Linkedin is the most trusted platform among all the social platforms, and to begin with, it’s crucial for you to have a content plan trying to tackle this beast. This means you should have your goals set beforehand.
I recently attended a webinar by Falcon.io which was enlightening for everyone listening. It provided some really good pointers for organic and paid content marketing on the platform. For small businesses that want to use Linkedin as best as possible, I’ll lay out the tips I thought were best suited to help them get the best out of their organic content.
1. It’ll focus more on community building and contribution, rather than content from influencers
90% of the content that does the rounds on Linkedin comes from just 1% of its users, mainly influencers from Linkedin that you’ve heard of no matter what industry you operate in. It is the most shared content on Linkedin, but that doesn’t work well for the other 90+% who are looking to connect with the major players, discussing issues and the latest trends in their industry. But that will change.
Changes rolled out just this June by Linkedin are now going to prioritize community building and engagement rather than influencers. And this will be helpful for businesses who post content for niche markets, or post content which provides value, something which used to be drowned out due to the overwhelming presence of influencer generated content on the Linkedin feed earlier.
2. Engagement is important to Linkedin algo, from followers, coworkers, from influencers
Engagement is and will remain an important feature for content posted. What determines that your content will keep showing up on the feed after it is posted is the initial engagement it receives right after you post it, and the source of that engagement.
If your content is being engaged with by your coworkers first, your followers and network, and finally from influencers within your industry, it will keep appearing on the feed. If not, then it’ll likely disappear.
3. Keep changing the format of the content you post
Variety is the spice of life. Keep it fresh, keep changing the format of the content you post. Thankfully, there are so many ways you can communicate the same message on Linkedin. As expected Linkedin prioritizes content that does not take people away from their platform. So whenever possible, post an image directly on to the platform. Instead of linking a video from Youtube, try uploading the video directly on to Linkedin. Instead of posting a link to your blog, maybe every once in a while try posting it as a long-form article with a picture on Linkedin.
4. Vary the time of posting to feel more organic
No platform looks too kindly upon bots, or businesses that come across as too robotic in the way that they post content. Even as a general rule, interact and post on your business page in a way that makes your human side come through. It resonates well with Linkedin users as well as the Linkedin algorithm itself.
Apart from varying the kind of content that you post, keep varying the time you post it on, to avoid getting your content relegated from people’s Linkedin feeds.
5. Best days for posting content are Tuesdays through to Thursday
Social media analyses show that the best times to post on Linkedin are from Tuesday to Thursday, right in the middle of the week. It makes complete sense too. Mondays are reserved to clear up piled up work, and Friday is a similar kind of race to the finish. People find time to look at Linkedin early in the morning when they reach the office, and then around lunch time. There’s also a small boost in engagement right after work hours.
Though this works most of the time, if it’s a niche market you’re targeting with your content, it’s best to research what times they’re online on Linkedin.
Bonus: Linkedin Live
Linkedin is rolling out Live Videos soon - a feature already popular on other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The feature is still in its beta testing phase so it isn’t readily available for use through the platform. However, you can still fill out an application and try to get early access to it. Needless to say, since Linkedin is promoting this new feature, there is a first mover advantage for people. The first few users of this feature should get a lot of impressions and unique views out of it. Try your hand at it if video is a feature you want to use more of.
You don't come to insights as straightforward as these unless you go through a rigorous trial and error process with multiple iterations. Fortunately, these few tricks should prepare you to take full advantage of Linkedin for the coming years. Or you could hit us up and get custom advice for your Linkedin business channel.
