Some social media platforms are easy to learn and difficult to master. LinkedIn isn’t either, really: while it’s not super intuitive the first time you review it’s interface, it doesn’t take a Ph.D. to figure out how to get more mileage out of it. You’ll make a few mistakes along away, but they’re relatively easy to correct before you get into serious trouble.
LinkedIn marketing is a bit trickier.
If you’re using your LinkedIn company page as a prospecting tool, you’ll want to bone up on best practices and avoid these preventable mistakes (that, let’s face it, you may already be making).
- Ignoring the Endorsement Game
Don’t sleep on endorsements. Encourage your team members to cultivate endorsements from past and present colleagues, clients, and vendor contacts. This is the surest way to increase their credibility among their LinkedIn connections — and, by extension, the credibility of the organization for which they work. (That’s your company.)
- Failing to Dress Up Your Company Profile
Know it or not, your company’s LinkedIn description is one of the sharpest arrows in your marketing quiver. This is especially true for B2B companies, for which LinkedIn is a vital clearinghouse of information. This company’s LinkedIn profile hints at what’s possible: a fulsome yet concisely written description that clearly lays out the firm’s functions, mission, and values. Engage a member of your marketing team or an outside consultant to write some compelling copy, then touch it up internally as conditions change.
- Recycling Marketing Content
Don’t get complacent. Original content is a crucial pillar of your corporate LinkedIn profile, no matter how self-evident you believe your products’ or solutions’ advantages to be. Set a regular posting schedule and stick to it. Vary content types: short announcements, medium-length posts on discrete topics, deep-dive case studies or white papers. Stretch your limited resources further by cross-posting as appropriate on your company website and Medium page.
- Walling Off Your LinkedIn Presence from the Rest of Your Online Domain
LinkedIn isn’t sui generis. Include your company’s website in your company’s LinkedIn description. From individual LinkedIn posts, link out to blog posts and third-party sites containing your original content and news mentions. And encourage your employees to add your company as their employer. Credibility increases in direct proportion to employee count, unless you’re all-in on the boutique thing.
- Ignoring (or Failing to Track) Engagement Metrics
The world of Mad Men is long gone, if it ever really existed. These days, effective marketing turns on exhaustive, metrics-driven analysis. LinkedIn marketing is no different, so bone up on those measures.
- Overweighting Generic Content
Don’t make it all about you, or about flavorless soundbites you think sound good to your followers. Use your LinkedIn company page as a platform for truly original, engaging thought. You’ll never go viral if you stick to safe, hidebound content.
What’s Your LinkedIn Marketing Weakness?
Everyone — everyone — has a LinkedIn marketing weakness. What’s yours?
That your biggest weakness is nowhere to be found on this list doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of your attention. Resolve to tackle it once and for all this year, using the lines of attack we’ve outlined here as a guide. Your LinkedIn presence can be stronger, and it’s high time you made it so.
