We used to think of LinkedIn as an ugly, awkward place for us to post a resume that no one would ever see. But it’s looking a lot better these days, and the advent of company pages and groups turned the site into a great PR tool. Yesterday LinkedIn released a SlideShare presentation highlighting the best company pages of 2012 and offering some tips on making your company or client’s page better — it’s a useful read for anyone involved in branding.

A few brief observations and suggestions:

The companies highlighted in this presentation range from big names like Adobe and Disney to obscure medical practices and software upstarts like HubSpot (whose bloghappens to have a lot of great LinkedIn “tips and tools” posts). This means that you can run a great brand page no matter how big your company/client might be.

• Visuals are crucial, of course–these pages look great. Our advice: take some nice personalized pics to show visitors what your brand is all about.
• Brands MUST make regular updates—here’s a nice guide to getting started. While we’ve yet to hear of an option allowing you to automate your status updates to coincide with posts on your company blog, we have no doubt that this option is coming.
• Add “brands and services” to help visitors understand exactly what you’re selling.
• Feature relevant groups on your page to expand your audience.
• Use the “targeted audience” option to help you make sure your updates are reaching the right people.
• Check out the Company Buzz app to find out what people are saying about your company.

PR pros: What’s your experience working with LinkedIn company pages?