LinkedIn is a powerful social network embraced by business professionals around the world. Not only is it a great place to network with others, LinkedIn is the perfect environment for growing your business. LinkedIn recently updated its Company Page feature, allowing businesses to make a more profound impact. Below are a few ways that you can optimize your LinkedIn page for business and marketing purposes.

• Upload a cover image – Largely aesthetic, having an attractive cover image plays an important role in forming that first impression. Make sure your cover image is professional, attractive, and properly displayed.

• Post relevant company-oriented status updates – While your personal LinkedIn profile is all about you connecting with other business professionals, your company LinkedIn page is all about your company.

• Target your status updates – Did you know that you can send your status updates to a specific demographic? Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, you can target your updates to a specific set of LinkedIn users based on criteria such as industry, job role, location, or company size. For example, if your ideal customer is a human resources manager in Georgia who works for a company with 1,000 or more employees, you could set your status updates to appear only in the feeds of human resources managers in Georgia currently working for a company with over 1,000 employees.

• Target your products and services page – Just as you can target your status updates, you can do the same with your products and services page on LinkedIn. This is a powerful option that allows you to have different versions for different audiences. For example, HR managers in Georgia might see a different version of your page than payroll processors in New York. After all, these are different audiences with different needs – and you have different products and services to offer each one! This is one of the most exciting tools available on LinkedIn – or any social platform for that matter.

• Get involved in LinkedIn Answers – This tool allows you to ask and answer questions, both of which can help you build your business. Asking questions is a great way to perform research or gauge potential reactions to a new product or service while answering questions can position you as an authority in your field.

• Make your page interactive and engaging – Consider adding an online video (hosted on YouTube) about your company or use apps specifically designed for LinkedIn. For example, you could use a WordPress app to add your blog’s posts to your LinkedIn page automatically.

• Use LinkedIn to generate leads – Sprinkle offers into your company status updates with calls to action and you may find that your LinkedIn page is a valuable lead generation source. Just as you promote and share links to your landing pages elsewhere, you’ll want to do the same on LinkedIn where you’ve already established your credibility and started forming relationships with people in your desired demographic.

• Consider using LinkedIn’s ads – Much cheaper than Google advertising, LinkedIn’s ad program is also highly targeted. Simply craft your ad, hone in on the right type of people, and get noticed.

LinkedIn’s company page feature is an often underutilized tool for marketing your business and making personal connections with your target audience. Not only can you send targeted advertisements on LinkedIn for much less than traditional advertising channels, you can tailor your content to match various audiences.