LinkedIn Marketing Ideas: Proven Strategies to Turbocharge Your LinkedIn Business Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Challenge of Growing a Company Page on LinkedIn
Tips for Gaining Traction on LinkedIn
Utilize the Invitation Feature
Post Job Opportunities
Experiment with Engaging Content
Case Studies: Successful LinkedIn Company Pages
Funden: Leveraging Startup Funding Updates
Refine Labs: Building a Community Around the CEO
Apollo: Engaging with Other Users' Content
Additional Strategies to Consider
Boosting Content with Ad Spend
Driving Outside Traffic to LinkedIn
Cautionary Note on Buying Followers
Conclusion
Introduction
In the world of professional networking, LinkedIn has emerged as the go-to platform for companies and individuals alike. For companies, establishing a strong company page is crucial as it serves as a form of social validation and credibility for customers, employees, and potential investors. However, growing a company page on LinkedIn can be challenging, especially in comparison to personal profiles, which tend to receive more organic exposure. In this blog post, we will delve into effective strategies for boosting your company page's growth on LinkedIn, exploring practical tips and real-life case studies.
The Challenge of Growing a Company Page on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has a preference for giving free impressions to personal profiles rather than company pages. This is because individuals on the network are more inclined to follow people rather than companies. Personal profiles seem more relatable and less commercial. As a result, gaining traction for company pages requires a more deliberate approach. LinkedIn, like other social media platforms, also encourages businesses to pay for impressions because their advertising platforms are a major revenue driver, making it even more important to explore strategies that can help you increase your reach without solely relying on advertising.
Tips for Gaining Traction on LinkedIn
1. Utilize the Invitation Feature
One of the most accessible methods for growing your company page on LinkedIn is by using the invitation feature. Admins of company pages can invite up to 200 of their connections each month. Consistently leveraging this feature makes sure that your company page will add new followers at a consistent rate over time. 200 invitations per month isn’t a ton, considering that only a fraction of your invitees will accept your invite to follow your page. However, it’s the lowest hanging fruit you have, and 30-50 new followers per month adds up, especially if your page is still somewhat smaller. If someone accepts your invitation, LinkedIn credits you with additional invitations, enabling you to continue inviting more people.
If you exhaust your existing connections or want to reach a broader audience, consider using tools like Walexy or Alfred, which automate the invitation process. These tools allow you to send invitations to people in your target audience. While some of these tools offer free versions, paid plans offer more extensive reach, allowing you to connect with a greater number of people daily. By the end of the month, whether using the free or paid plans of these tools, you will have a pool of 200 new connections to invite to follow your company page. Inviting new connections to follow your page also creates new touchpoints between your target audience and your business, thereby deepening your relationship with these individuals. And that doesn’t bake in that a small percentage of your new connections may suggest jumping on calls that then turn into business opportunities for you. I highly recommend these social automation tools, and I have been using them for 12+ months now, growing my personal network to multiple thousands without much effort.
Putting your own network aside, if you have a team, make your team members admins of your corporate page and let them invite their networks. This will be particularly helpful if you have key opinion leaders and domain experts on your team who can invite valuable business contacts to follow your page. It may require some convincing, but ultimately, we're in business to make business, so there are valid reasons for having these key opinion leaders and subject matter experts invite their deeper network.
2. Post Job Opportunities
Posting job opportunities on LinkedIn is probably the most effective and efficient strategy for gaining traction and increasing followers for your LinkedIn business page. Many users follow company pages when they submit job applications. It’s actually astounding. The reason may be that LinkedIn has now added a feature in the application process where it says, "Follow the company to stay up to date with regard to updates," and it is turned on by default. However, even before this feature, applicants would follow your page. And, while not completely ethical, you can post jobs on your page just to have people follow you. You can play with the seniority of jobs you place, going as high as the VP level, which makes sure that you get highly relevant people to follow you.
3. Experiment with Engaging Content
Merely posting plain or basic content on your company page won't garner any attention or engagement, especially if your follower count is relatively low. So don’t waste your time doing this. To effectively leverage content on your LinkedIn company page, consider the following strategies:
Link other companies: Share updates that link to relevant companies or startups. For example, you can create a weekly summary of startups that have raised capital and provide links to their profiles. This approach encourages companies mentioned in your posts to engage with and potentially share your content, thereby driving more traction to your company page. More on this strategy later in the case study on Funden.
Build a community: Encourage your team members, including the CEO and other employees, to post about the company and share relevant content. By establishing a community around your company and its key individuals, you create a virtuous cycle where each team member's content reinforces the visibility and credibility of your company page. This approach has been successful for companies like Refine Labs, where the CEO, Chris Walker, posts personally and drives substantial traffic to the company page.
Engage with others: Take the initiative to engage with content from other LinkedIn users. Commenting on posts by industry thought leaders, customers, or partners can help raise your company's profile and generate interest from others in your network.
Case Studies: Successful LinkedIn Company Pages That Leverage Engaging Content
Let's examine a few notable case studies of companies that have used the three tactics mentioned above:
Funden: Funden, an investor matchmaking platform, has achieved considerable success on LinkedIn. With nearly 4,000 followers, their posts regularly receive significant engagement in the form of likes and shares. Funden's strategy includes posting weekly summaries of startups that have raised capital, linking to those startups' profiles. This approach not only provides value to their target audience but also encourages sharing and engagement from the featured companies because they’re proud of their achievement. Another example of a highly popular type of post for Funden is that they will post about having added new VCs to their network. Startups that are fundraising get excited about these types of updates and often reach out to Funden for sales conversations.
Refine Labs: Refine Labs, led by CEO Chris Walker, has built a thriving community on LinkedIn. While the company page has around 35,000 followers, Chris Walker himself has four times as many followers. By posting content personally and encouraging the entire team to share company-related content, Refine Labs has created a robust content distribution network that is entirely free (other than the time required). This approach amplifies their reach and fosters engagement within their community.
Apollo: Apollo, a large startup (or scale-up or perhaps grown-up, who knows), has effectively utilized their LinkedIn company page to engage with other users' content. By commenting on relevant posts and sharing creative content, Apollo showcases their industry expertise and generates interest from their target audience. I am constantly surprised at how good comments work for hijacking the attention of another creator’s audience – they get a significant amount of engagement!
Additional Strategies to Consider
1. Boosting Content with Ad Spend
If you have the budget, consider boosting your best-performing posts through targeted ad campaigns. LinkedIn encourages companies to invest in advertising, and this strategy can help increase your visibility and follower count. However, it's essential to analyze the ROI of these campaigns and monitor engagement levels to ensure they are delivering the desired results.
2. Driving Outside Traffic to LinkedIn
If you have an established presence on other social media platforms, leverage that following by including links to your LinkedIn company page in your bio (or using a tool like Linktree to display multiple links). By directing your existing audience to follow you on LinkedIn, you can cross-pollinate your follower base and expand your reach. One creator that is doing an excellent job at this type of cross-pollination is Alex Hormozi. Alex has a popular podcast, is well-established on YouTube, and has recently moved to LinkedIn. When he did so, Alex started telling listeners of this podcasts and videos on YouTube to connect with him on LinkedIn, getting the virtuous cycle started for him on this platform.
3. Cautionary Note on Buying Followers
While it's tempting to purchase followers to inflate your follower count, exercise caution with this strategy. Platforms like UseViral can provide an initial boost by offering the first hundred followers or so, but excessive reliance on bought followers can be detrimental. Having a large follower count with little engagement raises red flags and may damage your credibility. It's advisable to use bought followers sparingly to give your profile an initial boost, but focus on organic growth and engagement for long-term success.
Conclusion
Growing a company page on LinkedIn requires a strategic, persistent, and patient approach. By utilizing features like invitation invitations, posting job opportunities, and experimenting with engaging content, you can increase your page's visibility and follower count. Learning from successful case studies, such as Funden, Refine Labs, and Apollo, can provide valuable insights and inspiration for your LinkedIn growth strategy. Additionally, considering strategies like boosting content with ad spend and driving outside traffic can further amplify your company page's reach. However, it's crucial to remain authentic and prioritize organic growth and engagement to build a reputable and valuable LinkedIn presence.