UKC

Work has demanded that we get a company presence on Linkedin to hopefully generate some leads and new business. I have been tasked with getting it up and running.
I'm still quite new to Linkedin but have managed to set up a company page. However having done some reading we could do with having more followers/likes to stimulate some debate and clicks on the homepage. Does anyone have any experience of using Linkedin for companies? Any tips? Warnings? Advice? All gratefully heeded

Next up is the use of google and local SEO. Any success stories?

I’m only to aware they these can be very powerful but can also be a massive drain on time and resources.

In reply to goldmember:

Not sure on the Linkedin part but for SEO in general you need your web pages to be properly structured using the appropriate HTML tags, don't stuff keywords and aim to get inbound links.

In reply to goldmember:

SEO requirements change regularly as the search engines do, though Google (being the most used and therefore emulated too) while not giving official "how to" information keep to the stance that they look for good, relevant web contact rather than someone who's followed a tick list of inclusions such as html tags.

That doesn't mean the old school stuff such as HTML tag and keyword manipulation aren't worth doing (and there's a variety of guides for this online, though that will come down to whoever designs your company website), but that
1/ they're not as important as SEO 'experts' make out
2/ there's no secret voodoo behind SEO

What it really comes down to is having other sites linking to your content (because it's relevant, interesting, worth reading, answers questions raised etc). Preferably sites that are already popular with plenty fo traffic and high up on the google lists.

The first step is getting your company mentioned on every listing site available with a link to your website. Then get mentions in relevant media, forums etc. But that all depends on what type of business it is.

In reply to Scarab9:

could you give us your business? or will you have to kill us?

In reply to goldmember:



I wouldn't get your hopes up regarding generating new business leads from Linkedin.

In reply to Scarab9:

come on, tell us who you work for- it could increase your business..

In reply to goldmember:
Linked in is a useful marketing tool to demonstrate credibility. It only really works where the md and the likes buy in and actively use linked in to develop contacts. look at some american companys to see how they do it.

I use Linked in in my business and yes it works. But an ill though out strategy, which at the moment, yours sounds like, without buy in at the top will fall flat on its face.

So Your md/owner needs an active contacts page first.

get a marketing company to explain it to you, is my first stage advice.

Note - only applies in B2B.Facebook/twitter for B2C. Instagram etc may be alternative if you are B2C

In reply to NigeR:

At my company it's the second biggest source of incoming links. Actual business generated is harder to quantify, but it's a metric I like...

In reply to malk:

didn't look back on the site until now. Not sure why you want to know, but I currently work for a company providing IT solutions for the business travel industry, and mostly I work in automation programs.

In reply to Scarab9:

business travel must be quite good for information gathering?

In reply to SteveRi:


This is one of the problems with Linkedin - as with other social media - you may find that an awful lot of those incoming links, are other business's viewing your company as a source of new business, not the other way round.

In reply to Scarab9:

could you fill us in with how the sensitive information you collect is given/soldon to third parties and what your involvement is?

I see linked in as only useful for seeing who someone is I a company and what their role/experience/history is.

I set my privacy so none of my links can see who else is linked to me. Otherwise I'd be giving some of my supplier contacts valuable links to our customers, which would not be useful in either price negotiations or for confidentiality reasons.

I think it is also useful if you change jobs a lot, as it gives you a permanent contact point that is professional, allowing you to avoid sharing private email or having the problem of losing contacts when your work email ends.

In reply to goldmember:

It's also a pretty good way to find people to poach. Prepare for a barrage of invitations to connect to headhunters too

In reply to Philip:

That is the very traditional and in a way out of date view on linked in.

It means you are not using Linkedin to the best of its capabilities.

I had my eyes opened a year ago as to how you can use it as part of your marketing strategy. Do some research, its well worth it.