LinkedIn profiles for small business leaders

How to Use LinkedIn Profiles to Market Your Small Business

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LinkedIn is having a moment as a result of the pandemic. While it has been more than a job seeking and hiring platform for some time, many more people realize the platform is a great place to make business connections and create brand awareness.

A brand’s “home” on LinkedIn is the company page. A company cannot use a personal profile for this purpose without violating LinkedIn’s terms of service. However, it is as important for brands to pay attention to the profiles of the people behind the brand as it is to manage the company page.

Personal Profiles Matter for Brands

For small businesses, LinkedIn is the place to highlight the expertise of the person or people behind a business. Small business leaders need to rethink their LinkedIn profile to make it less of an online resume and more of a testament to the expertise they bring to the business.

Companies need to take time to ensure that all of the principal leaders have profiles that contribute to the brand messaging and position. Profiles that seem to talk about different businesses muddy your messaging. So do profiles of leaders that completely fail to mention the business!

LinkedIn Features to Use

Everyone involved with the company or brand also needs to be well versed on how to use LinkedIn tools to network and engage on the platform.

  • News feed – This stream shows the posts and updates from connections, and provides the ability to like, comment, and share. This is a great place to keep up with the pulse of connections and the industry.
  • Search – LinkedIn has a powerful universal search box at the top that allows searches for people, companies, jobs, and keywords. Use this to find connections and research companies.
  • Messaging – This tool lets users message with connections in real-time.
  • Targeted Recommendations – LinkedIn makes recommendations to strengthen your profile and for people and businesses to connect with.

LinkedIn Strategy for Small Business Owners and Staff Members

  • Engage with connections – Like, comment on and share posts. When you support others’ content, people are likely to return the favor.
  • Add posts and articles – Post regularly on LinkedIn so that connections are reminded about you and your business. Post to your timeline and write longer content by clicking on the ‘Write an Article’ tab.
  • Keep profile up to date – Complete profiles get more views. Pay attention to LinkedIn’s recommendations and optimize the profile. Adding skills is especially important for attracting potential employers or clients.
  • Add visuals – Don’t keep the default images that LinkedIn provides. Be sure to replace them with images that are specific to the person and the business.
  • Follow thought leaders and companies – Follow relevant industry leaders and companies to solidify your industry and focus. Get insights by seeing what others are doing and talking about.