In 2003, a new online platform called LinkedIn was born with an aim to help people find career opportunities. Throughout the years, we watched as LinkedIn evolved from a job searching and networking platform, to a thought leadership sharing outlet with brand building and advertising opportunities. Lately, LinkedIn has really stepped up its game by including more ways for users to utilize this platform as a place to share information with coworkers, friends and industry experts. Now more than ever, it’s crucial that brands take part in the action by actively engaging in conversations while also sharing their own expertise to position themselves as trusted thought leaders. See how you can harness the power of this trusted professional social network with these 5 tips: 

Be a Thought Leader 

It’s no secret that LinkedIn is a place for professionals to learn and share information, so consumers expect brands to share their expertise too. Not only does this position the brand as a trusted expert in their industry, it also enables consumers to get to know the brand and learn from their thought leadership. When the content resonates with your audience, it’s more likely they will share it with their own following — helping increase your brand’s reach. From whitepapers, to blogs, to videos, the opportunities for sharing educational content and expanding your audience are endless on LinkedIn. 

Use Engaging Formats & Tools 

Over the last five years, LinkedIn has added some great tools and formats to help brands showcase themselves in new ways:  

• LinkedIn Live, which blew up during the pandemic due to the rise of virtual events, is a great way to engage with consumers and industry experts alike, while also showcasing how well you know a topic. This tool allows you to stream video in real-time while viewers can comment during the session. Make sure to spread awareness about your Live event beforehand, so people know when to tune in! 

• LinkedIn Polls are another way to get users involved and engaged in conversations by asking them what they think about a specific topic. You can also use the results of the poll as another piece of content for future social posts or blog articles. 

• If long-form content can be written, LinkedIn Executive Articles are a great way for executives to spotlight relevant topics and trends – which the brand page can then share as an additional outlet for exposure. 

Tap into Paid Social 

LinkedIn has a ton of paid advertising opportunities that will help take your organic social strategy to the next level. Niche targeting capabilities — like job title, seniority, company name and email targeting — allow you to tailor your campaigns to very specific audiences. There are also various methods for bringing your content and creative to life, from Direct Message InMail ads to In-Feed Videos and Carousels. Paid social is also a great way to A/B test different types of creative ads to understand what best resonates with your audience – delivering insights you can apply to your organic strategy too! Keep in mind while this usually results in higher Click Through Rates, your Cost Per Click may be slightly more expensive than other social media platforms due to the detailed targeting capabilities that LinkedIn provides. 

Get Your Team Involved 

LinkedIn’s algorithm thrives on interactions and conversations, so bringing your company’s employees into your social strategy can help increase the reach and growth of your brand. You can start by encouraging employees and executives to share their own knowledge and their experiences at the company (it’s important to tag the brand’s name in the post to increase exposure as well). Incorporating employees into your strategy can humanize the brand while also adding a trusted source of information into the conversation. 

Stick to Best Practices 

LinkedIn is a little different from the other social media platforms because it caters to a professional audience. This means social media best practices are a little different too. Here are a few things you should keep in mind: 

• • Long form copy is more acceptable on LinkedIn, but try to keep some of your posts short and sweet too. 150 – 350 characters is a good range to stick to. 

• • LinkedIn’s algorithm favors video content, so try to use moving graphics as much as you can. 

• • Use that share button to increase exposure of posts and include your own thoughts about a piece of content. 

• • Hashtags are important but not mandatory on LinkedIn. Try to stick to 1-3 hashtags per post. 

• • Ask questions in your post copy to get people engaged! 

We hope you learned something new about LinkedIn you can use to bolster your social strategy. Curious about how Matter can help? Reach out using the form below and our team will be in touch!