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LinkedIn can be the perfect platform to launch an effective B2B content marketing campaign, increase awareness of your brand, and appeal to potential hires. However, many poorly thought-out campaigns that use dated or sometimes incorrect strategies can fail to achieve the intended results, wasting valuable time, money, and resources.
In this guide, we will take a glance at LinkedIn as a marketing tool and provide tips on how to create a winning LinkedIn content strategy, highlighting the things that you should avoid.
LinkedIn - A Brief Overview
LinkedIn is a social media platform aimed at professionals who wish to develop their network, usually with the aim of advancing their career opportunities. The platform is also an effective tool for recruiters looking to find the best candidates, while LinkedIn can also be a great place for businesses to promote their bran
As of 2022, LinkedIn has around 810 million users from over 200 countries, highlighting the potential of the platform as an effective content marketing tool.
LinkedIn for Marketing Purposes
LinkedIn is, of course, built for professionals, which is why it is the best online platform for launching content marketing campaigns that are relevant to working professionals and businesses. The sheer number of users on the platform means that the reach of campaigns can be significant, with advanced targeting allowing marketers to display content to their exact demographic.
LinkedIn is unrivaled in terms of targeting senior decision-makers within organizations across the world. The platform places high importance on trustworthy information, ensuring the content that is delivered is viewed with authority by its users.
How does it compare to similar platforms?
According to a recent study by Hootsuite, 77% of content marketers believe that LinkedIn produces the best organic results when compared to other social media platforms such as Facebook. Facebook came 2nd with a score of 37%, Instagram was in 3rd with 27%, and YouTube sat in 4th with 21%.
The study also showed that 75% of B2B content marketers use LinkedIn ads, and 79% of content marketers of all types confirmed that ads on the professional network produced the best results compared to its rivals.
It is clear to see that from a professional and B2B perspective, LinkedIn is the go-to marketing platform, whereas the likes of Facebook and Instagram have the edge from an entertainment angle.
What Content is Most Effective on LinkedIn?
In this section, we will focus on five of the best types of content to share on LinkedIn as part of an effective content marketing strategy.
1. Detailed How-To Guides and Lists
Although many content marketing campaigns are designed to create referrals back to a website, creating in-depth content directly on LinkedIn can also have its advantages in terms of engagement. A recent LinkedIn analysis showed that posts on LinkedIn with a word count of around 2,000 performed the best in terms of the number of views, likes, shares, and comments.
One of the best ways of delivering long-form content is through in-depth how-to guides and detailed lists that are easily digestible for the reader.
2. Posts Regarding Current Industry News
Many people who use LinkedIn do so to find out about the latest news, developments, and research within their industry, keeping track of any changes that may affect their business or career. Because of this, accurate and informative posts such as analytical reports, research, case studies, and whitepapers can gain a lot of traction on the platform.
This is a superb way to establish yourself as a trusted resource and thought leader.
3. Blog Posts
If you share excellent content on your website’s blog then it makes sense to share it on LinkedIn to increase awareness and engagement, while also increasing referrals to your website.
A blog post on LinkedIn should generally consist of:
- A short introduction to the blog post that includes personal comments about the content.
- A shortened URL (websites such as Bitly and TinyURL can do this for you.)
- A high-quality thumbnail that can grab the audience’s attention.
4. Photos
Sharing photo updates can help to demonstrate the working environment and employee culture of your business, adding a human touch to your content marketing strategy.
Photos taken at conferences and events can also show that you are active within the industry and this type of content has been proven to attract a lot of engagement.
5. Tips and Advice
Increase the authority of your posts by regularly offering quick tips and helpful advice. This advice can range from ways to be more productive and effective at work, how to manage mental health, tips on how to lead a team, or guidance on how to be successful in your specific industry.
How to Create a Winning LinkedIn Content Strategy
Now that we have had a look at what posts generate the most engagement, it’s time to focus on how to implement them into an overall strategy and keep track of their performance, so campaigns can be improved in the future.
- Know your goals - Like any form of marketing, you need to know your goals and what sort of results you expect to see at the end of the campaign. This helps to define the overall content within the strategy and allows you to judge the effectiveness of each post. You need to be realistic and your goals must be achievable, with content posted at the right times and targeted at the right people, so results can be measured in an analytical manner.
- Define your audience - Knowing your exact target audience is crucial for an effective campaign that gets the best results for your budget. LinkedIn provides a range of targeting options for ads, but in terms of posts, it is up to you to tailor the content accordingly so it is of interest to your audience.
- Make sure your LinkedIn company page is optimized- In many cases, your posts will direct the user back to your company page, therefore it is important to make sure it is looking its best and perfectly reflects your business. Use strong visuals and a suitable tone, thinking of your company page as an extension of your website.
- Plan, research, and create - Once your goals and target audience have been established and your company page is looking sharp, you can then begin to plan your content. In the previous section, we looked at 5 types of content that achieve great engagement on the platform, but there is always room for experimentation - visual content such as video and infographics are also powerful content types.
*Pro Tip - Participating in LinkedIn Groups is a great way to connect with your target audience and increase the visibility of your content. Starting and joining discussions and offering valuable insight can help you establish yourself as a trusted thought leader.
LinkedIn Content Marketing - What to Avoid
When developing your strategy, it is also helpful to know what mistakes to avoid that can ruin all the hard work you have put into a campaign.
- Most campaigns fail due to a lack of strategy, creating posts on an ad-hoc basis, rather than having a clear plan on when and what to post.
- Far too many marketers focus their posts too much on themselves or their business, rather than the overall industry, giving their content a self-centered appearance.
- Avoid being too “salesy”. Even if you are trying to promote a product or service, ensure you mix up your content to make it interesting and informative.
- Engage! Make sure you allocate enough time to reply to comments and create further discussion.
- Monitor your direct messages and know what your follow-up response will be should you generate any leads from your content.
Thank you for reading! We hope this guide has helped to give you some insights into developing a successful LinkedIn content marketing strategy and the potential of the platform as a powerful marketing tool.
