With over 300 million users and more than 3 million company pages, LinkedIn is a rich resource for manufacturing companies to connect with buyers. If your company is not using LinkedIn, you’re missing a wealth of opportunity.
You may have a personal LinkedIn account that you use on occasion to find connections, but using it for your business is a bit different. These tips for using LinkedIn for your manufacturing company will help you make the right connections that lead to new business.
The Best LinkedIn Tips for Manufacturing Companies
1. Company Page
You need a compelling company page to draw in new prospects. LinkedIn is a place business go to when they want to learn more about your company. Make sure that your page is easy to find by using your company name in the title and share interesting information that makes it clear you’re a leader in your industry. Your company page on LinkedIn can be as important as your website homepage so put some effort into it.
2. Claim Your Page’s Vanity URL
Once you’ve created the Company Page, it’ll get a randomly assigned number in the URL, like this: linkedin.com/company/12345678. To make your page more shareable, memorable, and easier to find, you’ll want to create a recognizable vanity URL (e.g., http://www.linkedin.com/company/grant-marketing). Follow this link: updating the URL of your company page. Then, click contact us and request a change of URL directly from LinkedIn.
3. Add Images That Exemplify Your Company Brand
You’ll want to pick your company logo as your profile image, as it is placed on the top left-hand corner of your Company Page and is also the thumbnail image that gets placed next to all your company updates. Being recognizable is important for getting found and followed, especially in LinkedIn search. The new experience design lets you feature an overview tab image and cover image (top of the page). You’ll want to pick images that capture the attention of visitors, encourage them to explore and learn more about your company, and provide an effective mobile experience
4. Be Active in Groups
There are numerous conversations going on daily within LinkedIn Groups that relate to your industry. Maybe even your company specifically. Being active and participating in these groups allows you to know what’s going on in your industry, introduces you to new prospects, and positions you as an industry leader.
5. Share Content
If your website includes a blog, be sure to share that content on your LinkedIn company page as well. It will help your post get a bigger reach and it will be seen by people who wouldn’t ordinarily see it. Share it within relevant LinkedIn Groups as well.
6. Encourage Employees to Use LinkedIn
The more people your company has on LinkedIn, the more brand ambassadors you have. Encourage your employees to start and use LinkedIn to share your company’s information and posts. They can also participate in groups.
7. Create a Profile
You are the face of your company so it’s important for you to not only have a profile on LinkedIn, but to optimize it and use it to make connections. Make sure you complete your profile with your job title, company information, and background. Use your company’s keywords as often as possible in your profile to help increase your SEO.
8. Look for Leads
LinkedIn has a great built-in search engine. Use it to find qualified leads to connect with. Using the Advanced People Search feature you can include keywords, companies, countries, and more. Connect with potential customers and reach out with more information about your company.
9. Strengthen Your Brand as a Prospective Employer With a Career Page
LinkedIn lets you tap into the largest pool of professionals. Depending on the package you purchase, it offers a full suite of features for promoting jobs on your Company Page, including a customizable job board based on the viewer’s LinkedIn profile, a dynamic content module, clickable banner, and analytics of who viewed the page, and more.
10. Don’t Spam
Don’t spam your connections though. It’s important to provide relevant content, be sincere and genuine, ask about their business and their needs, and ask how you can help them. Coming on strong with your sales pitch will only discourage people from working with you.
11. Add a “follow us” icon on your company website.
LinkedIn’s Developers Plugin Generator makes it quite easy to create and add a “follow us” icon of your Company Page to your website. Simply type your company name in the appropriate field, choose your icon type, and copy the code on to your website.
With these tips, you can be a pro at using LinkedIn to make great connections
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