LinkedIn is one of those online platforms small business owners question using and, more importantly, how they can use it. However, you can use this site to create company leads, produce sales, and hire professionals to help your business grow.

If you want to understand how to use this platform more efficiently, here are some simple ways to achieve that:

Develop a strong personal page

• Before setting up your company page, you’ll need a personal profile. You can sign up for free and create one here: www.linkedin.com
• According to LinkedIn, a completed and thorough profile gets up to seven more times the views than an incomplete one. Make sure you add elements like your resume, past work experience, and skills to enhance your profile.

Create and promote your company page

• After creating and setting up your personal profile, you can click “create a company page” under the work drop down tab in the upper right corner to begin creating a page for your business.
• Company pages don’t include as many features as personal pages; however they’re great ways to push out updates and link to content of interest to your customers and prospective customers.
• Make sure your employees (and you, of course!) include your company in their personal profiles to increase exposure.

Share content regularly

• Personal profiles and company pages have update functions, which are similar to status updates on Facebook. Use these to post brief company news updates, recommendations, links to article, and the like.
• Keep the updates relative to your brand and your target audience.
• You can, and are encouraged to, update more, but make sure you’re updating your status at least once a week to stay present.

Join and participate in LinkedIn groups

• After creating your company page, start looking for LinkedIn groups that prospective clients might join. You can find these in the “groups” tab.
• Groups offer a way to participate in communities with people who have similar interests, who may be interested in your products and services, and who could recommend your company in other networks.

Work your contacts

• As you build your page and presence, LinkedIn recommends using Advanced People Search to find prospective customers and others who would be valuable to add to your network.
• You may find that you know someone who has connections with a business you are trying to reach out to.

Consider utilizing a LinkedIn Career Page

• These pages allow you to target audiences with a personalized look to your company, culture, and job. A lot of candidates want to see company cultures over anything else.
• You can explore more benefits of this page here: https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/company-career-pages