- Companies that post on LinkedIn every week double their audience engagement
- Uploading a video to LinkedIn can earn between 4 and 5 times as much engagement than text-based posts alone
- More than 18 million pieces of content have been published on LinkedIn SlideShare
How is LinkedIn different than other content marketing channels?
LinkedIn is a social network. But it’s not the same as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the rest.
Why?
Because it’s steeped in business and professionalism. People leverage LinkedIn as a platform for marketing themselves to prospective employers, reaching clients, and forging valuable connections.
LinkedIn’s users aren’t logging in to watch videos of cats singing TV-show themes. They aren’t scrolling through feeds to discover what Kim Kardashian’s wearing today or the latest Making a Murderer news.
No.
They’re looking for something more valuable.
The emphasis is more on learning and gaining insights, rather than simply killing time or expressing your every thought. And this is why LinkedIn is the ideal channel for generating B2B leads with content that’s actually worth reading or watching.
The sheer range of targeting and search tools empowers content creators to reach their core audience with amazing accuracy. You can truly hone the relevance of your content to maximize engagement.
LinkedIn is also terrific for demonstrating your brand’s thought leadership, especially if your company has already built authority in a specific area or niche. Other influencers may see it and either share it or start following you.
“I can tell you over the years that we’ve generated millions and millions of dollars on LinkedIn…”
Steve Richard
Chief Evangelist Officer
ExecVision
Post B2B content on LinkedIn regularly and consistently
A core element of effective content marketing is frequency: you have to post on a regular basis to gain visibility, authority, and trust. Aim for between two and five times per week.
But this can be difficult if you run a small business with a skeleton crew. The day-to-day work that keeps your company afloat takes up so much time, actually carving hours out of your schedule to create quality content can be daunting.
But it’s well worth doing. Putting a consistent stream of fresh content connected to your business online creates strong opportunities for inbound links and more frequent indexing.
So, regularity helps. But when should you post?
Research shows the best time to post on LinkedIn is from 3PM until 5PM on Wednesday afternoons. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are valuable too, as are Thursday afternoons.
Aim to publish your B2B content on LinkedIn during these slots. Create a content marketing schedule and stick to it, without fail. The more consistent you can keep your publishing, the more likely you are to build a real relationship with your followers.
And if you post a stream of quality long-form pieces packed with actionable insights, your readers have good reason to share them with their own contacts.
Take advantage of video to boost engagement
Videos are Facebook’s best-performing form of content, and it’s incredibly successful on LinkedIn too.
In fact, LinkedIn’s audience is 20 times more likely to share videos with others than alternative types of content. And video marketers gain more than 65 percent more qualified leads every year too, as well as 54 percent growth in awareness of their brand.
One impressive use of video content marketing on LinkedIn is MailChimp’s testimonials. Real users share their positive experiences of using MailChimp in a direct way: it’s more dynamic, engaging, and authentic than a simple text testimonial.
(Which, let’s be honest, could have been written by anyone.)
Other top examples of video marketing on LinkedIn are interviews with key figures in your business and/or industry, as well as product demonstrations and behind-the-scenes tours. Complement your videos with concise posts, adding context and encouraging viewers to take action.
Be original and informative when creating B2B content
While it’s tempting to post self-centred B2B content on LinkedIn, don’t. Ever.
That’s a surefire way to turn people off. If they want commercials, they’ll watch television or deactivate their ad blocker.
Make sure your content is original and packed with practical, valuable information. And keep it relevant. There’s no sense trying to show off with research-heavy pieces if the subject matter has little to do with your brand, your industry, or your core readership.
Not convinced? 8 in 10 readers feel authenticity is a key factor in driving them to engage with a brand after consuming its content.
Don’t forget to study the content created by other businesses, across niches related and unrelated to your own. Post comments. Interact. Demonstrate your company’s curiosity and openness.
Finally, inject personality into your B2B content on LinkedIn. Consistent branding is shown to increase revenue by more than 20 percent.
So, establish a consistent voice for your business across all content, including short pieces, long posts, and videos.
Expand your network strategically
The process of finding and securing new followers on LinkedIn is different than on other social platforms.
On Twitter and Facebook, people can stumble across your account and follow you at the touch of a button. With LinkedIn, though, businesses have to take more of a direct role in inviting users to connect.
It’s crucial to only target people likely to have an interest in your brand and industry. You should send tailored messages to kickstart relationships and secure trust early.
If the person you’re inviting has no reason to know your business, add a contextual note to explain why you want to connect. This shows you’ve invested real thought into gaining their trust and aren’t blanket-messaging users.
Join groups, too. Any groups you become involved in should be appropriate to your business and products/services. Maintain a professional demeanor at all times and aim for consistency. Users should feel they recognize your brand from the tone of voice no matter who has control of your account.
Choose groups with high interaction rates and lots of members. Avoid groups with zero discussion and a meagre user base.
The Tech Qualified podcast provides B2B technology marketers with access to real world case studies and best practices. We interview industry leaders to uncover what is working in the world of B2B technology marketing.
Embrace pictures to grab the attention of users on LinkedIn
Want to increase the number of views your LinkedIn content wins? Add a picture.
How much difference does that make? A big, big difference: posts with images can gain as many as 11 times the number of views they would attract usually.
Be careful when including images, though. Don’t just paste the same stock snaps we’ve all seen a million times (slight exaggeration) into your B2B content. And certainly don’t use pictures that could cause offense or be considered a desperate plea for attention.
Keep it tasteful. Keep it relevant. And keep it of a high quality.
Share great content published by others
Finally, don’t be afraid to share content created by other brands or thought leaders. You might not want to post the latest blogs published by direct competitors, sure, but take the time bring genuinely good work to the attention of your followers.
This demonstrates your business’s commitment to posting quality content and engaging with others, whether it’s your own work or not. Comment on the original post and let the author know you’ve shared it on LinkedIn, too. This could catch their eye and spark a beneficial interaction between you both.
But don’t just share content from other businesses or influential bloggers in place of your own. No matter how busy you are, no matter how hard good ideas are to come by, you must stick to your own content-marketing schedule.
In short: use the content of others to complement yours, not to replace it.
Using LinkedIn as a content marketing channel may take time to set up if you’ve never signed up with it before, or haven’t explored it in a long time. But the rewards are there if you invest enough time and effort.
Want to know more about building the right content marketing strategy for your business? Just get in touch with our expert team!
Written by Tristan Pelligrino
Tristan Pelligrino is the Co-Founder of Motion. He’s a serial entrepreneur who started his career as a consultant with large IT companies such as PwC, IBM and Oracle. After getting his MBA, he started and grew one of the fastest video production companies in the country – which was listed on the Inc. 5000. Tristan now enjoys leading the content marketing strategies of some of the most innovative B2B technology companies in the country. You can find him on LinkedIn and Facebook.
