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Last April, LinkedIn introduced the Company Follow feature in hopes of offering businesses an opportunity to further interact with their audience. By giving companies the ability to share profile updates, business developments and new job opportunities, how much value did this feature add to the site? Unlike social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, where you can make company pages and offer content as the business, LinkedIn still did not offer a way to directly communicate with its followers.

This was until early October when the site announced the launch of company status updates, giving businesses the ability to offer shareable, personalized content to its followers.

Because LinkedIn is a site focused on connecting professionals, this provides unique opportunities for companies to interact with their employees and customers. Whereas people primarily use Facebook and Twitter to interact with their friends, people are much more willing to seek out and interact with businesses and professionals on LinkedIn. In light of LinkedIn’s new feature, I have compiled my top suggestions on how businesses can best utilize company status updates.

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While sitting in a Facebook seminar the other day, someone in the audience asked about the success of Facebook pages for B2B companies. Beyond some of the very obvious Fortune 500 B2B companies such as Cisco, Intel and IBM, I found myself struggling to answer this question. It got me thinking about the topic and why B2B organizations should do some planning before launching a page on Facebook.

1. Who is your target audience? Did you know that the average Facebook user is 26 years old and most users are women (57%)? (Source: SocialMediaToday.com) On the other hand, the average users of LinkedIn are men and women, age 46 (Source: Marketing.LinkedIn.com).  It’s important to understand who your customers are and where they’re hanging out.

2. What is the primary purpose of the page? Thought leadership? Recruiting? General company information? Customer service? Again, is your target demographic already using Facebook to collect this information or are they currently getting it somewhere else? A small percentage (11.9%) of Fan pages on Facebook are for products, the majority (46%) are for entertainment (Source: TechCrunch/Sysomos). Ensure that your organization has a clear vision for what the page will be used for.

3. Do you have a steady stream of remarkable and unique content to engage a fan base? Facebook users are returning to Facebook 40 times/month, spending 23 minutes per visit and expect frequent updates that are of value to them (Source: SocialMediaToday.com). If you’re struggling to think about what you would say on your page or the type of content you will create, you may want to consider a different platform that does not have such demanding content expectations. The average Facebook user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events, which means that you’re competing with that much more content (Source: Facebook Press Room).

4. Is your Facebook page going to be supported by a larger campaign or initiative to help amplify activity and awareness about your company? While integral to launching a page, promoting a Facebook page can be challenging, particularly if your organization is one that is not already in front of customers on a daily basis like a consumer brand may be. Consider how the page will be promoted once you have launched it.

Before engaging in any social initiatives you should set out some goals for what you want to accomplish. If Facebook is not going to be able to help you achieve those goals, it’s worth a second look.

If you are considering launching a Facebook page, still a good idea to do your due diligence and think through the above questions to ensure it’s the right platform for your organization to show its true business value and to be successful. Many B2B organizations have found success communicating with their audience on Facebook through proper listening and planning.

Right now, many of us have a solid grasp on how to leverage Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Tumblr to build online communities, promote their latest events/products/services and generate overall buzz about our clients’ brands. But what about LinkedIn?

What about the fact that LinkedIn is reaching 100 million members worldwide as we speak?

Maybe the fact that LinkedIn has company pages that smartly showcase how users are connected to brands and make it easy for them to recommend them?

The knowledge of LinkedIn’s growing recommendation engine that provides insights on companies & jobs that may be perfect for its members?

Today’s launch of LinkedIn’s student job portal that leverages the networks of students & recent graduates to recommend jobs & illustrate connections that may have been forgotten?

Or even LinkedIn’s API development that allows brands the opportunity to tap into LinkedIn’s growing network?

Every one of these opportunities benefit both the user and the brand. Every one is an opportunity for the brand to extend its reach, showcase its prowess, grow its credibility and have the best talent at their companies. We can help our clients do this with LinkedIn. continue reading

Last month LinkedIn announced the launch of their company pages, starting with a small group of 40 companies.  Here’s why I have my eye on them (and so should you):

1. The “Products and Services” Tab – With the addition of this tab, companies will be able to showcase their offerings without looking overly promotional. The tab also makes it very easy to find what you are looking for without navigating an entire company homepage.

2. Public Recommendations – When LinkedIn members recommend products or services via the company page, their recommendation is publicly posted for all of their connections to see. Free reviews and promotions for the company.  Sound like another social network we know?

3. Company Overview – Customers and potential customers can get all the essential information about a company in one place. Yes, you could probably go to their website, but you’d have to search around to get all of the pieces. The company overview gives you a snapshot of all company activity on LinkedIn, new hires, employees, followers, statistics, recent Tweets, news articles and the latest stock updates. Most importantly, it shows you how YOU’RE connected to the company, which will prove valuable for potential employees and potential customers looking for a “connection.”

4. Your Audience is Already Here – With 75,000,000 members on LinkedIn, many of which influence or make business purchases, there’s a really good chance your target customer or employee is already engaging and connecting on LinkedIn.  And not only are they probably on LinkedIn, but they are more likely to be there for business/professional purposes.

One month later, I would love to know the impact the pages have had on their businesses. If you haven’t poked around a company page yet, I encourage you to do so.