4 Reasons LinkedIn is Crucial to Inbound Marketing

LinkedIn’s benefits are multi-faceted. Individuals can network, post resumes, find a job, take part in industry-based discussions, and more. It’s pretty great.

What’s also great is that LinkedIn works well for businesses, too. The ability to publish articles, network with customers or other businesses, and have your company recommended is priceless. In fact, 43 percent of marketers generated a customer from LinkedIn in 2013.

There are tons of features to LinkedIn that any company could benefit from, but today, we’ll focus on one of its top features, the company pages. Because inbound marketing’s foundation is about keywords, content, and more, having a company page on LinkedIn is crucial. Here are 4 reasons why:

1. It’s Pretty Much Another Website

A LinkedIn company page hosts your company’s information, products, and more. Viewers can learn about your company, apply for a job, and click a call-to-action for a piece of content. It’s pretty much another website, so maintain it like one by consistently updating it and nurturing it.

2. It’s a Way to Target Your Company Updates

In inbound marketing, we like to target things. It’s what we do. And that’s one more reason LinkedIn is crucial for inbound marketing. Before posting an update, you can choose the demographics of your target audience. Although all updates will show up on your company page, the update will only post to the homepages of that target audience.

3. It’s a Lead Generator

A LinkedIn company page has a scrolling banner feature on the Products & Services tab. You can add an image or call-to-action, and have it link to a landing page on your website. It’s another way to generate leads, in addition to the listing of products and/or services that visitors can click.

4. It’s an SEO Opportunity

Just like optimizing your website for SEO rankings, you can do the same with your LinkedIn company page. Some areas to focus on are:

• Completing your profile (that means 100% complete, not just ALMOST complete)
• Including relevant search keywords, but don’t over do it… keywords should flow naturally throughout your profile, just like in a blog post or webpage
• Growing your network
• Participating in LinkedIn Groups (don’t just join, post your articles, and sit back)

As with all social media channels, LinkedIn has a place in your inbound marketing plan, when it makes sense for your company and target audience. Just like your company website, LinkedIn requires you to allocate time to ensure you're providing current and worthy content.

What success have you seen after implementing LinkedIn into your inbound plan?