LinkedIn is already huge, and it’s getting bigger every year. With 770 million users across 200 countries, LinkedIn is full of thought leadership and professional connections opportunities. And while it’s not like Instagram and Facebook that have billions of users, LinkedIn is unique to B2B businesses who want to appeal to the key decision-makers in their industry.
The latest social media marketing industry report reveals that:
- 81% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for brand marketing
- B2C brands have increased their use of LinkedIn for business promotion from 46% to 50%
- 55% of marketers plan to increase their LinkedIn marketing activities in 2021
As you can see, LinkedIn marketing is here to stay – and this opens a myriad of opportunities for influencers to act as the link between brands and their audiences.
So, how does it all work? LinkedIn influencers are authority figures who provide value and build meaningful relationships with their audience. They do this by creating engaging and meaningful content that helps users solve their problems.
But sometimes, it may feel like your posts aren’t going anywhere. Your content receives very little engagement, and the best you can do is a few likes and comments. What’s going on?
To help you boost your post engagement, we have created this blog post highlighting the top techniques to enhance your on-platform performance.
Let’s get started!
Why LinkedIn Engagement Is Valuable
Post engagement measures your content’s performance in the form of likes, comments and shares. A combination of wide reach and high engagement is considered the best case scenario. LinkedIn distributes posts with higher engagement to more users, improving your reach and visibility.
Three reasons to care about your LinkedIn engagement:
- It helps you reach your target audience
- Serves as a trust signal for other people
- It helps you achieve your goals
Techniques For Boosting Your On-Platform Performance
Use these tips to create compelling posts and form deeper connections with your audience.
Offer some intellectual property
The best-performing posts on LinkedIn offer some resources to help users solve their problems. These resources can be in the form of a PDF document with detailed instructions on dealing with an issue, a worksheet or a template that connections can use in their business.
In the above example, Demi van Vendeloo shared a PDF with the top outreach strategies that provide the best results. With many marketers struggling with the outreach campaigns, this PDF is a valuable resource that helps users reach more people effectively. The PDF is based on Demi’s personal experience, making it a valuable intellectual property that adds value to other users. The post performed exceptionally well, getting 1k+ likes and comments.
Write and post consistently
You need to be consistent with your posting to engage your connections on LinkedIn. Your profile should be a hub of helpful information that adds value to your followers. Besides giving you a solid presence on the platform, posting consistently also allows you to show your knowledge and expertise on the topics that interest your users. This will help you attract more people to your profile who will like, comment on and share your posts.
Become a value-add
LinkedIn users will only engage with your content when it shares insightful, practical and actionable information. In this regard, you need to ensure your content speaks to your audience. They need to feel like they’ve gained something priceless every time they consume your content. To have this effect on your readers, you need to study your audience to understand what they like. Your content will always pique your audience’s interest when you do this, and the engagement rate will skyrocket.
Build relationships beyond likes
Likes and comments are great, but you need to develop a relationship with your followers beyond these engagement metrics. Engage your connections outside of your posts and get to know them personally. By taking an interest in your followers, they will feel attached to you and your brand. Whenever you post, they will be the first to engage your content, which will organically broaden your reach.
Be interested in others first
As great content is everything on LinkedIn, people will not interact with your content if you hardly show an interest in their posts. So, start interacting with other people’s content. Like, comment on and share their posts. This will help you build awareness and attract people back to your profile.
Show your face
LinkedIn isn’t Twitter and Reddit, where faceless profiles tend to thrive. Don’t hide behind an avatar or an abstract image. Instead, use your real picture on your profile to let people know whom they are interacting with. Also, show your face in a selfie or video to reveal your fun side once in a while.
Educate and promote others
It’s important to have fun when posting and engaging with other users on the platform, but you need to ensure that most of your posts are educational. This will help you establish yourself as an authority figure that brands can approach for B2B influencer marketing activations.
Also, take the time to promote other users who share valuable information that adds value to readers. You can do this by:
- Complementing them on a recent piece.
- Thanking them for sharing an article that resonated with you
- Profile them in a post and highlight the fantastic work they do
Identify what sets you apart
The key to success on LinkedIn is to stand out from other content creators. You cannot do what everyone is doing and expect your content to go viral. For this reason, you need to identify what makes you unique and make that your signature trait. If you are good at creating long-form articles that explain issues in detail, focus on creating these. Of course, you can spice things up with some short posts, but don’t deviate too much from your signature style.
Invite others to contribute
LinkedIn does a fantastic job in distributing content to the relevant people, but this doesn’t mean you should leave everything to chance when you publish a post. Identify the people who would benefit from the post you will publish and invite them to read the article. Ask them to leave a comment after reading the article so you can know what they think. This act shows your followers that you value their opinion, and it’ll help them stay loyal to your brand. Ultimately, you end up with an army of dedicated followers.
Participate in LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups provide you with an opportunity to interact with people of similar interests and backgrounds. When you share a post in a group, you will get valuable feedback from other experts in your niche that will help you improve your content. You also get the chance to prove yourself as a subject expert in your niche and gain the admiration of key players in your industry.
Be curious and ask for feedback
You need to be curious if you want to be a top LinkedIn influencer. When you publish a post, identify the people you want a response from and get in touch with them. This can be a key figure in your industry or one of the content creators you look up to. Don’t be afraid to send them a direct message to ask for feedback on your content. Be polite and let them know how their input will help you create high-quality content.
Ask questions in your posts
Another effective way to improve your LinkedIn post engagement is to ask questions in your posts. Users who have the answers to your questions will respond to your post and increase your engagement rate. To ensure you have many people responding to your post, create or join a LinkedIn engagement “pod”. Together with the other pod members, agree to respond to each other’s posts. When LinkedIn’s algorithm sees how active your post is, it will promote it to other people who may be interested in it.
Optimize your LinkedIn page
When people click on your profile, what do they see? Do they see a blank photo with very little information?
You want people to be impressed by who you are and what you do. You want your profile to capture your unique personality and vibe. To make your profile pop, do the following:
- Describe yourself, your accomplishments, and your passions
- Use stunning graphics
- Highlight what you do
With an appealing profile, you will make real connections with real people who will be glad to engage your content.
Don’t be afraid to show vulnerability
Vulnerability looks good on you as an influencer, and it makes it easy for people to relate with you and what you do. So don’t be afraid to be vulnerable when posting on LinkedIn. When you make a mistake, apologize to your audience to show that you have learned your lesson. However, don’t try to fake it since people will see through it and lose trust in your authenticity.
Offer sneak peeks behind the scenes
Everything doesn’t always have to be formal when you post on LinkedIn. Let loose sometimes and give users a sneak peek into your life. You can share an image of yourself on holiday or as you enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend after an event. These light moments make you relatable, helping you make deep connections with your audience.
Bonus: Understanding the LinkedIn Algorithm
Understanding how the LinkedIn algorithm works is important in improving your post reach on the platform. Currently, LinkedIn uses a 4-step process to determine how to distribute content on the platform.
- Initial filter
An initial filter analyzes the content published on the platform and classifies it as spam, low quality, or approved.
- Audience testing
LinkedIn measures the reaction of a small audience exposed to low-quality and approved content. The audience is matched based on the similar type of content they’ve interacted with in the past.
- Content scoring
LinkedIn scores your content based on different user actions such as likes, comments, and shares. It also considers the profile and credibility of the user.
Ultimately, success with LinkedIn posts comes from creating quality content that appeals to your audience. When you become a value add for your readers, your post engagement will increase as people like, comment on and share your posts.
And while you focus your time & energy on what you do best – create engaging content; Atisfyre, our AI-based influencer marketing platform, helps you achieve your influencer dreams. The platform connects you with leading brands worldwide to explore collaboration opportunities.
Sign up today, and set yourself up for success. It’s free!
