How’s your LinkedIn game these days?
If you’re stuck in the same old rut, you’re not alone. If you’re struggling in vain to come up with post-worthy content ideas that won’t elicit a collective shrug (if they’re even seen) from your audience, you’re not alone. If you’re so frustrated with the state of affairs that you’ve given up on doing much with your LinkedIn company page at all, you’re definitely not alone.
Happily, there’s hope for even the most jaded among LinkedIn’s corporate users. Each of the following six types of LinkedIn content has its place in a well-balanced social media marketing operation. Here’s how to use them — and how to boost impressions and engagement along the way.
1. A Killer Company Description
This is the most basic type of content on our list. Arguably, it’s also the most important.
Storied jeweler Bixler University has the right idea. Its company description is a succinct but detailed review of Bixler’s history, products, mission, and values. It hits all the high points, aligning nicely with the company’s external marketing messages. And it’s evergreen: there’s nothing in it that’s likely to be out of date in next month, let alone next week.
Your LinkedIn company description should fit the same mold, with caveats. In particular, while evergreen content is simpler and lower-maintenance than newsy stuff that needs constant refreshing, nowhere is it written that your LinkedIn company description need stay static for all eternity. You can and should subject it to a quarterly refresh — and, if warranted, a total workover.
2. Newsy Updates
This one should be easy.
Yes, the world is awash in cut-and-dried press releases that lack any semblance of soulfulness. Yes, the audience for your BREAKING announcement of an internal VP-level promotion is probably pretty small. Yes, you’re not even sure you care about the inside baseball blurbs that qualify as trend pieces on industry blogs and legacy publications anymore.
All this may be true, and yet: there’s still no substitute for the ol’ company news release. Every organization has an audience; successful organizations tend to be those that cultivate said audience with regular (but not too regular) news blasts.
Set a relatively high bar for newsworthiness — say, new C-level hires, rather than VP-level promotions. Set a maximum frequency — say, two releases per week, absent truly important news like a merger or acquisition. And set a maximum length — say, 400 words. You’re aiming to stay top of mind without wearing out your welcome or driving your audience to tune out.
3. Insightful, Edgy Comments
Believe it or not, the “comments section” still has legs in 2018.
No, not your local newspaper’s raggedy online comments section. That’s no doubt been overrun by — well, if you need to ask, you probably can’t handle the truth.
By comparison, LinkedIn comments remain models of decorum. Use your awesome commenting power to make insightful, even edgy observations and contributions on peers’ and industry thought leaders’ profile and company pages. The higher-profile the feed, the greater the competition for visibility — but, by the same token, it’s difficult to overstate the value of an earned impression on a luminous pedestal.
Just be cognizant of basic LinkedIn commenting etiquette throughout. Remember, what you do with your own LinkedIn page is one thing. (However ill-advised it may be.) When you engage on someone else’s page, you’re a guest, and you need to act accordingly.
4. Client Testimonials, Told in Their Own Words
No one’s saying you should turn your LinkedIn company page into a 24/7 infomercial, but it’s equally true that confining customer testimonials to your website’s “What They’re Saying” tab probably isn’t doing you any favors.
Every couple weeks, or perhaps every month, showcase a new client on your LinkedIn profile. Ask them to describe in their own words what you’ve done for them, how they view their relationship with your firm, what they expect from you moving forward.
Above-replacement client testimonials include media elements too. At minimum, throw in a high-quality headshot or candid — bonus points for a shot of the customer using your product in the field. If you can swing it, consider replacing said headshot with a video testimonial; you can include a longer text testimonial below the video or link out to the full version on your website.
5. Media-Rich Case Studies
What’s better than a glowing client testimonial? A media-rich case study that goes beyond the rave and lays out in easy-to-understand terms just how valuable your products or services are.
LinkedIn isn’t really built for in-depth on-page case studies. And, with relatively tight margins on its company feeds, it’s not really appropriate for detailed slideshows either. Your best bet is to throw up a summary post outlining what’s in the case study and include an image link to a cached or downloadable version offsite. Review case study best practices before you begin — they’re a doozy.
6. Longform Explainer-Type Posts
Case studies aren’t the only longform posts that perform well on LinkedIn. If you love holding forth at dinner parties or trade shows about the “highly technical but somehow really interesting to a few people” topics that underpin your company’s business model or offer clues to your industry’s direction during the next business cycle, now’s your chance to do it on a far more visible platform.
You can either:
- Include a summary or introductory section above the fold, followed by an outbound link to a full version; or
- Post the whole thing on your LinkedIn company page.
Either works. Use LinkedIn’s built-in metrics to determine which option draws more engagement.
What’s Your Go-To LinkedIn Content Type?
These aren’t the only six types of LinkedIn content worth spilling digital ink on (and over). Your organization’s audience and needs will dictate the precise mix of posts, shares, replies, and pins needed to elevate your LinkedIn game — and said game may well require a wider repertoire.
Still, everyone has their habits. You probably have a go-to LinkedIn post — the type of post you can dash off in five minutes while you’re waiting for everyone to join the conference call. If that’s the case, why fight it? Quality and consistency may be just as important as variety — or more so, when they’re what brings your audience back for seconds.