by Kathy Bernard
When companies hire me to train their teams to master LinkedIn, they often ask if only their outward-facing employees should be trained or if everyone should be involved. I encourage them to train their entire staffs. The reason? LinkedIn is primarily a networking site for businesspeople, meaning people find people first ‒ before they find companies ‒ when searching for services on LinkedIn.
For example, if a prospect searches LinkedIn by keying in “Accounting, St. Louis,” a list of accountants will pop up first and from there, the reader can review various profiles to find the accountant and then the accounting firm that’s right for their business. It works the same way if someone is searching for anything from auto repair to senior care, so make sure your company is findable on LinkedIn for what you do or sell.
When you encourage everyone in the business to feature consistent company information on their profiles, such as a promotional paragraph in their About summaries, the more likely the chances are that prospects will find your company. And that’s not just on LinkedIn, but also on Google and other search engines because these search engines tend to value LinkedIn content very highly.
Plus, when your employers learn how to share the company’s LinkedIn posts, they are much more likely to positively comment on your articles and forward them to their network.
Most employees are glad to further your company’s success, so give them the chance to help by getting everyone in your company trained on the world’s largest business network, LinkedIn.
Kathy Bernard (kathy@wiseru.com), CEO of WiserU.com, is a St. Louis-based LinkedIn expert/trainer who equips businesses to maximize LinkedIn for sales, marketing, or fundraising.
Submitted 2 years 265 days ago