LinkedIn is a great way to connect with work colleagues and gain industry insights; it’s also an effective tool for generating leads and reaching new prospects. With nearly 200 million users in the United States, it offers your company an affordable and easy way to expand connections and position your company as an expert within your field, whether that’s solar installation, battery storage, environmental policy or another aspect of the building industry.
About 58 million companies have business profiles today, which means significant competition for space in the news feed. These seven quick tips on LinkedIn marketing will help you break through the noise, boost company awareness, and build trust with new audiences. Let’s get started!
1) Quality Over Quantity
One of the most common questions people ask about social media is how often should I post?
“There’s no magic formula,” said Social Media Consultant Tai Freligh. “A company should strive for 3-5 times a week, but if you’re struggling to find quality content, posting better content less often is preferable.”
On the MAYO LinkedIn account, we post about two to three times a week, focusing on the work of our outstanding team, community engagement, and client highlights. Another LinkedIn account we love, the Mirra Company, also posts about two to three times a week. Its content is focused on company philosophy and the people who work there, with plenty of pictures of people on the job.
These high-quality pictures show the human side of the business and create a connection between Mirra and the reader. They also make Mirra seem like a great place to work!
2) Define Your Goals and Audience
With any marketing initiative, you’ll want to define the desired outcome. Are you looking to generate more sales or make community connections for long-term business development?
First, decide who you want to connect with–your audience. This could be homeowners, clean energy advocates, or business owners in your area. Next, set a goal for account growth. This could be 100 new followers for your business page, or a sales team challenge to make 10 new connections a week on their personal accounts.
3) Leverage Personal Accounts
Speaking of personal accounts, ask employees if they’d be willing to share posts or news about the company on their personal accounts. Present this as an opportunity to grow the company and support the work you’re doing. This work should be optional, but encouraged, since these are not accounts owned or managed by your company–employees still get to choose what they post to personal pages.
The LinkedIn algorithm rewards posts that get immediate interactions (especially in the first hour), so once your company page posts, send a message to your team asking them to comment and like to help get the post in more news feeds.
4) Build Out Your Company Page
“A LinkedIn company page is the main hub for your business and where you can tell your company story, posting news and updates and sending out marketing-related content,” said Freligh. “However, it’s also where you can share information about job opportunities and build a Careers Page to show potential employees what life at your company is like.”
Because your company page plays a lot of roles, make sure each section is filled in thoroughly. Use the full allotted space to describe your company and its mission. And remember to include keywords the people you want to reach are likely to search for, such as “solar installation company,” “solar industry expert,” or “community solar.”
5) Use Tags and Hashtags
Tags refer to referencing a specific account, whether a business or person, but using the @ symbol before their name, such as @mayodesigns.
Hashtags are search tools your company can use to get posts seen by more people–specifically those who “follow” certain hashtags, like #solar #solarpanels or #greenenergy. A general rule of thumb is to add three to five hashtags relevant to your content and industry to each post.
Which hashtags should you choose? Do a quick search on LinkedIn of solar related content and see what others are doing, or simply search hashtags in the search bar to see how popular and relevant they are to your company. Create a list to choose from and don’t be afraid to experiment with a few fun hashtags too.
Use tags when you are posting about other people or companies to ensure they’ll see the post.It increases the chances they’ll share and amplify the reach of your post further.
6) Spread the Love With Engagement
Social media is a two way street. You can’t post and request connections without giving some love to others along the way. Dedicate 10-15 minutes each day to reading, commenting, sharing and liking posts.
To build stronger connections with your audience, focus these efforts on prospects and thought leaders in your industry. Leave thoughtful comments that show you value their insights. Creating this relationship online now will make it easier to reach out for a sales conversation later.
7) Use LinkedIn Ads for Successful Marketing on LinkedIn
It takes a while to get noticed and build a following organically on LinkedIn. While methods one through six are highly effective and free ways to market on LinkedIn, they require a lot of patience and care. With LinkedIn ads, you can build relationships, awareness, and gather leads more quickly.
LinkedIn ads are also highly targeted, allowing you to refine ad placement to location, job title, even company. If you have a clear picture of who you want to reach, LinkedIn sponsored posts and ads can put your content in front of the right people.
What Do You Do Next?
Once you’ve optimized your profile and made new connections, it’s time for some business outreach. If you’ve done the work engaging with prospects and posting great content, you’ll be better positioned for success.
Consider reaching out to an experienced marketing company to manage your LinkedIn leads, and keep these tips in mind for successful marketing on LinkedIn. Contact us for a quick discussion around your LinkedIn strategy.
