With more than 100 million active monthly users, including prominent figures in every imaginable industry, LinkedIn is a social network that no organization can afford to ignore. The site has become a central element of global business, allowing companies to find new employees, promote new products and identify potential customers and business partners.
Marketing on LinkedIn is also an important part of many organizations marketing plans—by highlighting your company’s expertise and skills, you can make new connections and reach new clients. Whether you’re looking to enhance your organization’s profile or your own, these strategies will help you make the most of your LinkedIn profile and your activity on the site.
#1. Provide Solutions to Common Problems
Everyone wants to find ways to make their work easier and more effective. The single best way to attract attention on LinkedIn is to demonstrate that you (or your company) can help organizations solve their most pressing business challenges. From your profile headline to your shared updates, make it clear what you have to offer to your marketplace.
#2. Work on Your Headlines
Eye-catching headlines have always been a key to marketing success, and they’re especially important in the world of social media. Most LinkedIn users have dozens or even hundreds of connections and followed companies who show up in their feed, and no one has the time to read every update in detail. The increased prevalence of mobile devices has shortened attention spans even further, while also shrinking the amount of space you have in which to grab someone’s interest. Posts with descriptive, engaging headlines are much more likely to be read, so pay extra attention in this area when you’re preparing to publish a new update on behalf of your company.
#3. Take Advantage of the Longer Format
One of the more notable recent developments on LinkedIn for business is the availability of a long-form publishing option, which allows LinkedIn members to create in-depth articles, as opposed to typical short-form posts. Long-format articles cannot be posted on company pages directly (at least for now), but they can be posted by company leaders or other organizational representatives, and then cross-promoted on corporate profiles. This is a great way to share detailed insights and ideas without taking users away from LinkedIn to external sites.
#4. Include Visual Content
As with any other social media site, people are attracted to visually appealing content. Whenever possible, include large, colorful images with your posts or long-form articles. Linking to relevant external content such as informational slideshows is another way to attract attention and communicate about your interests and industry expertise. The personal touch is always best, so try to avoid stock images and use original photos whenever you can.
#5. Move to Video
Once you’ve upgraded the images and other visual elements of your profile and posts, the next logical step is to start incorporating video content. While video may be more expensive and time-consuming to produce, it has a power to engage viewers in ways that text and images simply can’t match. Remember to keep your video content short and sweet—three minutes or less is a good rule of thumb.
