This week, we’ll talk about LinkedIn best practices.

Considered to be the most effective social media platform for B2B lead generation, LinkedIn is a marketing platform that you should never allow to fall through the cracks.

And in spite of being focused on B2B, did you know that LinkedIn is also effective for generating leads for B2C purposes?

Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn has achieved quite the popularity in the business front as it has become the most popular social media platform for businesses and professionals.

In fact, according to a study done by BlueCorona.com, when it comes to generating leads, LinkedIn is 277% better than Facebook or any other social media platform out there.

As such, we at HoopJumper have broken down the top 10 LinkedIn best practices so you can make the most out of your LinkedIn page and use it to boost your marketing efforts.

Let’s begin.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #1. Optimize Your Company Page

This is one of the most ignored yet most important LinkedIn best practices.

As a marketer, your primary goal is to get your LinkedIn page easily discovered by your target leads. As such, you will want to optimize your page with keywords that would lead viewers to your page when they look for experts in your field.

Use the best keywords and scatter them throughout your page – in your tagline, description, posts, etc…

Not only will your page be easily identified by the LinkedIn search engine, but even Google will place your page in a high rank with proper SEO.

Another thing you can also optimize and improve is your page URL (this also goes for your personal profile). LinkedIn’s default URL is difficult to remember, so customize your URL to make it easier for your leads to find you.

A good example of this is HoopJumper’s LinkedIn URL: www.linkedin.com/company/hoopjumper

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #2: Make Your Personal Profile Interesting

From optimizing your page, now we move to your personal profile. Even if you are running a business, don’t leave your personal profile behind. You are the person behind the company, and you need to have a profile that matches your company page.

One of the areas to look at is your profile photo. This is one of the factors that give people a first impression of you as an individual, so make sure that you use one.

Did you know that LinkedIn accounts that have profile photos get better engagement and views compared to those who don’t have profile photos?

Make sure that your profile photo is recent, has your face taking up 60% of it, looks professional, and do not forget to smile with your eyes (this makes you more approachable).

Another thing to update is your profile’s background photo. Similar to Facebook’s cover photo, it gives your viewers more context about you as an individual, and helps you stand out from others.

Finally, take advantage of LinkedIn’s services feature by listing them down so when viewers search for that particular keyword, your profile will be among the first ones that will pop up in the results.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #3: Add Relevant Buttons To Your Page

Part of building your LinkedIn page is adding relevant buttons to it. This could be a contact button that leads directly to the contact page on your website, or a resource button that directs your viewers to your blog or FAQ page.

This not only helps in featuring your website via LinkedIn better, but it also adds to the credibility of your page. This is why you need to pick the most appropriate button to feature when you add it to your LinkedIn page.

Conversely, your website should also have easy access to your LinkedIn page or profile. Add social media icons to your header or footer, and even use plugins to let people follow you on LinkedIn.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #4: Continuously Add To Your Credentials

Being a social media platform for professionals, it should come as no surprise to you that you need to boost your credibility on LinkedIn if you want to get as many conversions as possible.

You can improve your credibility on LinkedIn by various methods:

  • Take various skills assessment tests that are relevant to your industry and niche. This way, your viewers can see how well you know your industry and how skilled you are at solving their problems. When you take assessment tests, you also get a “Verified Skills” badge on your profile, making you stand out among the competition.
  • You can also take advantage of the certificates section of your LinkedIn profile. If you have a certificate outside of LinkedIn that you want to feature on the platform, or when you complete a course, you have the option of adding a certificate to your profile that lets your viewers know you are an expert in that field.
  • Finally, get some endorsements from your clients. If you are an expert in marketing, let everyone know about it by getting some of your current or previous clients to endorse you.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #5: Build Showcase Pages

Building showcase pages might be a new thing for you, but this is something that you should also take advantage of to further boost your marketing.

Showcase pages are separate pages that allow you to personalize a potential client’s interaction with your page by featuring your service or product.

A LinkedIn user can engage with your showcase page exclusively without interacting with your business or brand. Furthermore, showcase pages let you build targeted networks and connections around a specific product or service and reach out separately.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #6: Write A Variety Of Posts

In a study done by Kinsta, they found out that up to 40% of LinkedIn users access the social media platform on a daily basis.

Do you know what this means for your business if you post as often as you can? More leads and conversions.

Whether the post may be a trivia, a promotion, a blog or a simple meme, try to post as often as possible to get more engagements.

Additionally, use a content calendar for your posts so you can plan out what to post on a certain day, week or season. This will help you capture more of your target audience’s attention because you are looking to predict what they need.

Consistency is key when posting, and no matter what social media platform you choose, like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Medium, you need to have a habit of posting because readers like to follow consistent authors for their content.

If in the event you don’t know what article you want to write for that particular week, don’t be afraid to take some inspiration from articles that are written by other people. Just make sure you write in your own words and not plagiarize the article.

Consistently posting is valuable because it tells your viewers that you are active, and you are actively reaching out to them to help them with their needs.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #7: Use Unique Images On Your Posts And Articles

Posts and articles on LinkedIn perform better when images are added to them. As such, you need to be using images in every possible post or article.

LinkedIn’s research has suggested that LinkedIn posts with pictures have a 98% better comment rate, so the best practice is to use rich and immersive images.

These images need to coincide with your brand and message so they remain consistent all throughout.

Now let’s talk about using stock photos for posts and articles. While there is nothing wrong with using stock photos, you should do so sparingly.

Try to use as many of your own, original photos as much as possible. The reason for this is that you are better at capturing what your brand and business is about, so if you can take as many photos as possible, use them.

If you should use stock photos for a post or article, pick the ones that don’t look stock at first glance. Photos that have generic poses are not that interesting, and your viewers might not give your post a second look because of it.

Check out these well-known stock photo sites when you need to use stock photos for your posts, such as Pixabay, Unsplash, Pexels, etc.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #8: Use LinkedIn Videos And Live Videos

We’ve talked about the importance of using videos on your social media posts numerous times in previous articles, and we’ll never stop emphasizing those.

Videos are visual, and give your viewers more information about your message more than any other medium can.

And do you know what’s better than videos? Live videos.

Live videos have become a staple of business marketing today that businesses who use them report greater levels of reactions and comments when compared to pre-filmed videos.

If you are wondering what kind of live videos to do, here are some ideas:

  • Webinars
  • Live interviews
  • Virtual conferences/events
  • Fireside chats

Live videos are powerful because they enable your viewers to engage with you real-time, which gives you an opportunity to really market to them.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #9: Include Calls-To-Action On Your Posts

As a general rule, never post anything on LinkedIn without putting any kind of call-to-action on it. CTAs encourage your viewer to engage with your posts and articles, giving them the sense of participation that they deep down long for.

CTAs don’t have to be salesy everytime. They can be as simple as asking your viewer to like or share your post, leave a comment, or follow your page/profile so they get updates whenever you make a new post.

You can also post questions and surveys that link back to a relevant page in your website that answers the query.

The ultimate goal here is to lead them back to your website to increase its traffic.

 

LinkedIn Best Practices #10: Get A Premium Account

Last but not the least, try to use a premium account. With a premium LinkedIn account, you get access to features that let you increase the visibility of your profile and page.

Not only that, but you also get better stats and analytics, giving you access to see who viewed your profile, who’s interested in your content (via engaging with it), and promote your posts so they get more visibility on LinkedIn.

Of all the LinkedIn best practices listed on this article, this is the only one that requires you to invest money in, but the cost is worth the advantages you get.

 

Our Final Thoughts

Whether you are marketing on LinkedIn as a business or as an individual professional, it’s important to follow the above LinkedIn best practices to ensure that you can make the most out of the platform.

No matter what niche you may be in, you can make LinkedIn work for you. Just remember to constantly track important LinkedIn metrics to monitor your performance.

And if you feel like it’s too overwhelming for you to follow these best practices – remember that you’re not alone.

HoopJumper helps busy professionals like you manage your social media accounts and execute social advertising campaigns quickly, saving you months of expensive trial and error.

Use LinkedIn to your advantage. Check out our Social Media packages today!