Nathan Yerian
It’s hard to imagine that LinkedIn is now 10 years old. In the last few years, the platform has evolved into an invaluable business tool for small business owners, sales people, job hunters, and recruiters.
Regardless of whether you’re new to Linkedin, or an old pro, you need to be aware of the platform’s new features for company pages that are scheduled to take effect over the next few months.
If you already have a company LinkedIn page, good for you, if not, it is time to get one so you can reap the benefits of the upcoming changes.
Here’s an overview of some of the new features:
Company page personalization
LinkedIn company pages are about to get more branded. You’ll soon be able to add more images and messaging to demonstrate your value.
A space for a cover photo that closely resembles the look and feel of Facebook’s cover image will soon be added. Leverage this design element to create a friendly and meaningful impression among your visitors. This is a great chance to give personality to your brand and to stand out from your competitors. Take a look at Dell's cover image for an example.
Your “products and services” will now partially be visible from the main page with a link to navigate to that section for a full view. This is much more noticeable and makes it more likely that a visitor will view your offering.
Keep in mind that you do not have to use this section exclusively for product and services. You can also use it to advertise an upcoming event (e.g. a webinar), promote a special, or collect leads with a content offer (e.g. an e-book). Giving your visitors something to interact with will increase your ability to connect with them. See how Hubspot used their products and services area.
Audience targeting
As you build your company’s LinkedIn follower base you will want to use the new updates feature that shows a string of updates under the cover image. Updates are a great way to keep your page fresh and relevant.
A new feature will also help maximize the relevancy of your content to specific buyer groups. The new audience targeting feature will allow you to segment your messages to your followers based on company size, industry, region, and title.
Each message can be sent to exactly who you want to reach, giving you the ability to build stronger customer connections. No more worrying about sending people irrelevant messages.
Robust recruiting tools
For small businesses who need to make the most out of a limited recruiting budget, LinkedIn has a strong value proposition. If you’re already paying for a careers subscription, you’ll have access to enhanced customization options – such as the ability to upload a header image, highlight a specific job, or group of jobs, and display what employees are saying about your company.
You can customize the appearance of page features based on what you’re hoping to achieve. The more information you fill in, the more likely someone will be interested in joining your team. Get creative and encourage people want to work for your company. Take a look at the career page for American Express.
LinkedIn has also enhanced its skills feature for individuals. People can now endorse one another’s skills in technical or business disciplines. As this feature becomes more popular, you will have a new way to gauge a candidates’ expertise and specialties from their connections’ perspective.
Final thoughts
LinkedIn’s changes give the professional network an enhanced social edge across dimensions. Whether you’re sharing content, showcasing your products, building new connections, expanding your business partnerships, or recruiting talent, you have to remember that people are core to the platform. What do you think of LinkedIn’s new features?
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