1. Know the role it plays in your marketing strategy.
As with any marketing activity, you should have a goal in mind. Develop a marketing strategy for your business so you have a plan for how each of your platforms contribute to your over-arching objectives.Is your business B2B or B2C? LinkedIn will be a useful tool in either case, but how you approach it might be different. If you are B2B you will be looking to create awareness and consideration of your company as well as build a network of support in your business activities. For B2C businesses it will be more about the latter – having a network of support with any initiatives is invaluable to any business.The other benefit is that it can be a handy leadership tool; you can broadcast your company ethos, culture and benefits to your staff and future potential employees.
2. Post regularly.
LinkedIn will perform better for you the more regularly you turn up, and if your goals are to create awareness, legitimacy, consideration and a sound network you will need to appear in feeds regularly. It’s generally recognised that around 1 post a week is the minimum you should plan for. However, make sure you’ve spent the time making sure your post is helpful, valuable or engaging and also check that it is error-free – you are better to post less often and make your posts are of a decent enough quality.
3. Be present after posting so you can engage with anyone who comments on your posts.
Don’t just post and bolt! Be around to check in and engage with any reactions. LinkedIn algorithms will recognise the engagement and your post will get more visibility as a result – each time an extra comment gets added, your post gets boosted up the pages. Invite comments in your original content for this same reason.
4. Create visual appeal: use images, videos and emojis (but stay on Brand!)
Create engagement by using formats such as images that summarise or provide a theme to your message, videos (preferably of you, you are the face of your Business) and emojis. Be mindful of your brand image and tone of voice though.
5. Engage with other people’s content (but be aware your actions will be visible to others!)
You will also appear in other people’s feeds when you like or comment on other content. Whilst this doesn’t create the same level of engagement that your LinkedIn audience will get from your own generated content, it does serve as a reminder that you are there and can further deepen awareness and association with you and your business. This also needs to be kept front of mind when you are tempted to engage with any content that could be quite polarising; any political views you engage with, any arguments you get yourself into, any extreme views you support can all be visible so be careful that your actions are all in line with what you want to present about your business!
6. Create a company page.
There are a few reasons why this is a good idea – firstly your LinkedIn associates will be able to easily find your website from clicking on your profile, so it’s a good website traffic driver. Also, if you utilise your keywords on the company page it has a positive effect on Google search rankings. You will generally get more exposure on posts from your personal LinkedIn profile, so save your great content for there, but any blog posts you do on your website are worth sharing on your company page so that visitors can see what expertise you offer. Some people choose to post on their company page and then share that content on their personal page. Either way, build a content plan for these pages along with your other social platforms of choice and be aware of who you are reaching and what role that page plays in your wider marketing strategy.
7. Use hashtags.
As with all social media platforms, your content will be more discoverable if you use hashtags. Do some research so you are aware of which hashtag topics align with what you offer and what people are talking about on LinkedIn. Unlike some of the other social media sites though, we would recommend that you don’t use more than 3, as this tends to create a spammy vibe on this platform. LinkedIn recommends:
- Using no more than 3 hashtags
- Don't use spaces, emojis or special symbols
- Use both, niche and broad hashtags
On the third point, the idea is that by using a combination you will be visible to a large audience for a small amount of time and for a longer time for a smaller, more specific audience. You can find out how many followers a hashtag phrase has by entering it (along with the #) in the search field:
8. Link to your own content.
Although sharing useful insights from your industry will be useful to your LinkedIn connections, the best use of your time is always going to be to drive to your own website where the reader will hopefully have a deeper level of engagement with your message, which aids awareness and consideration of your business. In the ideal world, they will move on from your blog to other areas of your website and maybe, just maybe, even convert into an enquiry or sale. Woo hoo!
9. Join groups.
Another great feature of LinkedIn is the Groups that offer networking, support, information and guidance for like-minded people on a variety of topics. Have a look at what topics you think you could contribute to or benefit from; it’s a great way of widening your network by making more connections, finding great shareable content, or even sharing your own if it adds something extra to the discussion. You can even set up and facilitate your own if you find a niche topic for which there is no group. This sets you up as an expert in the area in question and can be a great way to generate interest in your business and advocates for your brand.
10. Use insights.
And yes, you’ve guessed it! We end with measure and learn… you’re busy. There’s no point in you dedicating any of your time and energy to anything that isn’t getting you business results. Make sure you know your post reach, your follower numbers, your engagement trends over time – and most importantly whether any of the activity is providing you with leads for your business. If not, you should look to modify your approach and question whether LinkedIn is the right platform for your target audience. It has so much to offer other than leads, but you may want to limit your time investment.For most who invest in it though, assuming you are hitting the right customer profile, LinkedIn will most often prove to be a valuable sales tool. Conducting frequent reviews of the success of your activity will allow you to refine your approach and maximise the results from this important platform.
