LinkedIn is fast proving to be the foremost social media site for B2B marketing. Employee benefit agencies that rely on cultivating relationships in order to market a product or service may find utilizing more fast-moving social platforms like Twitter or Instagram challenging, but LinkedIn provides a space for professionals to interact with one another, share original industry content and create brand awareness for their company that results in leads and network growth. We’ve put together a list of five simple ways you can start optimizing LinkedIn for your business today:

1. Create a Personal Profile

Even if you don’t plan on doing much posting of your own on a personal profile, this step is imperative because right now LinkedIn requires that you have a personal account in order to make a company page. Your profile should contain a professional photo of yourself, your name, job title and ideally your work and educational experience as well as any relevant accomplishments or projects.

2. Set Up a Company Page

Now that you’ve created your personal page, you are able to set up a page that specifically provides information about your company to LinkedIn users.  This page should contain your company name, logo, a link to your website, and a short description of your business that includes relevant keywords that are specific to what you do. Keywords can be in the form of phrases such as “Maryland insurance broker” but should shy away from staying as vague as “insurance company.” This helps your page receive a higher ranking in search engine results. Finally, ask employees who have personal LinkedIn profiles to list your company in their work experience, helping ensure that you can be found easily when people search for your business.

3. Share Quality Content

Sharing content ensures more opportunity for people to visit your company page and then hopefully website to follow up! Posts can be a mix of your original content and outside articles, videos or podcasts that are relevant to your industry.  Recent studies show that the best time to post on LinkedIn is Tuesday through Thursday between 7-9am, noon and between 5-6pm.  In addition, data revealed that posts made on Tuesday between 10-11am have the most clicks and shares. For best engagement results, companies should make it a priority to post on their LinkedIn page once a week, but no more than once a day.

4. Join or Create a Group

LinkedIn Groups provide a place for professionals to connect with peers working in their field or with similar interests where they can share helpful content, reviews, ask questions, post job openings and make new connections. You are able to either search for groups to join or create your own group based on your topic of choice where you can invite people to become members.  These groups are useful for connecting with prospects and establishing your company as an industry expert.

5. Make Personal Connections

By utilizing not only your company page but also your personal profile, you can enrich your business’s success by connecting with prospects and clients. Start slow by inviting 3-5 people to connect with you per week.  Follow up with a thank you message and a quick introduction when they accept your invitation.  Did you write a blog for your company or on an industry topic?  Post it to you profile. As you continue to share content, consider submitting it to LinkedIn Pulse’s editors to have your blog post featured.  This translates to much more visibility for your company! Finally, don’t be afraid to engage with others.  If you see content you like, write a comment or send a quick message to the author.  Other LinkedIn members are interested in the same thing you are – building mutually beneficial relationships!

Generating brand awareness for your company on social media is becoming more and more important in our highly digitalized economy. LinkedIn offers the perfect space for your company using a B2B marketing model that is based largely on relationships to thrive and establish yourself as an industry expert while expanding your network of prospects and future business connections.