From quick wins in the form of a status update to long-form articles that drive home your message, there are a few brilliant content types to choose from. But how do you choose the right type of content for your message, and develop a strategy that delivers results?
Let’s break down the steps you need to take to master LinkedIn content.
Why you need to have a content marketing strategy on LinkedIn
According to research by the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 93% of the most successful B2B marketers are part of organisations that are extremely or very committed to content marketing. On the flipside, only 35% of the least successful organisations say they are highly committed to their content marketing. This shows us that content mastery is what sets apart the best from the rest, particularly in the world of recruitment in which you are reaching out to businesses and candidates.
So how exactly does content correlate with success? Brilliant LinkedIn content can:
- Generate traffic to your website and social media platforms
Your target audience craves relevant, engaging and digestible content, which will lead them to your website if they find you to be a good source of content. Readers may even share your content with their own audience, effectively promoting your business for you. - Promote conversations with your audience
Thought provoking content generates engagement and interaction, which will allow you to start building relationships with your audience and gain the trust of candidates and clients. - Generate more job applications
When candidates feel connected to you and your content, they will be more likely to think of you during their job search, and apply to your available positions. - Create a strong online presence for your brand
You’ll be able to position yourself as an industry thought leader through the distribution of relevant content. This increases candidate applications, building the legitimacy of your brand, establishing trust and credibility, and thereby driving more interest among candidates and clients. - Getting higher response rate from candidates and clients when you reach out
If you’re tired of having your direct messages left on read, you simply can’t afford to miss out on content marketing. By establishing credibility and relevance, your messages to candidates and clients will now be warm instead of cold, increasing your response rate. - Foster social proof
Unlike the content on your own website or in your EDMs, LinkedIn content has the potential to be endorsed by industry leaders and business professionals through likes, comments and shares, which greatly legitimises your business.
Good content takes time to create, but the benefits of LinkedIn content marketing are well worth the effort. Let’s take a look at the types of content that are out there, and how you can best utilise them.
Effective content types to use on LinkedIn
The status update
Status updates allow you to stay front of mind in a consistent and low-effort manner by sharing a thought, idea or conversation starter.
LinkedIn status update tips
- Share links to valuable articles, sites or videos (including resources that you might already have on your website, e.g. a blog post)
- Share jobs you’re working on, but make sure to do so sparingly. Provide valuable resources first, and then promote the jobs you have on your desk.
- Write job ads clearly – this means including a clear title, succinct description of the role, location and salary package so that you only draw in relevant applications. Stay clear of trendy job titles like “Social Media Whiz” or “All Star Account Manager” as these superfluous words don’t provide any value to the candidate.
- Attach images or documents to make the post more eye-catching in people’s feeds. Sharing fun images of you and your team is another great idea, as this creates a sense of personability and authenticity when people come across your profile.
- Mention relevant people and brands by using the @ symbol. This creates social proof, while increasing the likelihood of your post showing up in the feeds of people who follow that brand or person
- Share industry insights relevant to your niche – For example if you work in technology it could be market news, or other interesting content you’ve seen.
- Share testimonials or reviews you have received from clients. Don’t be shy – this is an opportunity for you to showcase your service and build trust among prospective clients.
- Be generous – during uncertain times, candidates will greatly appreciate any free advice or information that your expertise may allow you to offer. Perhaps you can provide interview tips or quick resume edits to help out struggling candidates.
The LinkedIn article
LinkedIn’s own publishing platform is an excellent tool for expanding the reach of your thoughts and meeting your content marketing objectives.
By using the right tags and writing about relevant topics, LinkedIn Publisher allows you to better reach your target audience. You’ll also have the opportunity to engage in conversation with your readers when they comment on or share your article. Every time you publish an article, your connections will also be notified, helping you develop top of mind awareness among your network.
The existing blog posts on your website can also be shared on LinkedIn, but not through the publishing platform. Insert the blog link into a normal LinkedIn post instead of publishing directly into LinkedIn Publisher, as LinkedIn has been known to cannibalise website content if it is shared incorrectly.
LinkedIn publishing tips
- Define your intent
What are you hoping to achieve by publishing on LinkedIn? Who is your target audience, and what pain points can you address through your content?
When targeting candidates, for example, you’ll want to hone in on desires like improving their interviewing skills, finetuning their CVs, approaching their dream employer and asking for a raise. Thinking about these goals will help you create relevant content.
- Start generating content ideas
Brainstorm content ideas based on what your intended audience needs. Think about what type of content a senior human resources manager in Melbourne might be interested in reading, and then tailor your content appropriately.
- Start writing your piece
Hone in on one of the ideas you’ve generated, and start writing your piece. Follow this guide by LinkedIn to ensure you write in a manner that the LinkedIn algorithm will love. Long-form articles between 1900-2000 words have been shown to perform best in terms of post views, likes, comments and shares, while posts with a featured image will also garner more attention. - Structure your article correctly
The title and structure of your long-form article will further improve its performance. Readers are drawn to how-to style articles and quantitative lists (such as the title of this article!), as it is clear that there is value to be gained from reading the article.
Long-form articles also need to be structured in the right way to retain the reader’s attention. Headings, subheadings and dot points all help to make the article more readable and digestible.
The LinkedIn video
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all digital marketing content needs to be written. Visual content like videos can be a powerful marketing tool, generating engagement and exhibiting your personability.
You can reach out to your audience in a variety of ways, from an informal Q&A to a polished instructional video.
One major advantage of video content is that the LinkedIn algorithm favours diverse content, meaning that your video might be promoted above the masses of text content that exists on people’s feeds. Videos are also more visually engaging, meaning that people are more likely to stop scrolling and actually consume your content when they see it on their feed.
LinkedIn video tips
- Generate ideas
Just like long-form content, it’s well worth brainstorming a handful of video ideas ahead of time. These ideas should be appealing to your audience, offer them valuable information, and be fairly simple for your team to create. Some ideas include a video that role plays an interview or provides interview tips, details on a job you are working on, or a promotion of a candidate that you are working with. - Be prepared
For a more polished video, ensure you have a good recording environment, a high quality camera and professional lighting equipment. If you’re planning to go live or film a more casual video, recording yourself on your phone will do just fine.
Executing your LinkedIn content marketing strategy
Of course, it’s not enough to have isolated pieces of content floating around in cyberspace. It all needs to be tied together as part of an overarching strategy. Here are the best practices to follow for mastering your content on LinkedIn:
- Know your audience
In order to reach the hearts and minds of your desired audience, you’ll first have to get to know your audience. Who do you want your content to reach? What is this person like, professionally and personally? Think about their income bracket, career history, preferred methods of communication, interests, hobbies, education level and any other traits that might allow you to better connect with them. You’ll also want to ask yourself questions like:
– What topics and terms do they search for?
– Which influencers are they tuned into?
– What types of content do they tend to consume, and at what stage of the customer journey
- Identify your objectives
Not having goals or objectives makes it impossible to know if your content strategy is working. Set your objectives ahead of time, whether that’s growing your number of LinkedIn followers, expanding the reach of your branded content, generating qualified leads, growing awareness among your target audience, or driving traffic to your website.
- Plan your content
A strategy needs planning and purpose, so take some time to plan your content in the form of a calendar or schedule. Brainstorm ideas, find articles you want to share, or compile infographics you’ve come across. Then pop them into a content calendar to ensure you can keep publishing consistently. Some ideas include how-to guides, industry news, company news, advice, and plugins or tools your audience might enjoy using. - Determine your posting frequency
LinkedIn research finds that pages that post weekly updates enjoy two times more engagement than those who publish less frequently. - Follow up with the results
The results of your content marketing efforts could be in the form of increased views, connection requests or DMs. This is your chance to nurture these leads through striking up a conversation or otherwise funneling them through the sales pipeline.
Measuring and tracking your LinkedIn content strategy
Keeping tabs on your content marketing efforts will show you whether your hard work is paying off, and reveal any areas for improvement.
Tap into your LinkedIn Page Analytics to view your insights, like your Visitor Analytics (i.e. who is visiting your page), Update Analytics (who is engaging with your content) and Follower Analytics (who is subscribing to your page). These analytics can also reveal more information about your audience, allowing you to further tailor your content.
Mastering content on LinkedIn as a recruiter
By mastering your LinkedIn content strategy, you can strengthen your brand, generate new leads and increase your thought leadership, to name just a few possible results. To get on the right path, you’ll need to:
- Utilise status updates, LinkedIn articles, LinkedIn videos and third-party resources
- Know your audience, objectives and analytics
- Create a content calendar, nail the right frequency and consistently generate relevant ideas
