LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 850 million members worldwide. With so many professionals on the platform, creating content that engages your target audience is key to standing out. But what type of content actually works best on LinkedIn?
The Importance of Quality Content
High-quality, valuable content is essential for success on LinkedIn. With so many posts competing for attention, members quickly scroll past content that appears promotional or self-serving. Instead, your content should aim to provide real value to your audience by educating, informing, entertaining or inspiring them.
Crafting quality content requires understanding your audience and what resonates with them. Take time to research your target audience’s pain points, interests and goals. Then create informed content that speaks directly to them and helps solve their problems.
It’s also important to focus less on directly promoting yourself or your company and more on providing the type of content your audience wants to see. This helps build relationships with potential customers and establishes you as an industry thought leader.
Types of Content That Perform Well
Certain types of content have been proven to spark engagement on LinkedIn. Here are some of the top-performing content formats:
Informational Articles
In-depth articles and long-form posts tend to do well, provided they offer valuable insights and information. Aim for at least 2000+ words and educate your audience on relevant industry topics.
List Posts
List-based posts are highly scannable and easy to digest. Lists like “10 Tips for…” and “5 Ways to…” tend to attract readers.
Infographics
Visual content gets more attention on LinkedIn. Creative infographics that present data, ideas and insights in a visual way can boost engagement.
Case Studies
Case studies that demonstrate how you solved a problem for a client make compelling content. They build trust by showing your expertise in action.
Industry News
Share and comment on the latest news related to your industry. This shows you have your finger on the pulse of important developments.
Behind-the-Scenes
Give your audience a peek behind the curtain of your company by sharing photos, videos and stories. This humanizes your brand.
Q&A
Host a Question and Answer session where you field questions from your audience and provide thorough answers.
Tools to Identify Popular Content
Analyzing your past posts can reveal what content resonates most with your audience. Here are some tools that provide insights:
Tool | Key Features |
---|---|
LinkedIn Analytics | Shows impressions, engagement and demographic data for your Company and Showcase Pages. |
Social Sprout | Tracks real-time LinkedIn analytics and metrics for your posts. |
Buzzsumo | Analyzes content performance and trends by topic or competitor. |
Loomly | Generates reports on your posts and compares their engagement. |
Reviewing performance data will reveal your top-performing content types, formats and topics. You can use these insights to create more of the content that resonates best with your LinkedIn audience.
Optimizing Content for LinkedIn
Once you identify successful content formats, focus on optimization. Here are some best practices for creating engaging LinkedIn content:
Choose Compelling Headlines
Your headline is the first thing viewers see. Make it irresistible clickbait by highlighting value and using emotional triggers.
Lead with a Strong Opening
Hook readers right away in your opening paragraph. State the core message or preview key information upfront.
Break up Long Blocks of Text
Large chunks of text are difficult to digest. Add visuals and break up sections with subheaders and short paragraphs.
Ask Thoughtful Questions
Pose interesting questions to encourage comments and discussion.
Include Multimedia
Photos, infographics, videos and presentations increase views and sharing potential.
Use @Mentions
Tagging relevant accounts can extend your reach and notify connections.
Leverage Hashtags
Using targeted hashtags helps content surface for those searching on relevant topics.
Promoting Your Content
Creating quality content is only half the battle – you also need distribution. Here are effective ways to share your LinkedIn content for maximum visibility:
Publish During Peak Times
Post when your audience is most active – typically midweek and during regular business hours.
Share on Company Page
Publishing posts directly on your Company Page leverages your existing followers.
Promote Through Employee Profiles
Have team members share company content through their own profiles to extend reach.
Run Sponsored Content Ads
Invest in promoted posts to get content in front of more of your target audience.
Send to Email Subscribers
Share new articles and posts with email newsletter subscribers driving them back to LinkedIn.
Repurpose Content
Re-share your best performing updates regularly so they gain more visibility.
Measuring Success
To continually improve, you need to actively measure content performance using LinkedIn’s analytics tools. Track these key metrics:
Impressions
The number of times your post entered a member’s screen.
Clicks
How often people clicked your post to read the full content.
Engagement Rate
Engagements (reactions, comments, shares) divided by impressions.
Follower Growth
How many new followers you gained from the post.
Leads/Sales
Any leads or customers generated by the content.
Analyze what content delivers the strongest results across these metrics. Then use those learnings to inform your future content strategy.
Conclusion
Creating relevant, valuable content tailored to your LinkedIn audience is key to success. Focus on informative long-form posts, listicles, infographics, case studies and industry news. Optimize content for the platform and promote through both paid and organic methods. Finally, continually analyze performance to make data-driven improvements. Following these best practices will help you develop an effective approach to LinkedIn content that boosts engagement and delivers results.