Did you invested a lot of time creating Products and Services Pages on your LinkedIn Company Page?
I originally published this article on LinkedIn – Read it here – Don’t Build LinkedIn Showcase Pages Unless..
If so, you’ll need to start all over building Showcase Pages. LinkedIn removed all Products & Services pages on 4/14/2014
One benefit to this removal of products/services pages is the annihilation of all the naked & useless products/services pages. This likely frees up a ton of storage space in LinkedIn’s systems.
No need fretting over this removal of products/services pages, you did not get any say and they are not retrievable.
So, here is the challenge – “To build or not to build Showcase pages.”
I encourage you NOT to build Showcase pages, unless you are willing to share and engage on these new pages.
To make this decision let’s look at Showcase pages a little more.
Here are a few Showcase page highlights worth noting:
- Bold cover image – This is no different than the old products/services pages, except you get to rethink the old images you used before (if you had one at all).
- Minimal Description content area – It appears LinkedIn does not want you to create static pages, therefore they have limited the description box. You are allowed to put up to 200 characters, and it all needs to be in a tight paragraph of text.
- Contact link to individual sales people is gone – this is a little bit of a let down. In multi-product/service organizations this was a nice tool.
- The Biggest & Most Beneficial Change – these pages are dynamic and engage-able. This means work. If you want your ShowCase Pages seen you will have to regularly create new content for these pages and work to get your network to engage on the pages.
My opinion: I like Showcase pages. I would rather manage dynamic and engaging pages on my social media sites than have static pages of old content. I live to share, connect, engage and discover opportunities.
My recommendation: If you have access to the resources, create showcase pages and begin sharing and engaging on them as an organization. If you do not have the resources to engage on these new social media pages, do not create LinkedIn Company Showcase Pages. Look deep into your organization for resources, 15 minutes a day on LinkedIn, including your Showcase Pages, can create business value. The value only occurs when you engage.
The amount of engagement on your Showcase Pages does not need to be significant. A post or two a month to begin with will be beneficial. As your followers increase and the engagement begins to rise, consider increasing the amount of content you share on these pages
The most important rule is that everything you post on your Showcase Pages must be TRUHE.
Transparent, Relevant, Useful, Honest & Engaging. This rule is how you make your Showcase Pages beneficial to your followers and to your business.
Let me know if you create Showcase Pages. I would love to see how you share & engage on your pages.
If you want to get more value from your use of LinkedIn let’s talk – info@BurrissConsulting.com or 336-283-6121