Getting Started with LinkedIn

Optimizing Your Personal Profile and Company Page

If you have never used LinkedIn before, you must start by setting up a personal profile. There is no cost for a profile, and the more complete your profile is, the more valuable it will be to you. Think of your profile as an online resume. Make sure you include a good, professional-looking photo of yourself. Start making connections with people you know. Follow some businesses—even competing businesses. And join some relevant industry groups to connect with people you would like to know. I wrote this article about LinkedIn personal profiles back in 2009, but it still has a lot of good information.

Once you have your personal profile completed, set up a page for your company. Probably the best way to get ideas for your company page is to look at what other companies are doing with their page. Your company page serves several purposes:

• You can use it to post updates about the company.
• It is an important tool for recruitment of new employees—both to allow potential hires to learn more about the company and to list available jobs.
• It can also be used to communicate with your employees who are following the company page.

This is an article about LinkedIn Company pages that I wrote last year. It still has lots of valid information about creating Company Pages.