Entrepreneurs Edge on LinkedIn

Entrepreneurs have a unique advantage on social media. Users are daily losing patience with social media channels who've moved away from serving them to serving the companies that line their pockets e.g. Facebook Ads. Entrepreneurs, particularly those of you whose services or products meet the needs users express most frequently, get to engage with them as people who "really get it".

Here's how that looks on LinkedIn.

Your Company & You

The dynamic is beautiful for entrepreneurs on most social media channels, but on LinkedIn, it is especially so. Think about it.

• Company Page. Your Brand. Your offering, your values, mission and vision, your expertise and scope of work as a company. Here, you share updates on events, general offering, and inspiration your clients need to stay motivated.
• Profile. Authentic, Professional You. Your offering and expertise, yes, but the expression of your values and expertise through your own unique engagement style with your group discussions, LinkedIn posts and anecdotes you attach to posts you share.

The average company has a Company Page. They can showcase their brand, share general information that meets the public's needs and share job posts. So do you, but as you're speaking to someone specific, your message can stay with them longer.

The average company, however, has its hands tied when it comes to engaging as a person (through a profile) on LinkedIn. They invest thousands of dollars, hours and resources in policies and training to ensure that employees on LinkedIn reflect the desired brand image.

At the end of the day, however, LinkedIn recognizes the individual and the right to be your authentic professional self on LinkedIn. It doesn't work for the average company, but do you see how it works for you?

Your Profile. Not Your Company.

As busy entrepreneurs, it's difficult to justify adding another social media channel (or sub-channel) to the list. Search engine optimization (SEO) aside, it's just too much. Why should you create a Profile and a Company Page? 

Apart from the fact that you don't want LinkedIn to simply delete your profile one day, because instead of a person as they highlight in the User Agreement, you have a Logo for a picture and a Company Name where your name should be, here are a few very real reasons:

• People connect better with People. If Kraft Foods said "thanks for that work-life balance presentation", it wouldn't have the same impact as if Sue, your last tea-date, said it.
• Share personal anecdotes, professional experiences and genuinely inspiring insights.
• Demonstrate support for professional challenges as only humans can. 

This list is far longer. You can uniquely take advantage of your Entrepreneurs' Edge.

Why, then a Company Page?

I delivered the signature Successiory "LinkedIn Strategy" workshop at Bank of Montreal (BMO) at Bay and Bloor, Toronto, on March 30, and I delivered the same to different branches of my advisory board, GroYourBiz. My Business, My Board, throughout March. 

This is the question that came up across the board among busy entrepreneurs.

Here are just a few reasons you should:

• Credibility. You don't want client prospects to come sniffing on your page, click on your company's name (e.g. Successiory's, circled in red above), and have it lead to nowhere.
• Recruiting & SEO. Search engines like you better if you're visible across multiple pages, but your brand becomes even more visible if it shows up in someone's job search.
• Social Media Examiner also highlighted that LinkedIn is investing significantly to increase the benefits of Company Pages. It may be good to stay ahead of the curve.

Using social media automation tools help to streamline your social media activities for more focused social media community. This means it doesn't have to be another drain on your time.

What's Your Next Step?

Let me know what your biggest challenge is around this. I'm happy to help get you where you need to be. I've just helped one client express her very unique and authentic voice on LinkedIn, and I'm sure there's no one quite like you out there, either.

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