LinkedIn- Why It Matters for your Business

LinkedIn has always suffered something of a reputation as the ‘boring’ social media platform, with many people seeing it as little more than a CV hosting site. In the right hands, however, it’s one of the most powerful online marketing tools you and your business could have. Where else can you instantly connect with over 660 million professionals, all eager to hear what you have to offer? Today the skilled team from Zebra 360 Digital Marketing Agency lifts the veil of mystery over LinkedIn, and brings you some top tips to make this powerful platform work for your business.

The Brand Power of Industry Pros

What makes LinkedIn stand out from the crowded social media marketing marketplace? LinkedIn caters to a very different crowd from the average social media platform, and it’s one that’s been hard to reach historically, too- the busy industry professional. Where once you’d have to be super lucky at a networking event, now you can get the brand attention from industry heavy-hitters you’ve always wanted.

And they’ve made it easier than ever to use the platform for content marketing, too. Newer LinkedIn features that few realise exist include:

  • Long-form content like LinkedIn articles and LinkedIn Pulse
  • A newsfeed specifically geared for industry matters
  • Stories and slide-deck visuals to highlight engaging content that humanises your brand
  • Some advertising opportunities to target the right eyes

So if you’re looking for a digital marketing opportunity to generate leads, boost brand awareness, create business relationships, draw attention to your content, drive traffic, and make connections, it’s a great choice.

The LinkedIn Content Strategy

Remember, however, that this isn’t a platform for direct marketing and sales. An engaging LinkedIn marketing strategy needs to be about solving problems and showcasing the best of what you have to offer, not hard-sell and spam. You need to be interesting, helpful, and above all visible.

Many brands forget that LinkedIn is a great way to showcase one of your most important voices- the employees who work so hard for you. Share their content, too, and create an engaged and brand-focused marketing strategy that showcases your best assets.

LinkedIn’s publishing platform is a touch limited compared to some, but it’s one of the best ways to show off as a thought leader in your industry, too. Posts here will add credibility to the skills and expertise you use. This helps build trust and establish your name in the industry. It’s rare to find such a target audience open to you, after all.

Solid LinkedIn content is displayed on your profile, so it also works to build your credibility and impress potential leads. Content that resonates will also be shown to people who aren’t your contacts (yet), so it’s a great way to pull in engaged followers and make new connections.

What content works? Over 60% of the platform are looking for industry insights that help you help them, with 53% wanting to hear direct company news, and 43% keen to learn more about products and services. 

The Professional Story

‘Stories’ have become a powerful form of content of their own, giving your business a human face. With LinkedIn, you have a superlative chance to catch the attention of critical industry figures, and it remains an easy and engaging way to share content snippets. Remember: keep it real, that’s the whole charm of the stories format. Deliver value, and keep the focus off selling and more on the stories that power your brand.

Don’t forget that LinkedIn also lets you use hashtags, so you have a powerful toolkit to build brand momentum right at your fingertips, too.

LinkedIn Groups: Engage with Influencers

Influencer marketing is still a super-powerful way to reach leads, but how do you find influencers with the chops you need in your industry? They’re probably on LinkedIn! LinkedIn Groups offer you a great way to connect through quality industry discussions and build meaningful business relationships with people who can add value to your brand. Where else can you still talk organically to people and get meaningful feedback without paid ads in the way? Of course, this isn’t a direct marketing approach and self-promotion will be frowned on, but if you want to establish a powerful reputation and leverage those already working in what you love, here’s the place to be.

New-style Networking

Networking has always been a critical part of business success. Now you can take it global. You can even import existing contacts into the LinkedIn platform, allowing you to leverage your existing connections to build an even bigger network. LinkedIn allows you to send email newsletters at the click of a button, but remember the rules- allow people the chance to opt-in through a friendly welcome message, don’t just start spamming!

Showcase your Style

Lastly, but far from least, LinkedIn offers the perfect hub to build up a showcase of your company in a professional environment. Company Pages establish industry expertise and can act as a valuable hub that shows why your brand should be the brand of choice. You can do anything from recruit talent and educate customers to raising business awareness and drive traffic to your site and other socials. Paired with some smart keyword research, it’s a potent tool.

Don’t let LinkedIn’s reputation as the ‘boring’ arm of social media marketing make you miss out on one of the most powerful business social media tools you have in your toolbox! If you’re keen to get going with some of the most professional, industry-focused content marketing you have available, the Zebra 360 Digital Marketing Agency team is here to help you build a brand reputation that speaks to your industry as well as your customers.