LinkedIn maintains the position of being the best platform for professionals, businesses and marketers to use in 2022 when it comes to seeking opportunities and networking virtually. Not only are there both budding and professionals actively using LinkedIn for work purposes, but there are also 61 million high-level influencers and 40 million decision-makers on LinkedIn.
So the world really is your oyster when it comes to seeking opportunity on this high-flyer of a platform, but understanding how to market and inform users about you or your business, and what you offer, can be like sailing in unknown territories. That's why I'm here with a pocket guide to marketing on LinkedIn in 2022!
So let's dive on in!
Contents
Should You Use A Profile Or A Company Page?
LinkedIn profiles with a photo get 21 x more visitors and 36 x more messages 😳
As you would on Facebook, on LinkedIn you can create a business page as well as a personal profile. If you run a business, creating a LinkedIn company page is important for professionalism, credibility and connecting employees. They are also great for SEO and will rank highly when someone searches your company name. However, people always prefer to interact with people rather than logos, and that's why it can be beneficial to make your profile photo of you, the business owner, versus artwork or a logo.
Relationship building is crucial for increasing awareness and sales opportunities but LinkedIn company pages are passive so you can’t use them to connect with targeted prospects and have one-to-one conversations through private messaging. Therefore, we recommend having both and using them for different purposes.
Use your company page to share company-specific updates, insights, customer reviews or case studies, events and recruitment posts. If you have a company page, you can also create a Showcase Page to shine a spotlight on particular products on projects! Remember to add your logo as the profile image, include links to your website and other social media pages, and if you have employees, make sure your page links to their personal profiles.
Did you know that on average, employees have a network ten times larger than the number of followers their company has? By encouraging employees to comment on and share company posts to their profiles, your business will have a much wider reach. You can use the 'notify employees' function when a new post on your company page is published for more impact such as post engagement and reach.
Complete Your Profile
Not many remind us of how important it is to complete our profile, we're too worried about content and posts that we forget to update the very first thing that users see when they view your profile: your profile bio.
Your Profile Name
As we are encouraging you to use your profile to present both yourself and your business, it is a great idea to have your name AND your business name in brackets to inform people that you are indeed a business owner.
Your Opening Introduction
That opening line to your profile that lies beneath your profile name should be your mission statement:
Who you are, what you do and how you do what you do - plus a branded sign-off if you're feeling it!
Here is an example of how you can set up your LinkedIn profile to inform and invite users in 👇
Another element of LinkedIn profiles people tend to neglect is further down where you can enter your professional experience, education, skills and my favourite, recommendations. Remember to update these at least every business quarter so that it is always up to date and that you have fresh recommendations rolling on in for LinkedIn users to see what it's like to work with you.
Direct Messaging
Don't bombard prospects with sales messaging- it's likely you won't get a positive response!
Of LinkedIn's users 44% of 310 million users are active! This is an exciting and encouraging number but when it comes to direct messaging, do not go straight in with a hard sell- this won’t be received well. Keep it really light, introduce yourself, compliment their content or reference shared interests. Make sure to ask questions to show interest and keep the conversation going.
For Example:
"Hi {name}
I saw that you are actively involved in animal welfare and this is a topic I am passionate about too. I would love to connect.
Look forward to seeing your posts, have a great day!
{sign off with your name}"
Building and Nurturing Connections
To grow awareness and increase connections further, join groups relevant to your niche and target audience. Gain visibility and build your reputation by participating in discussions and sharing useful insights. If you find that you’re being bombarded with connection requests, don’t feel as though you have to accept every request. Make connections with experts in your industry, those that you consider your target audience and ideal customers or clients.
Remember: you have the power to shape your own experience and virtual ecosystem!
Creating Posts
Always remember that the key to posting on any platform is to provide value. On LinkedIn, this can be achieved by sharing advice, your industry expertise and insights. Mix up your content by sharing industry news as well as updates on your business, such as product launches or introducing new team members. People LOVE a good story and anecdotal content always does well on LinkedIn. Share why you started the business, your journey so far and more about you as a business owner. You should see your post reach and engagement begin to grow!
Why not carry out some market research and conduct LinkedIn polls?
Content Types
Don't feel like you always have to use an image, articles, documents and videos to perform well too.
LinkedIn offers a fab range of content formats, including articles, videos, documents and images. The article function is very similar to sharing a blog; you can add hyperlinks and block quotes and embed images. When you upload an article, it will be added to a dedication section on your page.
According to LinkedIn:
Posts with images result in a 2 x increase in comments
Video gets 5x more engagement than static content
Live Video receives 24x engagement
When creating a video, we recommend showing your lovely face so your audience can connect with the person behind the brand and this increases loyalty and trust. Video testimonials or customer reviews are also ideal for building credibility and I highly recommend you try this.
For posts, according to OKDork.com, longer content is shared more often on LinkedIn than short content. OKDork also found that “How-To” or 'List' posts gain nearly twice as many views as posts posing a question. So the takeaway here is if you want to get more views on your content on LinkedIn, focus on content that provides value, teaches the reader something rather than attempting to directly engage in a discussion with a possibly complex question.
Top Tip: Convert images to PDF format or upload PDF documents to create an interactive carousel post- these often receive fantastic engagement!
How To Use Hashtags
Use hashtags that are relevant to your niche but don’t go overboard, LinkedIn recommends using 3-5 hashtags per post. If you need more inspiration for which hashtags to use, check out the hashtags that your competition uses or profiles in a similar industry to you.
Using broad hashtags will be searched for more widely but will have more competition, whereas those that are more niche will have less competition but won’t be searched for as much. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to use a combination of both.
How Often To Post
Depending on your industry, audience, type of content and the platforms you use, I suggest posting between two to five times per week. In addition to sharing valuable content, make sure that you comment on posts in your niche on a daily basis and always respond to comments on your content.
You have officially reached the end of your pocket guide for smooth-sailing LinkedIn marketing in 2022 - you've earned yourself an opportunity to nurture and expand your LinkedIn ecosystem using these top tips.
I hope you found this article helpful, feel free to sign up to my mailing list to be the first to know of social media news, tips and tricks to help you & your socials to flourish.
Yasmin @ Aloha Social 🌺
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