Building a Company Page- What Deadly Mistakes to Watch out For on Your Linkedin Page
Are you one of the 80 million (and rising) who use LinkedIn as a social networking site and platform? Does it seem like the attempt you’re making at LinkedIn is failing due to lack of connections? If you answered “yes” to one or both of these questions, keep reading! The potential of learning to use this platform as well as displaying your business expertise is very high on your LinkedIn page. It is like a huge daily executive job conference where you have the opportunity to network. There is a large opportunity for branding yourself and making connections with others that are in the field you are in. This is powerful because a Linkedin profile acts as your voice and expertise that you want individuals to portray your business as.
According to Forbes, “Before LinkedIn arrived on the scene in 2003, a lot of people built and maintained personal sites that showcased their professional accomplishments.” (Ryan, 2016). Like other social media networks, the key to successfully connecting with others is by avoiding small mistakes. Today, we have included small but deadly mistakes in this cheat sheet to help you connect with more business professionals successfully. No matter what mistakes you have made to your LinkedIn profile, it is possible to fix them and get on the right track with your LinkedIn page!
8 Small but Deadly LinkedIn Mistakes to Avoid
Using the Default Picture or Nothing at All on Your Business or Company Page
Three important words to remember: “Brand Your Profile” By not putting a personal picture or logo up, you are risking other contacts not wanting to connect with you. Individuals are more willing to connect with you, when they can put a face to the name. When people search for you, the first thing that someone sees is your profile picture and a headline.
Add a Personal Picture or Logo
Adding a personal picture or logo to your page helps with your brandvoice, allowing individuals to connect with you on a personal level. When they first search for you, they don’t have any idea of who you are, and the first thing they see is your picture/logo, and first line of your page. These are the first initial impressions that someone gets upon “meeting” you.
Not Branding Yourself
It’s SO important to brand yourself on your page. This goes along with the first impressions and the potential little mistakes to a page can affect how others see you. If you are an entrepreneur, trying to develop the content of your company page, you are obviously concerned with how it is going to look. If you aren’t branding yourself, individuals do not really know who you are.
Avoid Joining Groups
The main purpose of LinkedIn is to connect with other business professionals or individuals who share the same interests as you. Avoiding groups is a mistake, as you are not going to connect and learn from other’s knowledge.
Join Groups within LinkedIn
You have an opportunity to make a huge impact and connection on Linkedin by searching for groups to join by using the search option on LinkedIn. You can search for groups that pertain to your company or personal interests. Being a part of these groups allows you to connect with other people and build relationships that result in built networks for you and your company.
Using Your Page for Yourself, Not for Your Job
Some people might think it’s a good idea to talk about yourself in a LinkedIn profile, but this is far from the truth. Let’s be honest, people ultimately are looking out for themselves and looking for opportunities and ways to better themselves. If you are constantly talking about yourself through social media, it can negatively impact how people see you and your brand.
The land of LinkedIn doesn’t care about you or what you do. People are busy thinking about THEIR OWN wants and needs. Until you show them why you are useful, they will not be interested in you.
Using the Wrong Headline
Choosing the right headline for your LinkedIn profile is essential if you want to get people’s attention, network for your job and potentially get more clients visiting your page. Something that is interesting, unique, and specific to your brand will be important.
A Headline is like a Billboard
The headline on your company page needs to WOW people, plain and simple. It needs to be the best. This means jaw-dropping, exciting and engaging in order to get people to keep reading. Think about when you read books, and how much you are affected by the title. Immediately after you read the title, you are judging the book, and may not decide to continue reading it depending on what your opinion of the title is. This is the same as the headline on LinkedIn for your company page. It needs to be enticing enough to catch the reader and engage them to the point that they want to keep looking at your page.
There is a good chance that potential clients or a company that you work directly with will be searching for you, and you want to ensure that what you are posting on your page is appropriate and professional.
Join Every Group Possible
In LinkedIn, the amount of people you have on your contact list on your executive page does not matter like it does on Facebook or Twitter. Remember, the purpose of LinkedIn is to connect with individuals who share the same interests, job, skills, hobbies and company ideas.This does not mean that you need to add every single person possible to get the most likes, followers, etc. The list of groups you are in should reflect your branding and company page, and what you are trying to accomplish by having your page.
Be Selective and Choosy When Accepting/Requesting Contacts
Again, this is not your Facebook or Twitter account. You want to be selective with who you are accepting or requesting to be contacted with on your company page. The best option and way to build your contact list is to be selective, professional, and intentional with who you are adding to your contacts.
Never Updating Profile is a Mistake
The best way to keep your profile up to date is posting a simple sentence or message. This keeps your contacts up to date with what is going on with you.
Logging in Frequently to Keep your Profile up to Date and Current
Like all other social media platforms, it is important to stay current and up to date with the information that you share on your page. Never updating your profile is not good, but being relevant and mindful of what you post on your page is important too. Make sure that what you are posting is interesting, credible, and engaging to your audience.
Profile Updates Are Unprofessional Statements
Make sure when you update daily, you keep the statements or questions professionally. The audience who uses LinkedIn is mainly business professionals – so respect that.
Contacts are Looking for Professional Statements
Individuals, clients, or others that look at a page are looking for a professional or executive perspective. They are looking for a respectful and professional opinion, statement, etc. when they look at your company page.
Using Your Social Media Page to Your Advantage
A LinkedIn page can be extremely useful for you professionally, and you can use it to your advantage. It can be helpful for a job search, building contacts and networking. There is a paid program that you can use to advertise your company and gain potential clients for your company that way.
Social Media Management with Premazon
Using Premazon for social media management services for your business can help you make the right calls in creating a profile, posting to your page, and building your brand. Specifically on LinkedIn we can help you make a well-established page where you will get traffic coming in, not only through your organic posts, but with the option to use a paid program.
If you would like more information on our marketing services, reach out to one of our team members. We would be happy to help you!
Have you had any business success within LinkedIn? Sound off in the comments below and let me know.
References
Ryan. L. (2016, April) Forbes. Ten Mistakes That are Killing Your Linkedin Profile.