Common Mistakes Businesses Make On LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an extremely powerful business and networking tool, but so many companies unknowingly make mistakes that can sabotage the effectiveness and credibility of their page. To ensure your company gets the most out of its page, we’ve compiled a list of some of the all-too-common (yet avoidable) mistakes that companies are making on LinkedIn. If your company is guilty of any of the below blunders, have no fear. They are easily remedied and addressing them can bring a number of benefits your way.

• Your company isn’t even on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is not only a great way for professionals to network, it is a great tool for businesses as well. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with 238 million registered members. If you are ignoring LinkedIn, you are ignoring a pool of 238 million opportunities. Whether you are seeking prospective clients, promoting your products and services or looking for new talent to join your team, you can’t afford to miss out on all LinkedIn has to offer. Don’t make this mistake; do yourself a favor and set up a LinkedIn account for your business. You won’t regret it.
• Your logo just doesn’t fit. LinkedIn sets size restrictions for your page logo and image. Nothing is more off-putting to a potential customer than a page with a distorted or blurred logo or page image. This is one LinkedIn faux pas that will discredit your page at first glance. Both your page image and your page logo should be in a PNG, JPEG or GIF format and a maximum of 2 MB. Your page image, which is displayed across the top of your company page, should be a minimum of 646x220 pixels. Your company logo, which appears at the top left of your page and in status updates, should be 100x60 pixels.
• Your products and services have no recommendations. As a company page, LinkedIn offers you the unique opportunity to showcase your products and services within the ‘Products and Services’ tab. This tab also allows others to recommend your work with the click of a button. Products and services recommendations give your company credibility, so ask happy clients to recommend you.
• You’re not updating your page on a regular basis. There is not much point in having a LinkedIn page if you’re not interacting with it. Your page viewers don’t come to your page to hear crickets. Pages create the perfect opportunity for your clients and prospects to get to know you. You will need to start some conversations to accomplish that. No conversations? No networking.
• It isn’t ALL about you. Yes, your company page is supposed to be about your company, but you mustn’t forget that your clients and prospects make up the audience to which you are trying to appeal. In order to keep your audience coming back to your page, they need to find value in the content you post. Be sure to keep information relevant to them. Post content that strikes a healthy balance between self-promotion and material your reader will find relevant and helpful to their own lives.
• Keep it professional. While other social media outlets may be a bit more casual, LinkedIn is a professional social network. Depending on your line of work, your company may be able to get away with posting photos of coworkers enjoying an adult beverage together on Facebook or Twitter, but LinkedIn is not the place for that. Think of LinkedIn as your office, the place where you interact with clients and prospects. Be sure your company page represents your company’s most professional side. Save posts more playful in nature for Twitter or Facebook.

Does your company need help setting up a LinkedIn page? Are you in need of a crash course on LinkedIn best practices? Maybe you’d like to hand over the management of your page to us completely, leaving you more time to focus on your own company. Whatever your need, we can accommodate it. Contact our Social Media team at Global Reach to get started using LinkedIn like a pro.