Consistently branding is a top priority for any organization, large or small. However, branding doesn’t only include your company’s website and social platforms. How your employees show up on LinkedIn is just as important as how your website and company page appear.
Your LinkedIn Page is not only a gateway to your website and another way that prospective clients or employees can vet you. It also provides a way to view current employees in the organization. So, why not use that to your advantage?
Investing in your employees’ profiles has additional benefits that can increase visibility for your company, attract new talent, and even bring in new business. Enhancing the way they appear on LinkedIn will give them the confidence to share content about the organization, reach out to prospects directly, and create a culture that is not only represented in the office.
An overhaul of all employee’s LinkedIn profiles may seem overwhelming. Here are five steps you can take to improve the way your employees show up on LinkedIn and make them feel empowered to promote their organization on LinkedIn.
- Create a short paragraph employees can add to their About section.
This paragraph can showcase your company vision or mission statement, weave in your specialties, and even include a tagline if it aligns with your brand. This short piece will provide additional insight into who the company is, the industries or people they serve, and the services it offers. By adding this, prospective talent or clients who come to an employee’s LinkedIn profile can read the about section and are clear about how they could work with or for the organization. Having the same paragraph on all profiles means the message is consistent and clear.
Be sure to remind employees to optimize this section with their personal touch, as this section is one of the most viewed on a LinkedIn profile. Employees can add a why statement, how their role in the organization impacts the clients they serve, and even share their hobbies outside of work. The more conversational this section is, the better.
2. Provide employees with some media, video, or content to link to their Featured section or Experience section.
Visual content such as video, pdfs, or even links to company projects can enhance an employer’s profile and provide additional content for the organization to further its visibility. The Featured section is displayed directly under the About section, making it an optimal place for employees to share additional elements that will showcase their expertise and share other content as to why someone should work with or for their company.
3. Provide the opportunity for employees to get a professional headshot taken.
An employee’s headshot is the first impression. Placing a face to a name provides an authentic, human experience to the social platform and will likely entice a LinkedIn user to stay on the profile longer. The longer they stay on, the more likely they are to learn more about the organization.
Headshots should represent the user authentically. For example, if you don’t wear a suit and tie to work every day, then don’t take your headshot image in one.
4. Create a description for the employee’s Experience section that includes common language and specialties about the organization.
Adding keywords along with specialties to the Experience section can optimize the searchability of an organization and contribute to consisting branding initiatives. Providing employees with a more in-depth explanation that includes what the organization does and its specialties creates insight about your organization that will increase visibility and solidifies the brand. You can also add a link here to the company website to provide an additional place for visitors to learn more about the company.
This section should mirror much of what a user would find on the company website. Be sure to encourage employees to personalize this section by adding how their roles and responsibilities contribute to its overall goals.
5. Utilize the Employee Advocacy feature on your organization’s LinkedIn Page.
If your organization’s marketing team consistently shares content through the company page, encourage employees to engage with the content by liking and commenting on the posts and sharing it with their network. Content can enhance your organization’s branding initiatives and take it one step further when employees buy into the benefits.
Each individual on LinkedIn has a unique network, allowing for content to reach people it may never have reached had an employee not shared it. Sharing content enables employees to build their credibility, stay front of mind with prospects in their network, and attract potential employees who are already in their network. Users visiting a profile can see any activity that person has had on LinkedIn in the past 90 days, including liking, commenting, and sharing, so it’s imperative employees engage with content and share their own on LinkedIn.
Encouraging the optimization and use of your employee’s LinkedIn profile will only boost the appearance of your organization, making it seem approachable, allowing the establishment of company culture, and enhancing business and new talent opportunities.
Our profile development, coaching, and training services can easily allow your organization to change the way current employees and leadership are showing up and utilizing LinkedIn. Reach out to us for more information on how you can maximize your organization’s LinkedIn strategy for business development, branding, and recruiting initiatives.
