BND Hamburger Icon

MENU

Close
BND Logo
Search Icon
Advertising Disclosure
Close
Advertising Disclosure

Business News Daily provides resources, advice and product reviews to drive business growth. Our mission is to equip business owners with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions. As part of that, we recommend products and services for their success.

We collaborate with business-to-business vendors, connecting them with potential buyers. In some cases, we earn commissions when sales are made through our referrals. These financial relationships support our content but do not dictate our recommendations. Our editorial team independently evaluates products based on thousands of hours of research. We are committed to providing trustworthy advice for businesses. Learn more about our full process and see who our partners are here.

Updated Oct 26, 2023

LinkedIn for Business: Everything You Need to Know

LinkedIn is the most popular professional online platform. Here's how to use it for your business.

author image
Written By: Kiely KuligowskiBusiness Strategy Insider and Senior Writer
Verified Check With BorderEditor Reviewed:
Verified Check With Border
Editor Reviewed
Close
This guide was reviewed by a Business News Daily editor to ensure it provides comprehensive and accurate information to aid your buying decision.
Sandra Mardenfeld
Business Operations Insider and Senior Editor
Business News Daily earns compensation from some listed companies. Editorial Guidelines.
Table Of Contents Icon

Table of Contents

Open row

As the professional world continues to adopt online networking and information sharing, job seekers and businesses are leveraging LinkedIn, the well-regarded business and employment-focused social media platform. With 50 million weekly personal and professional LinkedIn users, the platform presents opportunities to find jobs, recruit talent, publish and share content, promote products and services, and much more.

We’ll explain how organizations can take full advantage of LinkedIn and share tips for getting the most out of this powerful professional and business platform. 

How to use LinkedIn for business

When using LinkedIn to improve your business and build connections, staying true to your brand is crucial. Here’s how to establish a presence on LinkedIn and start using the platform to further your business.

1. Create a LinkedIn company page.

A company page helps potential customers and job candidates learn more about your business, brand, products, services and opportunities. To create a LinkedIn company page, you’ll need a personal LinkedIn account and a verified email address. There’s no charge. 

Here’s how to create a company page:

  1. Visit the LinkedIn page creation page and select Company

Creating a LinkedIn page

  1. Enter your company details, including your website, organization size and industry. You’ll also upload a company logo. When you’re finished, select Create Page

Enter company details on LinkedIn

  1. Share your login information with another employee in case you lose access to the page or leave the company. You should also let other employees know the page is active so they can edit their positions on their personal accounts and add the company page.

2. Create a LinkedIn career page.

It’s challenging to hire employees who fit your company culture and possess the in-demand career skills and appropriate experience you need. LinkedIn career pages allow companies to tell their story so they can attract and retain top talent.

The Life tab gives job seekers an inside look at your company’s culture. This section lets you showcase long-form posts, photo galleries, company leaders, company insights and videos. You can even create multiple versions of the Life tab to target different audiences, such as marketing and IT candidates. Here’s an example from LinkedIn’s own career page: 

LinkedIn Career Page

Note that you must purchase a LinkedIn career page separately; it doesn’t automatically come with a company page. 

Did You Know?Did you know
Job seekers turn to LinkedIn to find promising matches and further their professional development with LinkedIn's educational resources.

3. Join and create LinkedIn groups.

After creating company and career pages, it’s time to promote your business on LinkedIn. Groups are an excellent promotion resource. 

  • Create a LinkedIn group. According to Taylor Kincaid, social media director at Online Optimism, one of the best ways to promote your business is to create a LinkedIn group connected to your company page. “A LinkedIn group is a great place to build an engaged community surrounding your business and to grow your online community,” Kincaid advised. To create a LinkedIn group, you’ll enter a group name, location and rules, and set parameters related to discoverability and permissions. 
  • Join existing LinkedIn groups. You can also join existing LinkedIn groups that fit your interests. For example, you could join a social media marketing group if you run your company’s social media accounts. If you’re an entrepreneur, consider joining entrepreneur-focused LinkedIn groups

LinkedIn groups – whether you join existing groups or create your own – can help you establish yourself as a thought leader and industry expert while funneling more people to your company’s LinkedIn page. They’re not a place to post ads; instead, share valuable content with people interested in your business and industry.

“Engage your network with insightful comments,” advised Marietta Gentles Crawford, a personal brand strategist. “You always want to add value to your network and focus more on helping others by sharing your expertise.”

TipTip
When using LinkedIn and other social media platforms for business, use images to boost engagement. For example, post behind-the-scenes photos to offer a glimpse into your company or introduce your employees.

Tips for using your LinkedIn page

Once you’ve created a company page, a career page and a LinkedIn group, use these tools regularly and create content for them. Here are some tips for getting started:

1. Get followers for your LinkedIn page.

Publishing and sharing content is pointless if no one sees it. You should constantly seek new followers on LinkedIn. Post a widget for your LinkedIn page on your business website, add your LinkedIn information to your email signature, and have staff members promote the company page on their personal accounts. You can also put your LinkedIn information on your business cards and social media profiles.

2. Publish and share relevant content via LinkedIn.

As with any successful marketing campaign, you must know your niche audience and what it wants to see on LinkedIn. It’s essential to publish and share content, such as business blog posts, that benefits your followers, not just content that promotes your company.

“Do not be overly self-promotional,” said digital marketing specialist Kyra Mancine. “Only 20 percent of your posts should be sales-driven. You want to provide content that is helpful, informational and interesting. Think about what you like to see in your feed. No one likes to be sold [to] or see commercials all the time.”

Overpromotion is a serious social media pitfall and could cost you followers and reduce engagement.

3. Set up a content calendar for your LinkedIn content.

Publishing regularly is vital for any successful social media account. Mancine suggested setting up a content calendar for your posts to foster consistency. An easy way to set up a content calendar is through a social media tool like Buffer or Hootsuite.

But don’t overdo it, warned Eric Fischgrund, founder and CEO of FischTank, a marketing and public relations firm. “[Many] companies just start posting away. You’ll see engagement spike initially; then people start tuning you out. Only share things that are impactful.”

4. Vary what you post on LinkedIn, and capitalize on holidays.

Switch up your content, and post a mixture of visuals, videos and articles, Mancine advised. It’s also helpful to cater your posts to special holidays or times of the year.

“There are so many days that are celebrated on social media now: National Coffee Day, etc.,” Mancine noted. “Nine times out of 10, you can come up with a creative way to tie your business in to those days.”

For example, if you’re a lawn care company, post pertinent content during April, which is Lawn and Garden Month.

Key TakeawayKey takeaway
LinkedIn is an excellent lead-generation platform that helps you connect to your target customers and reach the people who can most impact your success.

5. Use tracking and analytics on LinkedIn.

The best way to offer relevant content to your audience is to know what they want. By monitoring and tracking past posts, you’ll determine what works and what doesn’t.

LinkedIn Page analytics lets you evaluate engagement on your posts, identify trends, understand your follower demographics and learn more about your page traffic.

6. Experiment with videos and photos on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn has video and photo features. The mobile app lets you take a video or photo and post it to your timeline immediately.

Share a behind-the-scenes look at your company, or highlight new information on products and services. Video and images boost user interest and engagement and can help humanize your brand.

7. Create LinkedIn Showcase Pages.

Product marketing manager Tommy Burns suggests using LinkedIn Showcase Pages to highlight and build your brand. With Showcase Pages, you can spotlight specific parts of your business and share content with a targeted audience.

“A Showcase Page is an extension of your company’s LinkedIn profile,” Burns explained. “They allow your organization to generate additional content and publish messaging that is highly relevant to subsets of your target audience.” 

8. Create sponsored content on LinkedIn.

As with other social media platforms, you can create sponsored content on LinkedIn. These ads cost money but are more effective than regular content because you can target a specific audience.

“There’s a lot of freedom and customization available with this feature,” said Keri Lindenmuth, marketing director at KDG. “You can select the geographic range you want your ad to target, the ages of the audience you’re seeking, the profession and industries of the audience you’re seeking, and more.”

9. Target your audience on LinkedIn.

One of the best ways to ensure your content does well on LinkedIn is to cater each post to a specific audience. LinkedIn’s organic targeting option lets you target posts based on follower profile data, such as organization size, industry, job title, geography and language. Keep in mind that you must have at least 300 followers to use the targeting tool.

10. Consider what time you post on LinkedIn.

As with any social platform, the time you post your content can impact audience engagement. Posting consistently is crucial, so aim to add content at least twice a week (if not daily). Remember that it may take some trial and error to find the time of day that works best for you. According to research from Hootsuite, the best times to post on LinkedIn are 7:45 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. ET.

Did You Know?Did you know
LinkedIn has a customer survey feature called LinkedIn Polls that lets brands engage with followers to get their opinions and input.

Best marketing tools for LinkedIn

Several tools can help your LinkedIn marketing efforts. Here are a few of the most popular marketing tools for LinkedIn:

  • Canva: Canva is an image-designing app that makes it easy to create your own graphics and images to use in your LinkedIn posts. Images make your posts more engaging and compelling; by making your own, you help your posts stand out. With Canva, you can also create GIFs and videos using your own recordings or stock footage. Visit Canva online to learn more.
  • SlideShare: If you have a presentation or white paper you want to share on your LinkedIn page, SlideShare is the best way. Because SlideShare is LinkedIn’s built-in content-sharing tool, it’s easy to upload PDF, Word, PowerPoint and OpenDocument files. SlideShare even records analytics, so you can track engagement. Visit SlideShare online to learn more.
  • Hootsuite: Hootsuite is an all-in-one social media management tool that helps you keep track of posting, scheduling, analytics, comments and more. Hootsuite even helps you boost your top-performing posts to reach more followers. Visit Hootsuite online to learn more.
TipTip
Try to make your content as evergreen as possible. Evergreen content is relevant for extended periods and offers your audience value long after you publish it.

LinkedIn for business FAQs

The answers to these common questions can help you get started with LinkedIn the right way.

Where should I start with LinkedIn? 

Head to LinkedIn.com and create an account with your work or personal email address. Once you sign up, you can create a profile that features your work experience, skills, interests and photo. From there, you can begin connecting with colleagues, following groups that align with your skills and interests, and posting content to share with your network.

Should I pay for LinkedIn? 

In the beginning, no. Once you have fully explored the website’s free features, you can consider investing in premium features.  

What is the most important thing I should focus on for my business on LinkedIn? 

Your customers are always the focus. Listen to what they say, follow what they follow and read what they read. Once you start listening to your customers, your next steps become apparent.  

Are photos really that important on LinkedIn? 

People want to know who they are talking to. For example, people are more likely to click on your personal profile if there’s a photo. Your business page benefits from photos as you pique visitors’ interest. 

LinkedIn is a powerful professional social network 

Social media can feel overwhelming and all-encompassing. However, for today’s professionals and businesses, sharing your brand is essential.

LinkedIn is an excellent platform for making new connections in your field and showing off your professional and business accomplishments. You don’t have to be a power user to reap the benefits of interacting with colleagues, prospects and customers – but you may just meet your next big connection via LinkedIn.

Tejas Vemparala contributed to this article. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

Did you find this content helpful?
Verified CheckThank you for your feedback!
author image
Written By: Kiely KuligowskiBusiness Strategy Insider and Senior Writer
Kiely Kuligowski is an expert in project management and business software. Her project management experience includes establishing project scopes and timelines and monitoring progress and delivery quality on behalf of various clients. Kuligowski also has experience in product marketing and contributing to business fundraising efforts. At Business News Daily, Kuligowski covers marketing best practices, along with a range of workplace topics, like office etiquette, paid leave, employee engagement and more. On the business software side, Kuligowski has evaluated a range of products and developed in-depth guides for making the most of various tools, such as email marketing services, text message marketing solutions and business phone systems. In recent years, she has focused on sustainability software and project management for IBM.
Back to top
Desktop background imageMobile background image
In partnership with BDCBND presents the b. newsletter:

Building Better Businesses

Insights on business strategy and culture, right to your inbox.
Part of the business.com network.