Companies can now post LinkedIn status updates, thanks to a new feature that rolled out a few weeks ago.
The status updates are the same as those you’d find on personal LinkedIn profiles, and, according to LinkedIn, give companies “the ability to customize and share more valuable insights with their followers.”
LinkedIn status updates can be up to 500 characters long and support URL attachments, as well as multimedia, giving companies the chance to share an array of content with their followers.
Here at V3, we’re huge advocates of LinkedIn, which is fast becoming one of the social networking behemoths, especially when it comes to professional use and recruitment. Not only do we conduct LinkedIn training sessions designed to help individuals maximize their profiles, but we also encourage companies to create their own LinkedIn pages as a way to further distinguish themselves in the vast social space.
We’ve been early adopters of the company status updates and have found daily posts to be a great way to encourage conversation and traffic, which is why educating our clients on effective LinkedIn use is a high priority. Just as you should frequently update your personal LinkedIn profile with status updates to remain visible in the LinkedIn stream, companies should incorporate the same tactic so that they remain at the forefront of employees’ and clients’ minds – not to mention prospective hires and customers, too.
Not sure if your company’s page has enabled status updates? Check your page’s settings to view your administrators – these are the only people who will be able to post updates. You’ll also need to make sure your company page is set to “designated admins only.” Once you’ve verified those settings, you should be able to share information directly from the Overview tab.
As for the type of information you should post? We’ll leave that up to you and your individual content strategy, but as with most social channels and corporate blogging or microblogging, we recommend a mix of about 80 percent industry/topical coverage with 20 percent company-related news and information.
Has your company started posting status updates on LinkedIn? If so, how do you think the new feature has changed your company’s visibility and/or experience on the site?
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”