LinkedIn MH from website

By Jane Litchfield

If you’re an artist/maker/performer and you think LinkedIn isn’t for you, you might want to think again. Most creators use Instagram and Facebook, but the problem is “every artist is there. LinkedIn has less competition, and you can show off your process the same way.”

That was the message from , at a recent workshop GAC and 2H Media co-presented along with the Business Centre Guelph-Wellington.

Herchel says LinkedIn is lacking creativity. “It’s a wall of people in suits. If you’re painting, playing a guitar, or decorating something, it jumps off the page.”

Hershel points out that LinkedIn is free and it will connect you with people with disposable income and corporations with budgets for art and workshops. “On other platforms you’ll get likes and followers; on LinkedIn you’ll get buyers.”

Matthew Herchel, co-founder of Guelph marketing agency 2H Media gives advice in a recent
GAC workshop on how and why to create a LinkedIn page for your arts business.

Ready to create your business page?

Here’s how to create a LinkedIn page for your business.

First, sign into your personal LinkedIn account. If you don’t have one, it’s easy to create. A business page helps more people find you, so you’ll want both.

After you sign in to your personal page, click on the 9 square dots on the top right and a work sidebar will drop down. Click on Create a Company Page. Then choose small business. The name is your business name: be careful: Most things are easy to change, but the name is more complicated. LinkedIn will then generate a url you can share.

Making your profile as complete as possible helps people find you. You don’t want them to land on a different business with a similar name. It’s okay if you don’t have a website but add it if you do. Always proofread and use capitalization and proper spelling. To edit anything later, look for the pencil icon on the right side of each box.

The tagline is like a mission statement that introduces what you do. You can say more when you get to description. Click description, and then the add button, aiming for a minimum of 500 characters. This can include areas you serve, materials you use, how do you do the things you do. You can add your website here too. Click save when you’re done.

Specialties is a great opportunity to get in front of people. You can choose up to 20: Use them all. You can delete them if your business changes. When done adding specialties, hit save, which takes you back to the admin panel.

For location, you don’t need a street address if you don’t have a storefront but do add city, province and a phone number if possible.

The cover image is 1128 x 191 pixels. You can just load an image and LinkedIn will give you a resizing window. If you have visual work, this is a great place to show it off.

Following hashtags helps you populate your feed and join the conversation. You can choose up to 3. Your goal here is to meet others in your space; not to find sales opportunities.

Now you’re ready to post. Posts can be about how you do business as an artist, demystifying your process, and the value you create. Once a week is plenty. In admin view you’ll see who it was posted by and how many people have seen it. Include hashtags and tags. They work the same as other social media: just start typing with @ or #.

Business connections come from your personal connections. Invite connections to follow your business, using the box on the right. You get 100 invitation “credits” a month. Aim to use them all.

Whenever you log into your personal LinkedIn, you’re automatically logged into your business account. To see how others view your page click view as member; to make changes choose view as admin.

To add users to your page, click the admin tools dropdown at the top right, then settings/manage admins. Users must be LinkedIn members. You can remove users the same way.

Need more help? Visit 2H Media’s website.

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