Introduction
From engaging key decision-makers to expanding your reach and driving traffic to your website, LinkedIn content marketing offers a multitude of opportunities. But, as you know, there are a lot of marketers and businesses out there trying to get the attention of LinkedIn’s 930 million members — so, how do you get your content, and your business noticed?
This comprehensive guide will lead you through the intricacies of setting goals, pinpointing your target audience and selecting the most impactful and relevant content types. We’ll reveal some of the tactics for creating attention-grabbing individual posts, crafting engaging video content and amplifying their distribution.
We’ll dive into the world of meaningful engagement with other LinkedIn users, harness the power of networking opportunities and elevate your content promotion game through LinkedIn groups, and direct messaging. This guide will arm you with the knowledge and the confidence to chart your course towards successfully building your brand on LinkedIn.
So, without further delay, let’s start your journey to mastering the art of LinkedIn content marketing, navigating its nuances, capitalising on its opportunities and positioning your brand for growth.
What are the benefits of LinkedIn content marketing?
LinkedIn is a well-established and incredibly popular social media platform offering a raft of benefits for ambitious B2B and B2C brands. Here are just some of the great advantages of using LinkedIn to grow your business.
It helps you to reach a larger audience
Around 134.5 million people actively use LinkedIn each day, and 48% are active on a monthly basis. This presents a significant opportunity for both engaging a wider audience and maintaining your loyal customer base. In both B2B and B2C landscapes, this platform extends a bridge to prospective customers, collaborators and partners.
It gives you access to key decision-makers, elevating your brand influence
LinkedIn is a world where decision-makers converge. CEOs, industry leaders and top-level executives actively seek insights, advice and new suppliers here. This is your chance to climb up the ladder of influence and get the exposure your brand deserves.
It helps position your brand as thought leaders
LinkedIn is the ideal social media platform to empower your brand and amplify your voice. One of the best ways of doing this is by posting authentic and thought-provoking content. Address industry trends, forecasts and challenges and add your own unique spin to the mix.
The goal is to ignite conversations and beckon decision-makers to your corner. Never be controversial for the sake of getting a response. This approach is likely to alienate your community or make your brand seem unprofessional and click-baity.
It offers incredible networking opportunities
Imagine LinkedIn as an ever-bustling networking event full of people just waiting to share advice, opinions and experiences. Industry groups, conversations and collaborations thrive here and with good reason. Take part in conversations, join relevant industry groups and reach out to people with common interests, geographical locations, event attendees and so forth.
No doubt you will have seen the ‘people you may know’ function on the platform. Check in regularly and maintain a great connection profile. Don’t forget to include a brief message when you connect to a person who won’t be familiar with you. LinkedIn is a great networking platform but there is a lot of activity out there and you want to build trust.
It drives high-quality traffic to your website
LinkedIn content marketing is the beacon guiding curious travellers to your website. You can post about new product launches or company news on your individual or company page, drop a link in relevant discussion groups and reach out directly to interested parties with your latest blog.
As with all your content marketing activities, make sure the content you share is one hundred percent relevant and useful to the recipient or recipients. No one likes a time waster and people can always unfollow you, then they may be gone for good.
Top tip: Drop a tempting teaser! For B2B, tantalising snippets of whitepapers or webinars can pique curiosity. In the B2C spectrum, sneak peeks of forthcoming products build excitement.
How to create a winning LinkedIn content marketing strategy
In the dynamic world of LinkedIn content marketing, the key to impactful engagement and forging lasting connections is a well-crafted content strategy. Let’s take a look at some of the main steps to follow to help you get it right for your business.
Set goals and objectives
Setting clear goals and objectives is like plotting your course on a map. This deliberate, strategic approach guides your content efforts and ensures that every piece of content serves a purpose. Whether you aim to elevate brand awareness, foster lead generation, establish thought leadership, or any combination thereof, clearly defined objectives are your north star.
Top tip: Use the SMART goal framework — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, especially when you are starting out. Decide on a vision of, say, a 15% surge in website traffic within three months through LinkedIn content. This precise and quantifiable goal fuels focused efforts and sets the stage for a roadmap that is both strategic and actionable.
Remember to keep checking in with your engagement analytics so you can address any issues and capitalise on opportunities. More on this shortly.
Create your buyer personas
Content’s efficacy hinges on its ability to resonate with your target audience. Creating a vivid mental picture of your ideal customer or client in the form of a buyer persona can really help. Delve into your ideal customer’s demographics, challenges, aspirations, goals, buying habits, barriers to sale and preferences.
Get a clear understanding of what makes them tick and how you can help them. This exercise equips you with insights that breathe life into your content, ensuring it speaks directly to your customer’s needs. It can be pretty fun, too!
Identify the best content types
LinkedIn is an expansive canvas where different content assets offer different opportunities and different rewards. It’s up to you to decide what formats suit the messages you want to convey. Videos and infographics are great for explaining complex information, and the former is fabulous for introducing people from your company, or your brand itself.
Long-form blogs and reports are a great tool for driving traffic and promoting thought leadership. Again, your analytics will help here and you can also take a peek at what your competition is doing and how it is being received.
Top tip: Blend different content types to create a dynamic and engaging feed. For the B2B world, a blend of informative articles and visually attractive videos cater to a wide range of audience preferences. B2C brands can experiment with interactive polls, quizzes, behind-the-scenes glimpses and personal anecdotes to infuse variety and vibrancy.
Publishing great visual content is extremely important for getting engagement on LinkedIn. Not sure where to start? Check out this blog about the power of visual content.
Avoiding sales-y language
LinkedIn thrives on creating meaningful connections and authenticity, which in our humble opinion is always the best way to build long-lasting trust and engagement. The objective is not just to sell; it’s to enrich, educate and inspire. Your content should provide value, insights, or entertainment, subtly weaving in your brand narrative for an organic, natural and unforced connection.
Strategic content distribution: How to amplify your voice on LinkedIn
There are over 17 million so-called opinion leaders on LinkedIn which makes it a rather crowded place to create an impression! Don’t be disheartened, however. There are plenty of ways to amplify your voice on LinkedIn. Let’s take a look.
Post compelling status updates
Your LinkedIn profile is your first port of call for sharing original, interesting and compelling status updates. This could be commenting on industry trends, recent triumphs or company news. You could also post thought-provoking questions that stimulate dialogue and show you are someone who is engaged with your community and the wider issues that affect it.
Top tip: The CTA catalyst, boost engagement by embedding compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) in your updates. For B2B, entice users to join webinars, discussions, or workshops. In the B2C realm, encourage users to share personal stories, tips, or experiences that resonate with your brand’s narrative.
Create a great company page
Your LinkedIn company page is the ideal place to showcase your content, build a pool of followers and boost your brand presence. Not sure where to start? Check out the social media giant’s very own guide to 12 ways to improve your LinkedIn page.
Harness the power of video content
Videos hold immense potential to capture attention within seconds. Create and publish concise yet impactful videos that spotlight your expertise, share noteworthy achievements, or provide swift insights into industry trends.
Top tip: We’ve mentioned the power of video ‘how-to’ guides to simplify complex processes and showcase your expertise and knowledge in a relatable manner. You can also create emotional narratives that resonate with your audiences on a personal level, deepening their connection with your brand. People buy from people, after all.
Create long-form articles that deep-dive into insights
LinkedIn’s publishing platform welcomes in-depth exploration. Utilise long-form articles to delve into industry insights, provide comprehensive guides, or tell a relevant story that will resonate with your target audience.
Create conversational sparks
As we mentioned, active involvement in group discussions can encourage meaningful discourse and debate and help to position your brand as a thought leader. Engaging with user-generated content and offering insightful commentary also helps to build connections and brand loyalty.
Always keep in mind that good conversation is a two-way street and interacting with diverse content enriches your engagement ecosystem. Liking, commenting and sharing other people’s and company’s posts are gestures that showcase your active involvement and strengthen connections.
Leverage your team and network to create allies of influence
Your internal team, suppliers, clients and wider network are potent allies in expanding your content’s reach. Encourage team members to share content, leveraging their individual networks to snowball your content’s visibility while lending an authentic touch. You can also ask trusted partners and suppliers to do the same, perhaps offering a reciprocal share by way of thanks.
Tell the story of your people
People love stories about other people so why not spotlight your team’s expertise, showcasing the collective knowledge and thought leadership within the organisation? This adds a personal touch, fostering authenticity and relatability while also demonstrating that you have the top talent on board.
Don’t be afraid to take the lead
Take the lead in group discussions by moderating conversations, answering queries and nurturing a space for meaningful exchanges. You can use groups to cultivate niche communities around your brand’s offerings, fostering connections among like-minded individuals.
Creating a personal connection with direct messaging
Direct messaging is a great avenue for one-on-one interaction. Craft personalised messages that spark meaningful conversations, showcasing the value of your content and inviting further engagement. Make sure you always personalise the message to each recipient. Receiving a batch-style email is very off-putting and can make you seem lazy and uncommitted.
Analysing results and refining your strategy
When it comes to the most effective LinkedIn content marketing, the journey doesn’t end with content creation and distribution – it continues way into the future with in-depth, regular analysis. Continuous assessment and monitoring serve as your compass, guiding you towards improved performance and engagement and ensuring that your efforts yield the desired impact.
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your LinkedIn content marketing analysis.
Navigating analytics — the tools of the trade
There is a wide range of analytics tools at your disposal to help you understand your content performance and identify areas for improvement. LinkedIn’s built-in analytics dashboard offers a panoramic view of metrics. Furthermore, external tools like Google Analytics 4 and content performance trackers provide deeper insights.
How to identify which LinkedIn metrics to monitor
The metrics you choose to measure depend on your objectives and target audience. Click-through rates (CTR) indicate the effectiveness of your content in driving users to your website. Engagement metrics like comments, shares and website traffic show how well your content is resonating with your audience. Let’s dig a bit deeper into this important subject.
A closer look at LinkedIn content marketing metrics: what they tell you
Click-through rates (CTR): This metric measures the proportion of users who clicked on a link in your content, reflecting its ability to drive traffic. A high CTR signifies compelling content that encourages users to explore further.
Engagement metrics (Comments, shares, likes): These metrics show the level of interaction your content gets. High engagement suggests content that resonates, while low engagement necessitates reevaluation.
Website traffic: Monitoring the increase in website traffic attributed to your LinkedIn content gauges your content’s role in generating interest and leads.
Lead generation metrics (Form submissions, downloads): Brands benefit from tracking these metrics to understand how effectively content contributes to lead generation.
Conversion Rate: This metric reflects the percentage of users who take a desired action, like signing up for a webinar or downloading a resource. It unveils the content pieces that are most persuasive in driving conversions.
The insights gleaned from these metrics help you make strategic refinements and improvements to your LinkedIn marketing strategy. If a particular content type yields high engagement, consider producing more of it. Conversely, if engagement is lacking, identify potential pain points and tailor your content accordingly. Regular analysis also helps you stay attuned to trends and shifts in audience preferences.
Starting your journey to business growth on LinkedIn
As we draw the curtains on this trip through the exciting and ever-evolving world of LinkedIn content marketing, it’s time to reflect on the insights garnered and the significance of our voyage. From navigating the benefits of this platform to crafting a strategic content plan, distributing engaging content, and fostering meaningful interactions, you’re now armed with the tools you need to shape your brand’s trajectory.
The essence of LinkedIn content marketing lies not merely in its tactics but in its capacity to cultivate genuine, meaningful connections. You’ve learned that a robust LinkedIn presence isn’t just about sharing content; it’s about nurturing conversations, sharing insights and embracing the two-way street of engagement. By reaching out to decision-makers and broadening your network, you can position your brand as a thought leader and a valuable and valued asset to your community.
Remember that the journey doesn’t end with content creation; it forges forward through strategic distribution. By curating a content mix that resonates with your audience, be it informative articles, captivating videos, or interactive polls, you maximise your brand’s potential to engage and influence.
Engagement with other accounts on LinkedIn isn’t just about amassing followers; it’s about nurturing genuine connections. By participating in industry discussions, commenting on posts, and initiating conversations, you lay the groundwork for partnerships and collaborations that go way beyond virtual boundaries.
In a world where digital interactions shape the landscape of business, LinkedIn content marketing has emerged as an avenue that promises influence, connections and growth. So, invest the time to get your strategy right, nurture connections with leads and customers, and continually refine your approach based on results. As you navigate this dynamic platform, remember that each post, comment, and interaction contributes to your brand’s narrative in the digital cosmos. Good luck and let us know how you get on!
Is your brand poised to embark on a LinkedIn journey? Or perhaps you need extra support with creating the copy that will set you apart from your competitors?
We’ve got a talented pool of content freelancers just waiting to help. Get in touch today to find out more.
