How SMEs Can Build a Bigger Presence on LinkedIn

For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), LinkedIn offers a powerful and cost-effective way to raise brand awareness, generate leads, and position your business as a thought leader in your industry. With over 41 million LinkedIn users in the UK (Statista, 2024), the platform is no longer just for jobseekers, it's an essential B2B marketing tool.

So, how can your SME stand out on LinkedIn and make the most of its tools and features? Here’s our step-by-step guide…

Start with a Strong Company Page

Your company page is your business’s LinkedIn shopfront. Make sure it’s complete, up to date, and visually appealing.

Checklist for an effective LinkedIn Company Page:

• Use a high-quality logo and header image to make your page look professional
• Write a compelling “About” section focused on what you do and how you help customers.
• Add your website, location, and specialities.
• Regularly update with content and employee news.

Also, ensure consistency with your branding. Your profile should feel like an extension of your website and marketing materials.

Optimise Personal Profiles for Visibility

Your directors, founders, and team members are powerful brand advocates. In fact, content shared by employees receives 8x more engagement than content shared via company pages (LinkedIn, 2023).

Encourage senior leaders to:

• Use a professional headshot and custom LinkedIn banner.
• Craft a value-driven headline (not just their job title).
• Optimise their “About” section to include your company’s mission and keywords.
• Regularly share updates, opinions, and insights related to your industry.

3. Grow Your Audience Organically

Unlike some platforms, LinkedIn rewards consistent, relevant activity, not just paid ads.

Here’s how to grow your audience:

• Connect with clients, suppliers, partners, and industry peers.
• Ask employees to invite their networks to follow the company page.
• Join and engage in LinkedIn Groups relevant to your sector.
• Use hashtags to increase content visibility (3–5 per post is ideal).

Post the Right Content, the Right Way

Posting regularly keeps your brand top of mind. But not all posts are created equal. Based on LinkedIn’s algorithm and user behaviour, here are some content formats that work best:

Top content ideas:

• Behind-the-scenes at your company (culture, staff shoutouts)
• Thought leadership from directors or senior staff
• Client testimonials or case studies
• Tips, checklists, or "how-to" posts
• Video content (gets 5x more engagement than static content)
• Polls (quick to engage, great for insights)
• Infographics and visuals

Best times to post:
Research from Sprout Social suggests that Tuesdays to Thursdays between 8am and 10am are prime times for engagement in the UK. But it's important to experiment, as your audience might behave differently.

Use LinkedIn’s Publishing Tools

LinkedIn gives you multiple ways to share content beyond just status updates:

• Articles: Great for deep dives, leadership insight, and case studies. Ideal for positioning your team as experts.
• Newsletters: A relatively new but powerful feature. Build a subscriber base directly on LinkedIn and deliver regular, themed content.
• Documents/Slide Decks: Upload PDFs to share tips, guides, or insights,  these often get shared more than links.
• Live Video or Audio Events: If you’re confident on camera, live streaming can boost visibility and interaction.

Engage Your Team

LinkedIn success is a team effort. Encourage your employees to:

• Like, comment, and share company posts.
• Post their own updates about projects or company milestones.
• Use branded hashtags (e.g., #LifeAt[YourCompany]) to create a consistent narrative.

Recognition and light gamification (like monthly shoutouts for top engagers) can help drive ongoing participation.

Are you ready to take your LinkedIn presence to the next level?

Building a strong LinkedIn presence for your SME doesn’t require huge budgets, it just takes consistency, strategy, and a human approach. By combining optimised profiles, quality content, and active employee involvement, you can turn LinkedIn into a lead-generating, brand-building powerhouse.

Need help building your LinkedIn presence? At SME Marketing Group, we specialise in helping businesses unlock big potential on social media. Get in touch for a free LinkedIn audit or to chat strategy.

‍