Big news from LinkedIn this week — it just got a lot easier for companies to increase the number of followers on their LinkedIn Company Pages! LinkedIn announced the launch of the LinkedIn Follow Company button on the LinkedIn blog this week, and companies like AT&T, Sony Electronics, and American Express OPEN are lining up to install it on their websites and blogs. With 2 million companies in the LinkedIn network, it’s safe to assume consumers will start seeing the new LinkedIn Follow Company button across the web very soon.
LinkedIn is hyping the benefits of following Company Pages as a great way to keep up with company news, job openings, and industry trends. A distinct effort is being made by LinkedIn to position Company Pages as very different from Facebook Pages for brands and companies. For example, AdWeek reports the following from the LinkedIn announcement this week:
- LinkedIn members are professionals and have high expectations for the companies they follow on the site.
- 60% of LinkedIn members expect Company Pages to offer industry insights and news.
- Approximately 1 out of 2 LinkedIn users who already follow Company Pages claim they are more likely to buy products or services from a company that is more engaged and interactive with its followers.
As LinkedIn’s director of corporate communications, Hani Durzy, told AdWeek, LinkedIn members are, “more strategic in their decisions to follow companies here as opposed to other networks.”
Companies that recognize the difference between audience expectations on LinkedIn versus Facebook or other social destinations will experience the highest levels of success through their Company Page activities.
It’s easy to get the code for the LinkedIn Follow Company button and to add it to your company website, blog, and other online destinations where your company or brand have a presence. When LinkedIn members follow your Company Page, your status updates appear in their LinkedIn home pages giving you more exposure and more opportunities to engage with them. In other words, if you haven’t gotten the LinkedIn Follow Company button yet, get it now. It can only help your company and brand grow.
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
