Ramping up your company’s LinkedIn organic success
The power of LinkedIn, like all social platforms, comes from people sharing content. As such, it’s important for companies to encourage employees to create their own professional profiles and empower them to share their content.
The power of LinkedIn, like all social platforms, comes from people sharing content. As such, it’s important for companies to encourage employees to create their own professional profiles and empower them to share their content.
LinkedIn studies show content shared by employees generally influence about 4 times more Company Page followers and 2 to 3 times more Company Page views. Content shared by employees also has about twice the engagement than content shared by the company itself.
It’s best practice for any employee advocacy strategy to start with company executives, so they are seen as leading by example. Also, be sure to highlight the benefits to the employees in creating strong profiles, posting relevant status updates regularly and sharing company content: it can help them build their professional network, develop a reputation as an industry leader and contribute to the business in a meaningful way.
You can even utilise LinkedIn Elevate to collect content as a company and suggest it to your employees, then track results from the employees’ sharing engagements.
Helping your employees create a strong professional profile
There’s several key elements to an individual’s profile. Recommend to your employees that they include the following:
- A quality profile photo, such as corporate headshot or another image of the individual appropriate for your industry. Members with a profile photo receive 14 times more profile views.
- A relevant headline that’s more than just a job title. This should include specialisations and other keywords relevant to your industry.
- Write the Summary section in first person and don’t be afraid to be personable, as members with summaries get 10 times more profile views.
- Highlight skills and expertise relevant to the specific role, as well as your company’s services and industry focus. Members who include skills get about 13 times more profile views.
- Encourage others to provide recommendations. LinkedIn recommendations can be solicited by going to your profile and clicking “Ask to be recommended” in the Recommendations section, however the most effective way to get recommendations is not to ask for them but to write them for other people you’ve worked with or know professionally. In return, LinkedIn will prompt them to write one for you. Be as specific as you can when writing a recommendation.
Encouraging senior employees to position themselves as an industry expert
Executives and other senior employees should aim to engage their network with weekly status updates relevant to their specialisation, with an aim to position themselves as an industry expert.
It’s important to add variety. Mix things up by posting industry news, highlighting trends, offering up some fun facts, providing business updates and, of course, sharing LinkedIn Company Page posts. Also vary the formats – include slides, videos, pictures, PDFs and links.
Expanding an individual’s network
Encourage employees to connect on LinkedIn with new business contacts they meet through events and meetings (you can search for them under LinkedIn Advanced Search).
Unlike Facebook, unsolicited network requests on LinkedIn are not considered rude, unless you’re coming across as trying to sell and therefore you appear spammy. Best practice is to include a short personal note with the invite request.
Review “People you may know” for suggestions under “My Network”.
What's next, Kook?
A meeting with us costs NOTHING. Even if you have an inkling you aren't getting the results you'd expect, let's have a chat.