Team Talks 02: LinkedIn Optimisation

Dylan Macdonaldblog, Spreng Thomson

Our team is proud to manage 30 digital channels for clients, including Company Pages on LinkedIn.  Check out the vlog below and read on for an insight into the professional networking platform and tips you can action today to optimise your LinkedIn presence.

Many businesses have been flung into virtual working environments and with digital fatigue on the rise, this is something we have adapted to by necessity. Remote working has been far from ideal at times, but relationships endure. What is the foundation of a solid relationship? Trust. How do you build trust in a digital space? By building a credible, authentic brand with social proof; and one of the platforms that has really helped to maintain and build relationships, particularly during lockdown, is LinkedIn.

300 people have completed our LinkedIn optimisation workshops and we’ve had some real successes in growing Company Pages. For our client Arcus Infrastructure Partners, we coached their 43-strong team to optimise their Personal Profiles and we optimised their Company Page – increasing engagement rate and followers. For EDF Renewables UK’s Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm, we grew their LinkedIn community from zero to more than 9,000 with a strong core of engaged users.

Everyone has communication preferences, but the reality of the world we live in now is that digital communication is often the first point of contact, the place where you and your audience get that all-important first impression. So whether you’re a fan of LinkedIn or not, it is worthwhile getting to grips with a few basics so you can make the platform work in a way that suits your needs.

Is LinkedIn still popular?

“LinkedIn” remains steady as a search term on Google over the last 12 months, although there is a noticeable dip around 27th December 2020 when I suppose people were taking a break from work over the festive season. LinkedIn user numbers surged from 660 million to 722 million in Q3 2020. It now boasts 740 million users in 200 countries. Other search terms like “how to block someone on LinkedIn” and “LinkedIn profile banner” indicate that people are paying attention to how they curate their network of connections and the look and feel of their channels.

Google Trends search data for “LinkedIn”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are just three questions we are often asked.

How do I increase my Company Page followers?

  • Use the ‘Invite Connections to Follow’ feature on your Company Page. You must be an admin to do this. LinkedIn grants the page 100 credits (invitations), which page Admins can issue to first degree connections. Once a connection accepts the invitation to Follow your company page, that credit is earned back and is applied back to your Company Page’s balance. The balance is renewed on the first day of each month.

How can I make my profile stand out?

  • Curate the ‘About’ section to include SEO-friendly key words linked to your skills and experience.
  • Add a Featured section to your profile to highlight examples of work e.g. images, LinkedIn posts, PDFs, videos or external links.
  • Check out LinkedIn’s SSI (Social Selling Index) tool which scores your profile and shares some useful tips to improve your profile content and appearance.

How do I build my network?

  • Build your network strategically. Treat ‘Connect’ requests like real relationships – avoid sending unsolicited Connect requests by having a legitimate reason for getting in touch.
  • If you don’t know the person well enough to Connect with them, you can Follow them instead.
  • Create content and interact with relevant content.

As a final important point, the LinkedIn algorithm is designed to amplify meaningful conversation, so quality content and engagement is key. If it feels like hard work or a bit of a bore, you should probably change up your approach by only commenting on content that you have a genuine interest in; and only writing about or sharing things you have a good understanding of.

Written by: Meadhbh Hendrie

Any questions?

I hope these tips are useful – there is so much more you can do to maximise LinkedIn as part of your business communications strategy. We love chatting about this – so feel free to get in touch and we would be happy to answer any questions you have.

+44(0)141 548 5191 or email us.

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