PipeflowWho LinkedIn is worthwhile for
LinkedIn is a professional network. The people there are interested in work, sectors and business relationships: business owners, buyers, architects, property managers, HR managers and potential staff.
LinkedIn makes particular sense if you work with other companies, are looking for skilled workers or want to become known as an expert in your region. Tax advisers, planning offices, IT service providers, trade businesses with corporate clients or estate agents often find their audience there more readily than on Instagram.
If you mainly sell to private customers, such as a café or hair salon, LinkedIn can still be useful, for example when recruiting and for your local network.
Personal profile or company page?
On LinkedIn there are two options: your personal profile and a company page for the business. To create a company page, you need a personal profile anyway.
For small businesses, the owner's personal profile often reaches more people than a company page. People prefer to follow people, and your contacts are more likely to see your posts. A company page still makes sense: as a business card for the firm, for job adverts and so that staff can name the business as their employer.
To start with, a well kept personal profile that you post from and a simple company page with logo, description and website are usually enough.
The first steps
Before you write your first post, get your profile in shape. Anyone who sees your post often clicks on your profile next:
- Profile photo: a recent, friendly photo where your face is easy to recognise.
- Headline: not just "Managing Director", but what you do and for whom, such as "Master joiner, kitchens and bespoke furniture in and near Linz".
- About section: a few sentences on your business, your experience and what customers get from you.
- Experience: add your business as your current position and link it to the company page.
- Contacts: connect with people you already know: customers, suppliers, partners, former colleagues, people from clubs or networks.
- Company page: add your logo, a short description, website and location.
What you can post
On LinkedIn, the thought behind the picture counts for more than the picture itself. You do not have to be a great writer for that. The first sentence is what matters most, as it decides whether someone reads on. Start with an observation, a question or a small story rather than with "We are delighted".
Good posts from small businesses are often down to earth and specific:
- Expertise: a question from your field, simply explained.
- Experience: what you learnt from a difficult job, without giving away customer data.
- Decisions: why you now do something differently in the business than before.
- Team and training: new staff, apprentices, further training, with their consent.
- Projects: a completed project, if the client agrees.
- Your sector: a change in your field and what it means for your customers.
An example of your first post
Many people struggle most with the first post. One simple option is to briefly introduce yourself and your business, with a thought on why you do what you do.
This is how it might look for a small tax advisory practice: "For several years I have been supporting small businesses in my region with bookkeeping and tax. The most common question at the start is not about legal paragraphs, but: what do I actually have to keep? Here I will answer everyday questions like this from now on. Which one should I pick up first?"
The post is short, personal and tells people what to expect from now on. The question at the end invites comments without feeling pushy.
How often to post?
There is no ideal frequency that applies to everyone. To start with, one post per week is a good goal: often enough for your network to notice you, and rarely enough that you can manage it alongside day to day business. If that goes well, you can increase to two or three posts.
More important than the number is that you keep at it for months. A profile where the last activity was six months ago looks abandoned. Better to plan little and keep it up.
Posts are only part of it, though. On LinkedIn, comments on other people's posts count too. A thoughtful comment on a post by a customer, partner or colleague in your sector is often quicker to write than a post of your own and still makes you visible.
Typical mistakes at the start
Beginners often make these mistakes. They are easy to avoid:
- Only advertising: posts that do nothing but promote offers are quickly scrolled past.
- Too much at once: posting daily in the first week and then not at all.
- Connection request with a sales message: sending someone an offer right after connecting costs you trust.
- Incomplete profile: without a photo and headline, even good posts seem less credible.
- Copying Instagram texts one to one: on LinkedIn the text can be more factual and somewhat longer, with emojis and hashtags used sparingly.