When it comes to optimizing your B2B business, LinkedIn followers are currency. LinkedIn is a business-focused social media powerhouse, providing access to more than 706 million engaged professionals distributed over 200 countries.
LinkedIn is a uniquely powerful tool in B2B marketing: Some experts have estimated it creates 80 percent of social media B2B leads. Decision makers at all levels go to LinkedIn to see and be seen. Its recent visual and interface updates make it even more appealing for your branding efforts.
Your LinkedIn followers should be thought of as a ready pool of potential converts, just like your email list and other qualified leads. Done right, every hour you spend on LinkedIn could yield 3X or even 5X ROI — and many tactics yield dividends well into the future.
What Is a LinkedIn Company Page?
A LinkedIn Company Page is a page that is specifically designed for companies and organizations to connect with with other companies and individuals who are interested in learning more about their brand, products and services, or employment opportunities.
Think of your LinkedIn Company Page as a a networking home base for your business that gives you the chance to showcase your brand, company culture, company updates, and to share new and helpful content.
21 Tips on How to Get More Followers for Your LinkedIn Company Page (+ Examples)
Gaining new followers for your LinkedIn company page takes time and effort. By applying our tips, you can gain more followers and possibly more leads for your B2B business.
1. Optimize Your Company Page.
Like pages for individuals, your Company Page becomes easier to find the better it is optimized for search. First, make sure you set a custom URL that’s branded and memorable. Second, double-check that your page text includes the exact industry terminology that expresses your expertise.
Just like you would for a blog post or website page, it’s important to include relevant keywords in the description of your LinkedIn Company Page. Users can search Company Pages within LinkedIn by using keywords, so it’s important to include keywords and phrases that describe who your company is and what you do.
Take a look at our LinkedIn page. Within the first few sentences, the content includes relevant keywords in the about section such as “inbound,” “marketing,” and “agency.”
2. Place Your URL on Annual Reports.
Quarterly and annual financials aren’t just seen by your investors.
Over time, they are reviewed by many other sources. They can end up on the desks of analysts worldwide and may even be used by students and hobbyist traders. Make sure your URL appears in front and back matter.
3. Share Innovative, Insightful Content.
Sharing timely, relevant, and helpful content is key to building relationships with B2B prospects whose sales cycles might go on for several quarters. A brief “blurb” at the end of each article you share should encourage your reader to visit your Company Page.
The key to posting LinkedIn content is to post regularly and to write a preview of what the article or content is about above the article link. Sometimes posting your opinion and asking for your followers’ take helps to increase engagement and will garner more shares.
4. Participate in LinkedIn Groups.
LinkedIn provides access to thousands of Groups, each one started by an industry insider.
People visit these specialized forums to post questions and commentary on recent trends and emerging issues. By providing valuable answers, you add credibility and attract LinkedIn followers.
5. Start Your Own LinkedIn Group.
You can even start your own group to discuss industry related topics and to post some of your own blog articles and other content.
Ultimately, a well-run LinkedIn Group can be a powerful business engine. To launch your Group right, be sure to start with “moderated” posts – so competitors won’t be fishing in your pond.
Then, continue to nurture relationships and make offers as you would on your mailing list.
6. Engage With Your Followers.
Are you engaging with your existing Company Page followers? One great way to engage with them is to ask thoughtful questions in your posts to encourage users to comment – just don’t forget to reply and engage with your followers once they do leave a comment.
Actively interacting with those who engage with your content shows users that you’re present on LinkedIn and care about what they have to say.
7. Tap Your Alumni Networks.
The personal alumni networks of the company’s decision makers are a rich source of potential allies. Not all of them will be interested in following a Company Page, but they may head their own networks that you can tap with the right offer or information.
Some alumni associations will be delighted to follow your company back, especially if one or some of your executives are a part of an alumni chapter.
8. Take Advantage of LinkedIn Premium.
LinkedIn Premium now provides vast amounts of information on industry and company trends.
For those who want to make the most impact on the network with the least investment, it may be worth a buy – it emphasizes precision targeting of the most visible and active influencers.
9. Add a Follow Button to Your Website.
This is an easy win for any business with a website: Simply add a button on your blog or other relevant webpages that directs visitors to follow your company page.
Take a look at Intero’s website, and notice their LinkedIn follow icon and button on the bottom of their homepage.
Adding a follow button is very easy. Simply go LinkedIn’s Follow Company Plugin Generator and add the following information:
Company page name
Language
Count mode
The count mode is a cool feature because it shows a live follower count in a vertical or horizontal format. As your following increases in size, visitors will feel more inclined to join the crowd.
Then, after approving the preview generated in the tool, click the button that says “Get Code.” You can add this code wherever you want on your site.
10. Share More Video Content.
Interest in video content is booming – 70 percent of B2B decision makers watch video throughout the entire buyer’s journey. Video is great for capturing attention from followers who frequently use mobile: Just be sure your video opens and closes with your branded LinkedIn URL.
For example, Bank of America posts videos frequently to engage their followers.
11. Share More Infographics.
Infographics are in a class alone: They’re 300 percent more likely to get shared than other content.
Post them on LinkedIn, other social networks, and repositories like SlideShare. Label each infographic clearly with your LinkedIn page as the source, and viewers will follow the breadcrumbs back to you.
12. Promote Your Page on Other Social Media Channels.
A quick and easy way to gain followers is by promoting your LinkedIn Company Page via your other social media marketing channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
You should also include a link or “follow” button to your LinkedIn Company Page on your company website (typically in the header or footer), blog posts, email signatures, promotional emails or updates, newsletters, etc.
13. Add Your LinkedIn URL to Business Cards and Other Stationery.
Things change, but business cards aren’t dead yet. Nothing hangs around the office and turns up quite as well as a business card.
As the most business-oriented social network, LinkedIn should take pride of place when cards and letterhead offer limited real estate.
14. Enlist the Help of Advocates.
Your employees are the best place to start when trying to increase followers on your LinkedIn Company Page. After all, they’re the biggest advocates for your company!
Encourage employees to add your company as their current place of employment on their personal profiles. By doing this, they will automatically become followers who can then engage with your Company Page’s content.
Once they’ve become followers, ask your employees to engage with your page’s content by leaving comments and sharing posts/updates from your Company Page for maximum visibility.
In addition to your employees, many of your clients and business partners probably have a LinkedIn Company Page that you could follow to encourage a follow-back.
15. Leverage LinkedIn Throughout Your Content Ecosystem.
It’s one of the ironclad laws of inbound marketing: Every piece of content can become more.
For example, blogs can become whitepapers or case studies, case studies can become videos, videos can become infographics, and so on. At each step, always spotlight your LinkedIn URL.
16. Leverage Your YouTube Content.
If you have a YouTube channel, use your video notes or ending credits to preview links for your LinkedIn Company Page. If people like your YouTube content, they will likely enjoy your LinkedIn content.
For instance, this marketing YouTube influencer posts for his viewers to follow him on a variety of social media pages including LinkedIn.
Source: YouTube
YouTube results can bolster your presence at the top of the search page alongside your own pages, so they are worth it. At the end of every video, be sure to include your main web address and your LinkedIn.
17. Release Presentation Decks on SlideShare.
SlideShare is the hosting service owned by LinkedIn that provides professional content in various forms, including presentations, infographics, and documents.
It’s an effective way to promote your LinkedIn URL because it is a LinkedIn property. People trawl this site to find information on presentation topics pertinent to them, so they can always end up back at your home base.
18. Include Your URL on Promotional Items.
Depending on your industry, there may be all kinds of different promotional items you hand out to prospects and customers.
When these are useful or funny, they can stick around for a long time. You never know when someone might reconnect on your URL.
19. Highlight Your LinkedIn in Your Newsletters.
When you send out an email newsletter, you have the chance to capture attention and immediate action. It may be worth it to send out an email blast exclusively to point out your LinkedIn.
Within this LinkedIn email, showcase some of your company’s latest content published on the Company Page. This further establishes your authority with your email recipients and is a great way to deliver helpful, informative content to them.
Also, praise employees who stood out in the last month and show how they went above and beyond. Promoting your awesome culture is great for attracting new talent and for showing your audience how well your team works together.
Once you showcase your awesome company, people will want to find and connect with you on LinkedIn.
20. Add Your Link to Your Case Studies.
Case studies make your solutions more relatable by demonstrating how well they work for others who fall under your target audience.
You can subtly enhance your case studies by including a web address of your choice just below the page numbers.
21. Follow Other Companies in Your Industry.
Follow your competitors and other thought leaders in your industry. Engage with their content, and they are likely to give you a follow back.
You may also choose to invite them to groups you have joined about riveting new updates or information for your industry.
Having a good relationship with your peers on LinkedIn is a great way to increase followers and to learn new things.
LinkedIn is a worldwide social channel for business professionals. Use LinkedIn to your advantage to increase your brand visibility and to nurture relationships.
To learn more about LinkedIn marketing, read our comprehensive guide below.
To discover more visit: bluleadz.com
