Looking to generate LinkedIn content that aligns with your objectives? Begin by implementing this 8-step approach.
What constitutes a successful LinkedIn content strategy? Well, it varies depending on the nature of your business. Regardless of your identity or your offerings, it should commence with a solid grasp of your objectives.
This necessitates a clear comprehension of your goals, encompassing the specific metrics or benchmarks that signify achievement in your context.
If your aim is to boost leads by a certain percentage, then you recognize the necessity to convey the value of your products or services. Alternatively, if expanding your follower base is your primary objective, it might be wise to avoid excessive sales pitches. Sharing educational content could pave the way to your desired outcome.
The other pivotal aspect of formulating a LinkedIn marketing strategy is your target audience. You can’t make effective content if you don’t know who it’s for.
Now, let's delve into the sequential stages involved in shaping the ideal LinkedIn content marketing strategy.
Even if you're a newcomer to LinkedIn, this initial step is crucial. For those just starting out on LinkedIn, allocate some time to determine whether other LinkedIn accounts have mentioned you.
In case you do discover conversations about your brand, pay heed to the nature of these discussions, be they positive or negative. Perhaps individuals are sharing links to educational content you authored or endorsing your services to their connections. Embracing the type of content that your audience spontaneously shares can enhance your content planning.
Now, if you're an individual with an established LinkedIn presence, you can amplify those mentions by leveraging data from your existing content strategy.
Evaluate the past performance of your content using LinkedIn's content analytics. The built-in analytics on LinkedIn provide insights into platform engagement. Take note of which subjects garnered the most interaction, which days of the week were most successful, and the preferred post formats—such as articles, PDFs, or videos—that yielded the highest performance.
To assess the impact of your LinkedIn content on website traffic and overarching business objectives, utilize an external analytics platform like Google Analytics. This approach allows you to connect your social endeavors with tangible business targets, transcending platform-specific metrics like shares, comments, and reactions.
After gaining a comprehensive understanding of your own LinkedIn presence, it's time to proceed to the next phase: analyzing the LinkedIn content marketing strategies of your competitors.
Did you know? LinkedIn features a nifty tool within its analytics arsenal that lets you compile a roster of competitors and monitor their follower growth, content effectiveness, and trending posts.
Assuming you possess administrative privileges for your company page, you can access the competitor tab, click the edit competitors button, and begin typing names until you reach your limit.
Conduct a parallel analysis of your competitors just as you did for your own account. Scrutinize the engagement they amass on their posts, identify the ones that outperformed the rest, and ascertain the types of content they predominantly share. Granted, you might not have access to as much competitor data as you do for your own page, yet you can glean valuable insights simply by perusing through their profiles.
Step 3: Select Content Formats
Drawing from your analysis, you should now have a solid grasp of the types of posts that harmonize with your LinkedIn content strategy. It's advisable to formulate a comprehensive plan outlining the content you intend to share on the platform. Creating a content calendar to map out your sharing schedule can be incredibly effective, and I'll delve into that shortly.
While sharing links to your content holds its place in your strategy, it's essential to recognize that native LinkedIn content garners substantial engagement on the platform. Native content pertains to formats tailored specifically for LinkedIn and uploaded directly onto the platform.
For instance, video stands out as a prime example of native content on LinkedIn. Studies reveal that videos yield engagement rates five times higher than other formats. Notably, one study concluded that video content is particularly effective in boosting engagement for accounts with up to 10,000 followers.
Similarly, research suggests that native documents, which encompass PDFs uploaded to LinkedIn, receive three times more clicks compared to images, links, and videos. LinkedIn PDFs are presented as carousels that users can navigate through.
Images also play a crucial role. LinkedIn's data indicates that posts featuring images garner double the number of comments.
Now, let's not overlook LinkedIn newsletters—a format reminiscent of email newsletters but residing within LinkedIn. Individuals can subscribe for routine updates from your company, whether these updates are weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly in frequency.
The content you include in a newsletter is at your discretion—whether you opt to share the latest industry developments or offer tips to help your audience thrive.
If you're not prepared for a full-fledged newsletter, contemplate producing helpful stand-alone articles and distributing them among your audience.
However, as I'll reiterate, prioritize the formats that yield the most favorable outcomes. Don't hesitate to experiment with new content types. This experimentation is how you glean insights into what works optimally for your audience.
Having a structured document that delineates your planned content sharing for each month, week, or whatever interval you choose for new posts is highly beneficial. A content calendar aids in organizing your posts, determining their frequency, specifying the days and times for sharing, and outlining the objectives for each day or week.
Certain social media scheduling tools come equipped with an integrated calendar feature, such as the one offered by Buffer. However, you might also discover that using a spreadsheet offers a simple and efficient means of managing your content. The choice ultimately rests with you.
I won't attempt to dictate the optimal posting frequency or ideal days for you. These factors are contingent upon the insights you extract when analyzing the data from your LinkedIn marketing strategy. Your content calendar should be a flexible framework that adapts based on the outcomes you observe over time.
Whether you're creating articles, designing PDFs, or writing compelling copy, it's important to make your content visually appealing and distinctive.
Having knowledge about what your competitors are posting gives you an advantage in finding unique ways to stand out. Here are some tips to engage your audience effectively:
- Capture their attention with a bold design or an attention-grabbing introduction, without resorting to clickbait tactics.
- Spark their curiosity by posing intriguing questions or presenting interesting statistics.
- Address a common issue or challenge that your audience often encounters.
- Explain how the topic you're discussing directly impacts them and their interests.
Once you have their attention, ensure that the content of your post is concise, clear, and easy to skim. This way, your audience can quickly grasp the main points. Otherwise, they may simply scroll past your post.
By implementing these strategies, you can create engaging posts that captivate your audience and encourage them to interact with your content.
You have two main options for managing your content posting schedule: manual posting or utilizing a scheduling tool.
Manual Posting: You can manually publish your content on LinkedIn. However, this approach can be time-consuming and might divert your focus away from analyzing your analytics and interacting with your audience.
Scheduling Tools: Alternatively, you can employ a content scheduling tool that automates the process for you. These tools enable you to pre-schedule your posts, allowing you to maintain a consistent online presence without the need for constant manual intervention.
Additionally, LinkedIn offers its own built-in scheduling feature, simplifying the process of planning and publishing content on the platform.
By using a scheduling tool, you can optimize your time and streamline your content management, freeing you up to concentrate on refining your strategy based on analytics and engaging with your audience effectively.
Engagement is a crucial factor that influences the visibility of your content within the LinkedIn algorithm. To ensure your content reaches a broader audience, it's essential not to simply post and then neglect your content.
Regularly revisit your posts—perhaps on a daily basis or a few times per week—to engage with your audience. Respond to comments, address questions, and acknowledge feedback. Remember that feedback, both positive and negative, can provide valuable insights for refining your approach.
While some negative feedback might be spam, genuine complaints should be taken seriously. Offer advice or solutions to address concerns. In certain cases, it might be prudent to provide your company's contact details so that the discussion can be continued outside of LinkedIn.
Don't let the prospect of negative feedback discourage you from posting. Often, you'll receive more positive responses from your audience than negative ones. However, it's crucial to be prepared for potential criticism. Regardless of the tone of feedback, active engagement is a pivotal component of your LinkedIn content strategy.
This step brings us back to where we began. Just as your strategy initiated with analysis, it should conclude with one as well. Employ LinkedIn's native analytics along with any external tools at your disposal to assess whether you've achieved the benchmarks you set when devising your initial plans.
This evaluation should take place before you embark on your next content cycle. By doing so, you can discern which strategies to emphasize and which to avoid.
If a particular approach proves ineffective, repeatedly adhering to it will not yield satisfactory outcomes. Allow your analytics to direct your decisions concerning your LinkedIn content. Adapt and refine your strategy based on the insights garnered from your content performance analysis.
This cyclical process of analysis, planning, execution, and refinement serves as the foundation for a robust and evolving LinkedIn content strategy.
Don't hesitate to leverage paid advertising on LinkedIn. Paid ads can be highly effective in generating leads, revenue, and brand awareness according to your goals.
LinkedIn offers the opportunity to target a precise audience, whether through promoting your existing content or crafting new ad-specific content. LinkedIn ads can significantly enhance your marketing endeavors.
Data provided by LinkedIn demonstrates that companies have observed a surge of over 30% in their audience's purchase intent following exposure to ads.
Incorporating LinkedIn ads into your strategy can provide an additional avenue to augment your outreach and achieve your desired outcomes.
Eager to continue your journey through the realm of LinkedIn marketing and discover more avenues to amplify your online business? As a digital marketing agency, VOILA team stands prepared to be your guiding companion on this exciting voyage!
