LinkedIn is the only social network designed specifically for the business community. And with 433 million members, it's no secret that it is a valuable resource for building and cultivating business relationships. While many people have a personal LinkedIn page that they've used for job hunting, connecting with other like minded business people or even developing business partnerships, how do you know whether you also need a LinkedIn business page?
Who should have a LinkedIn business page?
Before we jump into why you should have a business page, let's talk a little bit about who should have one. Since LinkedIn was developed to be a professional networking platform, the types of companies that do best on LinkedIn are generally the types of companies that need to develop relationships with other businesses or business people. The obvious fit here are B2B companies but that doesn't necessarily mean that B2C companies shouldn't have a business page or that they will not thrive on the platform. Some of the other businesses who find value in having a LinkedIn business page are those who need to partner with other businesses or those looking to recruit top talent.
Why should you have a LinkedIn business page?
Now that we have determined whether LinkedIn is right for your business, let's take a look at the main reasons you should consider publishing a LinkedIn business page.
1. Business credibility
Being the premier social platform for business networking, LinkedIn has a natural reputation for being a credible resource for business information. The credibility of LinkedIn as a whole has lead more LinkedIn users to put their trust in businesses with strong LinkedIn presences therefore extending LinkedIn's credibility to businesses with pages on the platform. In fact, 50% of LinkedIn members are more likely to buy from a company that engages with them on the platform.
2. Thought leadership
If your business is among the types outlined above who value business-to-business relationships, LinkedIn provides a great opportunity for you to develop and curate content that will establish your business as a thought leader in your industry. Establishing yourself as a thought leader on LinkedIn will help connect your company to more like-minded businesses and people, helping extend your network of influence.
3. Public relations
In addition to becoming a thought leader by posting relevant, industry-related content, LinkedIn is also a great resource to announce cool things your company is doing. Did you just win an important award? Or maybe you're partnering with a new non-profit on a worthy cause. These types of business successes are prime fodder for LinkedIn and will be interesting to people already interested in your company and those who might be looking for someone like you!
4. Recruiting top talent
As mentioned above, businesses who are looking to recruit talent tend to find value in LinkedIn. This is because, in addition to being a place for individuals to tout their resume, LinkedIn has also established itself as a platform for job seekers to find opportunities and for recruiters to find top talent (one of the only social networks to try their hand in the job hunting and recruiting space). Not only do 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet their candidates, but LinkedIn has also taken this portion of their identity a step further by developing a job listing portion of the network that allows companies to post open positions directly to LinkedIn and allows talent to search for and apply for those jobs. In April of this year, there were 6.5 million active job listings on LinkedIn.
5. SEO
Unlike personal pages, LinkedIn business pages are publicly visible by default. This means that content shared from this page is ranked on the web. So, for example, if someone were to Google your company name, there is a good chance that your LinkedIn business page would be a top result.
LinkedIn can be a valuable resource for developing business relationships from both a personal and a company standpoint. If approached correctly, who knows, you might just find your next client, top hire or business partner!
