When it comes to social media, LinkedIn is often forgotten in the land of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even Snapchat. For years, people have speculated on and off that LinkedIn is becoming obsolete, but for that same length of time, the website has remained — and, you may be surprised to learn, doesn’t seem to be dying at all. In fact, with Microsoft having acquired the site back in 2016, LinkedIn now boasts nearly 600 million users.
The Professional Social Networking Platform
LinkedIn may have similarities with the other big social networking sites, but its users engage with the website in a noticeably different way. Brands aren’t exactly interacting with customers on the same platform where they’re posting their newest baby pictures, for instance. Where other social networks offer a certain user vulnerability, LinkedIn is basically a constant job interview wherein users, for the most part, want to present the best version of themselves. As Forbes notes, LinkedIn users engage with business, not personal life, on the brain, perhaps giving businesses and brands a more open invitation to engage with users than on Facebook, Twitter, and the like, where angry conversation can quickly shut down ideas and commentary.
A New Kind of Marketing Opportunity
LinkedIn blog posts and updates offer an opportunity to give a professional face to a brand in a professional environment where user engagement is high and authentic. On LinkedIn, networking is key and taken seriously. Publishers produce and promote original content (100,000 new articles published weekly) that gives LinkedIn’s highly educated and influential base room for strong discussion and connection. LinkedIn has even become a powerful spot for video publications, as well as blog posts, an increasingly important engagement tool across all social networking platforms.
Using LinkedIn for Your Business
First things first, when it comes to marketing and building an audience on LinkedIn, you have to have a company page. Don’t forget the use of relevant keywords and links in your profile (without overdoing it), and offer the kind of professional, high-quality content that LinkedIn users expect from brands on the platform. You need to be creating original content based on your specific niche, but you can also engage users with content that helps them understand your company’s story, like details on product launches. Your content is the face of your business on LinkedIn. You can also use LinkedIn’s analytics to gain greater insight into your audience. Which posts are drawing the most views? How can you keep that momentum going in future posts?
Every social networking platform is different. Facebook and Twitter offer personal dialogue and sharing (for better or worse), Instagram and Snapchat offer a visual approach to social engagement, and LinkedIn offers a professional discourse that is unique to the platform. Far from dying, LinkedIn has a great deal to offer brands these days. This platform is most definitely just getting started.
Knowing how to engage with users on each social media channel can be complex though. Creating organic content is equally layered and time-consuming. Many businesses benefit by hiring digital marketing experts who can post to these social media channels, curate and write content, handle graphics, and respond to readers. Bamboo Marketing can provide an expert team for these digital marketing needs. Contact us today to discuss growing your audience on LinkedIn and beyond.