this social media platform, there are many benefits that every company can reap to accelerate growth of all kinds. 

This is especially true for companies in the B2B sectors. According to data from marketing automation pioneer Eloqua, 75 percent of B2B buyers claimed that social media would likely have influence on future purchasing decisions. There are countless other studies that have proven social media platforms such as LinkedIn as a useful tool for business growth. 

Here are three reasons you should be on LinkedIn:

1.  Interaction

There’s no doubt that most of our firm’s clients are in the business-to-business space, so they are likely familiar with the people they are interacting with—everyone from  contacts they are currently doing business with, prospects and business partners. LinkedIn provides companies with an additional platform to engage with these key individuals in an active way – this engagement shouldn’t be a passive experience. For example, LinkedIn company pages can feature up to three groups.  Creating and participating in a LinkedIn group is another opportunity to join in on the discussions in a company’s industry and answer questions where appropriate. This will also enhance visibility of your company among more like-minded professionals.

2.  Show off your influence

Companies should consider LinkedIn as another platform to show off their expertise by distributing content, showcasing speaking engagements or becoming a go-to source for information that is relevant to their specific industry. LinkedIn provides companies with endless opportunities to tout their thought leadership.  When embarking on any on-going content journey, we always advise clients to develop an editorial calendar, which is recommended for any social media campaign.  Once a compliance-friendly social media policy is developed, the next step is to identify what should be shared on LinkedIn. Consider whitepapers, blogs, videos, other social media posts and news.

3.  SEO

With SEO guidelines changing by the day, the “bots” are getting smarter.  One thing that remains consistent is how everything online is connected.  Any content published online should be optimized for search engines and LinkedIn is a great place to distribute this content.  In order to have a successful digital strategy in place, you need to complete a few things before you push out any content including a complete profile.  Once completed, you can begin joining and participating in groups, commenting on LinkedIn articles that are relevant to your business and networking. 

Consider this: according to a recent LinkedIn company announcement, there are more than 200 conversations happening each minute across LinkedIn Groups and more than 8,000 groups created each week.  Imagine the possibilities!