LinkedIn Company Pages and More: Committing to More Time and Effort on LinkedIn in 2013

LinkedIn is coming up in more and more conversations that I'm having with clients and over this Thanksgiving holiday weekend, LinkedIn actually popped up in a chat or two among friends - seems that more and more business folk are interested in learning more about LinkedIn.

Most everyone at this point considers LinkedIn as more than a site used by people looking for a job or those looking to hire.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that, right?)  Most everyone is also confused about what LinkedIn can do for them, and absolutely everyone that I have been chewing the fat with over LinkedIn is wary of the amount of time that needs to be invested into LinkedIn before results are seen.

Still, LinkedIn is a surprisingly hot topic here on the Planet Reba: people are pondering doing more on that site, it's just a question of what they will do and how much time it will require.

Of course, this is exactly what LinkedIn is working hard to achieve: just read a post or two at the LinkedIn blog and you'll catch the drift about LinkedIn's plans for the future.  (Maybe it's not world domination, but I wouldn't discount the possibility.)

Should LinkedIn be a part of your future?  I think so.  I know that I plan on LinkedIn having more of a presence in my 2013 Schedule than ever before.  How?  Why?

I'll explore this in more detail in future posts; however, right now there is something that I think is worth noting now and worth your time to consider implementing on the LinkedIn networking site: it's their new company pages.

LinkedIn Company Pages

LinkedIn made their redesigned company pages available to everyone last month.  LinkedIn has a nice set of pages to acquaint members with this new offering, as well:

• Overview of LinkedIn Re-Designed Company Pages
• Connecting:  How to Find and Follow Other Companies on LinkedIn
• How To Set Up Your Own LinkedIn Company Page
• Money, Honey:  Set Up Products and Services on Your Company Page
• Easy Peasy Status Updates to Your Company Page

And there's more.  There's a widget so you can place a "follow" button for your LinkedIn Company page on your company's web site or blog.  There's a nice FAQ section.

Best for last:  LinkedIn also has everything here packaged in a set of instructional videos to make things even easier and more inviting to you.

And, yes -- it's all free.  Free.  (Take that, Facebook.)

Want to learn more about this?  Check out this downloadable pdf from LinkedIn for those who would rather print something and read it instead of looking at a screen.  (Dinosaurs do still roam the earth.)  Also check out their case histories of companies who are happy with the results they've experienced with their LinkedIn company pages.