Having a solid content strategy for LinkedIn is crucial for building your brand and attracting new customers on the platform. With over 750 million users, LinkedIn is the largest professional social network and an extremely valuable channel for B2B companies. But simply posting random content won’t cut it. You need a strategic approach to create content that engages your target audience and helps you meet your business goals.
Why You Need a LinkedIn Content Strategy
Here are some of the key reasons every business needs a tailored LinkedIn content strategy:
- Attract your ideal customers – A strong content strategy helps you create content optimized for your target audience interests and pain points. This attracts potential customers to your brand.
- Build relationships and trust – Consistent, valuable content positions you as an expert in your niche. This helps build credibility and trust with your audience.
- Increase brand awareness – Posting regularly gives your brand more visibility on LinkedIn. Followers will start associating your brand with thought leadership.
- Drive traffic to your website – Compelling content will encourage LinkedIn users to click through to your website or landing pages.
- Support sales – An effective strategy nurtures LinkedIn connections through the sales funnel, from awareness to consideration to decision.
In short, a solid content strategy is key for getting the most value out of LinkedIn for your business.
LinkedIn Algorithm and Content Best Practices
To create an effective LinkedIn strategy, you need to understand how the LinkedIn algorithm works and key content best practices. Here are some tips:
Understand the LinkedIn algorithm
- LinkedIn’s algorithm is designed to surface the most engaging and relevant content for each member.
- It considers factors like post quality, relevance to audience interests, past user engagement, account authority, and more.
- Higher quality, relevant content sees increased reach, reactions, comments, and shares.
Optimize content for the LinkedIn audience
- Focus on creating content that provides value for your LinkedIn audience based on their buyer journeys.
- Use keywords your audience searches for and include terms they use in your industry.
- Frame your content around topics your audience cares about and problems they want to solve.
Encourage engagement
- Ask questions, run polls, include images, use an eye-catching headline.
- Write longer posts that inspire discussion and debate.
- Respond to comments and queries on your posts to build connections.
Post consistently
- Post high-quality content at regular intervals to stay top of mind.
- Analyze what post types, topics, and formats resonate best and do more of that.
- Avoid posting too infrequently or erratically.
How to Create a LinkedIn Content Strategy
Now let’s walk through the key steps for creating a robust LinkedIn content strategy for your brand:
1. Identify your goals
Start by defining your goals for LinkedIn marketing. What are you hoping to ultimately achieve through your content efforts? Typical goals include:
- Generate leads
- Drive website traffic
- Increase brand awareness
- Engage current customers
- Position company as an industry thought leader
Outline 2-3 primary goals that your content strategy will focus on achieving.
2. Define your audience
Take time to research and analyze your target audience on LinkedIn. Ask questions like:
- Who are they?
- What are their demographics?
- What roles do they have?
- What companies do they work for?
- What challenges and pain points do they face?
- What topics and issues interest them?
- What motivates their purchase decisions?
Create a detailed buyer persona that captures your ideal customers on LinkedIn. This will inform the type of content you need to create.
3. Audit existing content performance
Before creating new content, audit the performance of your existing LinkedIn content. Ask:
- What posts and formats get high engagement?
- What content attracts the most profile views, clicks, and shares?
- What topics and themes perform better than others?
- When do your followers tend to be most active on LinkedIn?
Use LinkedIn analytics and reader feedback to analyze what’s working. Then double down on those content areas in your strategy.
4. Map out content themes and topics
Brainstorm a list of content topics and themes that would appeal to your target audience interests and help achieve your goals. Consider:
- Your audience’s challenges and pain points
- Questions your buyers are asking
- Your differentiators and competitive advantages
- Industry trends and developments
- Useful tips, how-tos, and best practices
- Thought leadership topics to elevate your brand
Organize your topics into monthly or quarterly themes like industry reports, trend analyses, common use cases, etc.
5. Choose content formats
Consider what types of content formats will work best for your goals and audience. Popular LinkedIn content formats include:
- Long-form posts
- List posts
- Short posts with links to landing pages
- Infographics
- Videos
- Live video
- Polls and quizzes
- Case studies
- Ebooks and guides
Test different formats and use analytics to double down on what resonates. Aim for a healthy mix of formats.
6. Create an editorial calendar
Build out an editorial calendar that maps out what content you will create and when. Plot out:
- The topic for each post
- Target keywords
- Type of content/format
- General angle and outline
- Date for publishing
- Responsible team members
An editorial calendar keeps your content pipeline organized and supports consistency.
7. Promote and amplify content
Just posting content is not enough. You need a promotion plan to maximize reach. Tactics include:
- Sharing new posts on your other social media channels
- Running LinkedIn Sponsored Content ads
- Asking colleagues and partners to share the content
- Promoting on your email newsletter and website
- Repurposing content into different formats
Amplification gets your well-crafted content in front of more of your target audience.
8. Analyze and refine
Continuously analyze your content performance and refine your strategy based on key insights like:
- Top performing content based on reactions, clicks, shares, comments
- Poor performing pieces to eliminate
- Content gaps to fill
- Opportunities for new formats, angles, or partnerships
Regularly review analytics reports and make changes to maximize impact.
LinkedIn Content Ideas
Here are some specific LinkedIn content ideas and best practices to get your creative juices flowing:
Industry Reports and Analysis
Share findings from original research, surveys, or interviews on trends impacting your industry. Offer unique insights and data.
Listicles and How Tos
These posts are usually easy to skim and highly shareable. Create lists like “10 Small Business Budgeting Tips” or “A Guide to Choosing HR Software.”
Customer Spotlights
Showcase successful customer stories. Outline their challenge, solution, and results. Ask to feature their employees in videos.
Expert Q&As and Interviews
Interview internal experts or industry influencers. Share their advice and insights as quotes or an article.
Behind the Scenes
Give a peek into your company culture by showcasing office spaces, employee events, or company values.
Relevant News Commentary
When there’s major news relevant to your audience, share your brand’s perspective on things.
Holiday or Event Tie-Ins
Connect your messaging to holidays, cultural events, or major industry events.
Polls and Quizzes
Ask fun questions to get audience engagement. For example, a marketing agency can ask: “Which Social Platform Should Businesses Prioritize in 2023?”
Content Type | Best Practices |
---|---|
Industry Reports |
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Listicles |
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Customer Stories |
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Expert Interviews |
|
Behind the Scenes |
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News Commentary |
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Holiday or Event Tie-ins |
|
Polls and Quizzes |
|
Conclusion
Developing a tailored LinkedIn content strategy takes effort up front but is essential for cutting through the noise on the platform. Define your audience, goals, themes, formats and promotion tactics. Analyze performance and continuously optimize. With a strategic approach, you can build meaningful engagement and achieve your LinkedIn marketing objectives.