The LinkedIn platform has been predominantly titled the best place for B2B engagement. Whether you’re looking to expand your company’s reach through content or seeking out new employees, LinkedIn is the place to be. In fact, 91 percent of executives consider the platform as their go-to channel for professionally relevant content.
Like every platform on the internet, there’s a certain mindset that the audience has and it’s up to you as the marketer to distinguish that so you can grab attention with ease. To leverage LinkedIn, it’s always important to remember that your content has to hold enough value to keep the community engaged.
Depending on the industry you’re in, the content you post on LinkedIn may vary. But, the main rule to follow is that you shouldn’t treat this platform like any other. Unlike Instagram or Facebook, where it’s all about aesthetics or family fun, this is a professional space. That means, avoid posting pictures of last night’s dinner or a night out after two many Espresso Martinis. To ensure that you’re getting the most traction with your LinkedIn content, we’ve put together a best practice guide for you to check off.
Make a Plan
Firstly, you need to know your audience before you post any kind of company content on LinkedIn. For example, if you’re posting content that’s focused on recruitment, you’ll need to post content that caters to recruiters and decision-makers within organizations.
Producing audience-specific content is one of the key points to gaining the most traction with what you post.
Consider these three factors:
- Who consumes your content: whether it’s articles or videos, you need to establish who is clicking on your LinkedIn page.
- Who follows you: take a closer look at who’s following your page and interacting with your content. Whereabouts are the followers located and what industry are they from? Core demographics are essential.
- Audience targeting: build personas and psychographics for who you can target with your content. LinkedIn’s campaign features can give you that extra edge and further your reach.
What You Should Be Posting on LinkedIn
Let’s start with what you shouldn’t be posting on LinkedIn and the audience psychographics that you developed in the previous step will help. The platform focuses largely on B2B and using that information you want to avoid any B2C sales pushes. That means you’re not targeting consumers with ads or copy to purchase DTC products like a pair of sneakers. LinkedIn users do not favor sales pitch posts.
Other areas to avoid are political or religious posts, negativity and anything that’s too personal. Keep the selfies to Instagram and the highly opinionated 280 character quips about politics for Twitter. Don’t forget, your brand is your reputation.
Here’s what you should be posting on LinkedIn:
- Clickable content: that doesn’t mean you should be posting any kind of clickbait but industry-specific content that entices readers to click onward usually contains value between the lines. LinkedIn users are more likely to respond to content that contains a photo and don’t forget to add a CTA to drive users to conversion.
- Be interesting: sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Publish content that provides solutions and answers to those difficult industry questions. Establish that your company is an authority in the industry and pique interest by displaying that. A little humor never hurt anybody, it actually makes your brand and content more memorable.
- Industry events: whether it’s a conference, webinar or you’ve just found a breakthrough in your field, treat LinkedIn users to the good news. Upcoming events or coverage of previous events help to keep LinkedIn users engaged in your company’s footing within the industry. Side note: this also gives users an insight into your company culture and how you operate which can be a big plus when done right.
Employee Advocacy Through LinkedIn Content
When your employees act like influencers and rep your brand to their own following on social media, it’s called employee advocacy. By doing this, they can build trust for the brand by leveraging their own network and in-turn that helps to raise awareness and drive engagement.
Data shows that employee advocacy doubles the click-through rate for employee posted content when compared to content posted by the brand. When a company posts content, the messaging often comes across as authoritative in that industry. However, when an employee posts content on the company’s behalf, it shows that the employee is embodying the company’s vision and genuinely believes in their products or services.
This is when the line starts to become a little blurred.
What Content Should Employees Be Posting?
To achieve high amounts of engagement and gently nudge the employee network into the funnel, the content has to be aligned with the brand. Resharing generic content that the brand pushes out isn’t going to cut if you want to build long-lasting relationships with your following.
When it comes to conversions, providing value through thought leadership content has proven as one of the most effective methods. The impact of thought leadership on demand generation is underestimated.
Data shows that 58 percent of decision-makers awarded business to an organization as a direct result of thought leadership. If the proof isn’t in that pudding, 60 percent of decision-makers bought new products or services that they weren’t previously considering because of thought leadership content.
Conclusion
When creating a content strategy for LinkedIn, remember that the content your company and employees post should be a two-way conversation. What you post should be there to inform, engage and provide genuine value to readers and viewers.
A little controversy is welcomed if it raises a few eyebrows and sways leads in your direction. However, stay true to your brand’s messaging and stay within the parameters of professional content at all times.