Do you know how to achieve a consistent company brand on LinkedIn? Although company management can’t dictate how an employee or contractor uses LinkedIn, they can provide useful guidelines.

Recently, I worked with a Denver-area company on their brand consistency on Linked. Together, we developed a set of guidelines for everyone associated with the company to use on LinkedIn. Of course, guidelines of this type can also be applied to Facebook or other social media sites.

 

Suggestions for an Employee’s or Contractor’s LinkedIn Profile

  1. Employees or contractors should use the company-recommended background image. This image could have the company’s name and/or logo or have a image plus the name and logo. Keep this background image consistent with the company’s website and other marketing tools.
    1. Take note of how the profile photo blocks part of this image. When viewing the profile on a computer, the profile photo is in the bottom left corner of. On the LinkedIn mobile app, the profile photo is in the middle of the image. Make sure to choose or design your image so neither photo placement blocks the company name or logo or makes the image unclear or awkward.
  2. Keep profile photos similar in style. Consider engaging the services of a professional photographer to ensure similar quality as well.
  3. Use the description of the company marketing has already developed in the summary section. In the summary, keep the focus on the individual within the context of their work with the company. Then add other information such as the person’s professional credentials and previous work background.
  4. Be sure to link the position description in the experience section to the company page. That ensures that the company’s logo displays in this section as well as at the top of the profile.
  5. In the position description, employees or contractors should use a variation of their job description
  6. Recommend specific materials to be used in the media section. Media displays just below the summary and is part of the position description.

 

 Follow and Share from the Company Page

  1. Everyone involved with the company should follow the company’s page on LinkedIn.
  2. They should also encourage clients, referral partners, and others to follow this page.
  3. Whomever is responsible for posting to the company page should ask employees and contractors to share the posts when they come out.

 

How About You?

Has your company taken steps to ensure consistency among company employees and contractors regarding their LinkedIn profiles? If so, what types of guidelines do you believe are realistic and achievable? What types of responses have you had when asking people to do this?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those ages 45 and older, to become more effective and productive using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, business consultants, job seekers, and more – ranging from entrepreneurs to people in large corporations. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.