The first step to getting your business on LinkedIn is to create your company profile.
See the step by step directions below for setting up your business page, which is not your personal profile and should only reflect information about your company, not yourself.
1. Login to your LinkedIn account at www.linkedin.com
2. Click on Companies>Search Companies, and then Add Company on the top right (
http://www.linkedin.com/company/add/show)
3. Type in your company name and your company email address. Check the box certifying that you are an official representative for that company and press continue.
4. Go to your email inbox and click the verification link in the email from LinkedIn.
5. Now you can setup your company profile.
Below is the screen you will see: Be sure to fill out all the appropriate fields.
Why are there two logos? Same reason there are two different images of your profile pic on Facebook. You have your thumbnail image, which is a complete square 50x50 pixels, and then the normal logo size, which is 100x60. Using images that are not these proportions is going to make it stretch out and look weird. Not sure if your image is the right height to width ratio? View our article on the top free web resources and click on the link to the ratio calculator.
What Are Company Page Admins?
These are other LinkedIn users who can edit the company page information. You can designate these users specifically or allow any employees with a valid company email address, (ie: joesmith@yourcompanyname.com) to edit content upon email verification.
How Does this Benefit My Company?
At this time, the largest benefit for companies to being on LinkedIn is that it brings more qualified job candidates to job postings then other free methods, and less scams or under qualified people as commonly associated with Craig's List ads. People can see more about your company and connect with the employees who work there. HR personnel can cruise through profiles, which are essentially resumes, and read recommendations from other business professionals they have worked with.
Other benefits include being a source of leads for salespeople. It gives them a foot in the door to see that they share connections with someone. Getting an appointment is easier when it's someone who knows your friend so-and-so rather than the person who is cold calling them. Sales representatives and Entreprenuers stand to benefit the most from being on LinkedIn, aside from job seekers and employers needing qualified candidates.
Tips for Using LinkedIn 1. Know the difference between your personal profile and company page. Keep them separate.
2. Give recommendations to people you have worked with. Don't directly ask for them back, but instead earn recommendations as you do business with people. Give them a recommendation and they'll want to return the favor.
3. Keep it professional. This is not Facebook. Think of this as your professional resume. Put your best face forward and always proofread for typos or bad grammar. Check your links too.
4. Keep it social, and don't try to sell, sell, sell. No one will want to connect with you if they see that you are just going to send them sales collateral and solicit them often. Be real. Talk to people and really connect with them as if you were at a Chamber networking event.
5. Update often! Make sure all your content is up to date and references working links, contact info, etc.
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