Are you utilizing LinkedIn in the best way possible for your business?
The answer is for sure not. No one is extracting as much out of LinkedIn as they should. The platform is always changing, new features are added, that bring new ways to engage with your audience.
LinkedIn has so much potential. Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn lends itself to getting down to business. Your followers are less likely to get distracted by a funny cat video instead of seeing your valuable content. But that also means that there are specific practices you need to follow to gain attention on LinkedIn. The benefits of LinkedIn content go beyond gaining traffic. You are more likely to build a community of professionals, mentors, and customers.
So how do you do that? By starting with the best practices. In this post, we break down all the various tips you should use to grow your presence on LinkedIn.
Let’s dive in.
The Power of LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the largest B2B social media platform. It has at least 808.4 million members around the world as of January 2022 and those numbers are increasing as more and more corporate professionals and freelancers turn to it to market their businesses.
That brings us to the question, what are LinkedIn best practices, and how do you use LinkedIn content for marketing?
Know Your Audience
First, you have to know your audience. That’s “Marketing 101” for any platform. Social media content needs to be strategic when it is used for business. Being strategic means creating content that your specific target audience will connect with. You want them to feel that you get them.
That central question to ask, according to Seth Godin, is: “who is enrolled in where I would like to go, needs what I do, and will pay money to have this problem solved?”
Putting yourself in your potential customer’s place can make all the difference. What content and information do they need and in what format?
An example of an account that shows knowledge of the audience well is Jon Youshaei’s. Jon teaches storytelling and content marketing. He shares a lot of inspirational quotes and graphics for his audience of creatives but also shares examples of ads that have captured a lot of attention. If he gets the share from another member, he also gives credit. This builds his community and increases his audience.
Test Different Content Types
Figuring out the LinkedIn content ideas that will land best with your audience takes some trial and error. LinkedIn is a more professional platform than other social platforms out there but you can still show your human side. Try testing a variety of LinkedIn content ideas.
Try using quote graphics, behind-the-scenes content, long-form content with LinkedIn publishing, slide graphics, interviews, and videos. Mixing up the content types can help keep your audience engaged and will also help you evaluate over time what resonates best.
Think about unique ways to share your information.
In this post, Este Pretorius ran an informal poll to share how a haircut can impact your reputation online.
More Best Practices:
- Focus on your areas of knowledge and expertise.
- Ask questions and let people see you.
- Write like you are having a conversation.
- Focus on clarity over being clever.
- Break up longer posts to make them easy to read.
Pay attention to hashtags and posting times
Hashtags are an important part of LinkedIn but you do not want to use them like you would on Instagram. Sharing more than nine hashtags per post on LinkedIn will get your post penalized. Three to five hashtags are the sweet spot. And you want to find hashtags that have a lot of followers and not a lot of competition to help you reach more people. Make sure the hashtags are in the body of your post and not in a comment below.
Many business professionals are looking at LinkedIn during morning hours on weekdays so those hours can be a good time to post. But it varies. You could find better success by posting in the evenings or on weekends. Many C-level executives are active on LinkedIn while away from the office over the weekend. This is something to test and pay attention to. It is a good idea to mix up your times but if you see a pattern when your content is more visible take advantage of it.
Write a Great Summary
Your LinkedIn profile summary is a great place to clearly share what you are passionate about and what kinds of content you will be sharing. It is a way to connect with people and help your content get more reach.
The LinkedIn Talent Blog has a great list of LinkedIn Summary examples whether you want your summary in paragraph form or a bulleted list. And don’t forget about making great use of your header space like Damilare.
Work Towards Engagement
Like other social platforms, LinkedIn content marketing works through an algorithm. The more engagement you get the more people will see your posts. So do not forget to tag and support others, respond to comments, and start conversations.
Grow your first-degree network, which is your personal connection. Your first-degree network is the people that will see your posts first. The more connections you have and the more they engage with your content the more potential reach you could have.
LinkedIn also cares about how quickly people engage with your content when you post so work to capture attention right away whether you are doing a text-based or video post. Make sure you are also not breaking any LinkedIn rules by using offensive language.
Remember LinkedIn wants to be a content platform and does not want users to leave so do not put links in your post. If you need to share a link you can put it in the first comment.
LinkedIn Next Steps
Try out these best practices for your LinkedIn content marketing plan to grow your network, increase engagement, and build your professional community. Be sure to follow ClearVoice on LinkedIn to stay on top of your content marketing game. And if you need help creating or recalibrating your social media marketing, talk to one of our specialists today to see how we can help.
