Our New Series Kicks Off with LinkedIn Advice
Welcome to the first installment of Kinetic’s social-media marketing series where we will cover marketing tactics and how they vary between social platforms. This series will run monthly and be distributed through our email newsletter, so if you haven’t subscribed, be sure to do so here. We will also be updating these articles as strategies evolve throughout the year, so be sure to check back!
Let’s get started with LinkedIn. We are choosing to start with LinkedIn because we feel that this platform is extremely undervalued at the moment and therefore you can make your marketing budget stretch even further!
There are a few items that will be recurring throughout this series, so let’s get them out of the way now.
Goals: Always have a clear and well-defined goal for each of your campaigns. We like to use the SMART framework to get started
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Timely
Pages: Your personal and professional pages should be fully optimized before you implement your strategies.
These are two items that are going to be imperative to your social media marketing success. Please ensure that these are complete and communicated within your department before you get started.
LinkedIn 2020
Connect
At the end of the day, LinkedIn is a social platform, connections are important and are what drive successful content. Don’t just focus on people you know. This is the main problem we see on LinkedIn today.
Connect with people you want to know and utilize your mutual connections to help facilitate these connections. If you want to connect with someone you don’t know, make it a no-lose situation. Offer them insights or simply introduce yourself and let them know why you are interested in connecting.
Connections can go a long way when you start to create and share content. These individuals are going to be the driving force for your LinkedIn marketing strategy.
Join Relevant Groups
LinkedIn groups are a great place to discuss industry topics and trends. Most likely, there are a number of groups that focus on your industry, no matter how niche it may be.
Just joining a group isn’t going to cut it. You need to be active, asking questions, answering questions or just commenting on different posts. The more you interact, the more you will see in return. Be sure to focus on adding value to the discussion. Don’t be the person that tries to push buttons. This is not the place.
Advertising
If you haven’t started advertising on LinkedIn, start… now.
As the only professional social platform currently available, we know that LinkedIn users are here to further their career, connect professionally, stay up to date on trending topics or promote themselves.
LinkedIn allows you to target by professional profile, which provides you with the opportunity to narrow your audience to your target personas and provide relevant and actionable content. Know your target audience pain points and address them here. This interaction will place you and your organization as the thought leader.
There is the potential that advertising on LinkedIn can be more costly than other platforms, but this is often paired with a much higher ROI, due to the targeting and algorithms that are used. Remember, these are professionals. Although they may love a hilarious cat video (like we all do), that is not the content they are looking for on LinkedIn.
Content
This is your opportunity to showcase your expertise. Don’t be humble here. Write to what you know and show off a little! Not only will this position you within the platform, it will also drive traffic to your website and other articles you have written. After all, that is the goal, right? As mentioned previously, most people on LinkedIn are there for a reason and if you can tailor your content to that reasoning, you are golden. Below are my top tips for LinkedIn content
- Tailor your content to the LinkedIn demographic.
- Post frequently and consistently.
- Stand out from others in your industry (visually, topically, etc.).
- Win over your audience with the headline.
- Don’t overwrite… or under write. Explain what is needed without the fluff.
- Link to other relevant content.
- Monitor what is working and what isn’t. Don’t be afraid to pivot when needed.
Be. The. Expert.
You are the expert, aren’t you? If you aren’t, why should people listen to you? Own your success and your expertise and let the LinkedIn world know. Let’s not get it twisted, this is not a power-trip party. This is you providing answers and expertise to those that need it. Show your value to your audience by finding solutions to their pain points.
At the end of the day, users want actionable items that they can take to their organization and provide value. Give them this. Help them move forward professionally without the expectation of anything in return. This is a game of numbers – the more people you can reach the more likely you are to see a return.
Next round, we will be focusing on Facebook and how you can leverage the platform in both a B2B and B2C organization. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me at pierce@kineticmc.com.
