Stand Out! How to Promote Jobs on Your LinkedIn Company Page

Link

The purpose of your LinkedIn update is to promote a job opportunity. When you boil it down, you’re really after one of two outcomes.

Get the viewer to:

1. Visit a web page – a job posting, careers site, news release, or article
2. Make contact – through email, phone, or LinkedIn message

Either way, the outcome relies on providing a link. Whether it’s a URL or email address, your first step is to have that link handy and make sure it works.

Shorten web links using Bitly or Goo.gl. Not only do these tools reduce the character-count of your URL, but they also track clicks and help you understand who is clicking. You can also customize the short-link to include a call to action (http://bit.ly/join-the-acme-team) or simply remind you where the link goes (http://bit.ly/tech-recruiter-role).

Text

Getting the reader to take action requires a little persuasion. This is the job of the written part of your update.

A copywriting formula can help you structure your message for maximum effect. Try this one:

1. Talk about the reader (not “I’m looking for…” or “We’re hiring…”)
2. Tell them how you will improve their life
3. Only then, introduce the role or company
4. Tell them what to do next with a call to action (including your link)

Keep your copy short:

• Ideal length: 200 characters or less (to avoid the “Read more” cut off)
• Maximum length: 700 characters

Make sentences short and simple, too. The shorter and simpler, the easier to read. The easier to read, the more likely it will be read. Use Hemingway Editor to see how easy your message is to read.

Where do you put the link? Typically, at the end of your message, as part of the call to action. URLs and email addresses show up bolded and blue in published updates. Because they stand out, you can play around with link placement. A colon (:), en-dash ( – ), or arrow (→) can help direct the reader’s eye to your link:

Curious? Email me: christian@recruitingsocial.com
Curious? Email me – christian@recruitingsocial.com
Curious? Email me → christian@recruitingsocial.com

When you include a website URL in your update, LinkedIn auto-generates a link preview image and title. The title can be customized to whatever you want. If you’re linking to a job posting, you can reference the role and company name:

Sales Recruiter at ACME

You might include a call to action. For example:

Sales Recruiter at ACME: Apply Today

Bonus points if you can pack the clickable title with feeling:

Sales Recruiter, Meet Your New ACME Family

Like other social media, LinkedIn supports hashtags. Because they appear in the same prominent, blue text as links, it’s wise not to include more than one or two. Use hashtags to highlight:

• Job function – #devops, #sales, or #marketing
• Location – #Seattle, #DTLA, or #Brasil
• Brand – #lifeatgrindr, #BEColliers, or #Top10Workplace

Image

Your Company Page update will compete with a hundred other posts in the LinkedIn feed. You don’t need an image, but a strong visual will help you win the battle for your target audience’s attention.

You can include an image one of two ways:

1. Attachment – like posting a photo on Facebook
2. Link thumbnail – an image preview of the URL in your post

Both appear in the LinkedIn feed at the same size. Link thumbnails auto-generate when you paste a website URL in your update. However, they can be customized – replaced with an image of your choice.

Only link previews click through to an outside URL. If your desired outcome is for the reader to visit a web page, use thumbnail customization to your advantage. It gives another, bigger target for the reader to click.

Unlike images shared from your personal LinkedIn profile, photos, illustrations, and graphics shared from your company page must meet specific shape and size guidelines. This includes link preview images. Otherwise, a less-than-attractive white border will frame the visual.

• Use a 1.91:1 image aspect ratio
• Ideal image size: 1,200 x 627 pixels
• Minimum width: 200 pixels

What should your image actually be?

A photo can be used to show off your employees and workplace.

Choosing group shots of your team is tempting. However, close-ups of two to three individuals are more intimate and impactful. Photos of company swag can also be effective.

Avoid stock images, which tend to give themselves away and appear inauthentic. Professional photos are ideal, but DIY photography with your iPhone or Android works just fine.

Some guidelines for social media photography:

1. Use natural light. Position subjects so the light hits from the front or side, not from behind (don’t put the subject in front of a window).
2. Take landscape-oriented photos (turn the phone on its side). They’re easier to crop for LinkedIn and provide better resolution.
3. Don’t zoom. Stand closer to your subject, or crop the photo later.

If the photo isn’t too busy, you can overlay your logo or tagline.

A simple graphic is another image option. This might be as simple as your logo on a colored background. It might be the job title and location. It could be your employer value proposition. Or maybe be a relevant quote from an employee or executive.

Ideally, graphic images should follow your company’s branding guidelines: typography, iconography, color, and layout.

If possible, seek help from your marketing or creative team to create the image. They might even be able to produce a Photoshop or Illustrator template your team can easily customize. Otherwise, DIY tools like Pablo and Canva are useful.

Posting to your Company Page

Choose a time to post. Engagement on LinkedIn peaks before work, at lunch, and immediately after work on weekdays.

Go to your Company Page. Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.

Below Manage, select your Company Page.

Set up the update. Paste the message draft in the “Share an article, photo, or update” text box.

If you’ve included a URL, a link preview will appear. Once the preview appears, you can remove the URL from the message. This looks cleaner, but leaving the link gives your reader another option to click.

If you have included a website URL:

• Customize the link preview image. Click the camera icon. Choose the image file on your hard drive. Click “Open.”
• Customize the link title. Click on the current title. Type or paste the new title over it.

If you haven’t included a website URL:

• Attach the image. Click the “Images” button in the bottom left corner and select the image file from your computer.

Target your update. Click the “Post Settings” button in the bottom right corner. Leave the post visible to all members of the public, or click “Target Audience.” This option lets you select the attributes for the followers you want to target, such as function, seniority, and geography.

Click “Post.” Done!

Boost reach by sharing with your team

On LinkedIn, likes and shares both increase your update’s reach. Get your team involved – make it easy for them to push your post to their networks.

To share your post on Slack:

1. Take a screenshot of your update (press Shift-Command-4 on a Mac; use the Snipping Tool on a PC).
2. Copy the link to your update (click the “…” button in the top right corner of the post, then click “Copy link to post”).
3. Drag and drop the screenshot into an appropriate Slack channel. Rename the image title if you’d like.
4. Paste update URL into the comment box (press Command-V on Mac; Control-V on PC). Add a call to action, like “Like and share this job posting here: http://linkedin.com/your-update.”

To share your post in an email:

1. Take a screenshot of your update (press Shift-Command-4 on a Mac; use the Snipping Tool on a PC).
2. Copy the link to your update (click the “…” button in the top right corner of the post, then click “Copy link to post”).
3. Create a draft email and insert the screenshot.
4. Type a call to action like “Click here to like and share this post” and link it to the update URL.