Maxxing LinkedIn for Businesses, Professionals, and Thought Leaders

LinkedIn has transformed from a simple networking site to a dynamic platform for businesses, professionals, and thought leaders to showcase their expertise, build relationships, and drive meaningful engagement. As of 2024, LinkedIn has over 900 million users worldwide, offering a unique space for professional growth, business branding, and industry leadership. Whether you're looking to promote your business, establish yourself as a thought leader, or build your professional network, LinkedIn offers powerful tools and strategies to help you achieve your goals. If you've been sleeping on LinkedIn, here are some key features and hacks to wake you up and get you seen.

Key Features of LinkedIn for Businesses, Professionals, and Thought Leaders

1. LinkedIn Company Pages

For businesses, having a Company Page is essential. It’s a digital storefront where you can share your brand story, showcase your services or products, and connect with followers.

• Customisable Brand Identity: You can customise the banner, logo, and tagline to reflect your brand identity.
• About Section: This area allows you to describe your business, mission, and values concisely.
• Showcase Pages: Highlight different products, services, or business units within your organisation for more specific targeting.
• Analytics: LinkedIn offers in-depth insights into who is engaging with your page, the demographics of your followers, and post performance.

2. LinkedIn Profiles for Professionals and Thought Leaders

Your LinkedIn profile is more than just a resume—it's a dynamic platform where you can build your personal brand, share insights, and engage with others in your field.

• Personal Branding: Profiles offer space to share articles, personal achievements, career highlights, and endorsements.
• Content Sharing: Professionals can share short-form updates or long-form articles to position themselves as thought leaders in their industries.
• Networking: LinkedIn’s robust connection system allows you to network with peers, colleagues, and industry leaders.

3. LinkedIn Groups

Groups on LinkedIn allow you to join or create communities of practice around specific industries, interests, or professional topics. Engaging in these groups helps you connect with like-minded professionals, share insights, and even generate business leads.

• Targeted Networking: Participate in groups relevant to your niche or target market.
• Establish Expertise: Sharing valuable insights within these groups helps you position yourself as a leader in your field.

4. LinkedIn Ads

For businesses looking to grow, LinkedIn Ads offer some of the most precise targeting options available. You can target audiences by job title, industry, company size, and more, making LinkedIn especially powerful for B2B marketing.

• Sponsored Content: Promote posts directly in users’ newsfeeds to increase visibility.
• Lead Gen Forms: These allow businesses to capture leads directly through LinkedIn without users leaving the platform.

What Types of Posts Work Best on LinkedIn?

Understanding the types of posts that perform well on LinkedIn is crucial for driving engagement. Here are the most effective post formats for the platform:

1. Thought Leadership Articles

Posts that demonstrate expertise and provide value are highly effective. Sharing your thoughts on industry trends, challenges, or innovations positions you as a leader and a trusted source of knowledge.

• Why They Work: Articles that solve problems or provide new perspectives naturally attract more views, comments, and shares.
• Tip: When publishing articles, focus on providing actionable insights or unique perspectives.

2. Company Announcements and Milestones

For businesses, posting updates on achievements, new products, or company growth can create excitement and engagement. Company announcements are also great opportunities to humanize your brand by spotlighting employee achievements.

• Why They Work: Celebrating milestones creates a positive brand image and engages followers emotionally.
• Tip: Include visuals or videos to make these posts more engaging.

3. Short-Form Updates

Simple text-based posts offering quick insights, tips, or questions tend to garner significant engagement. These posts encourage conversation, which boosts visibility in LinkedIn's algorithm.

• Why They Work: Short, to-the-point posts that ask questions or provide a quick tip tend to get a lot of comments and shares.
• Tip: Keep it concise and focus on posing questions or starting discussions to maximize interaction.

4. Video Content

Videos have a high engagement rate on LinkedIn, especially those that are informative, provide how-to guides, or share company stories.

• Why They Work: Video content grabs attention in a way that text often doesn’t, and it’s great for sharing more in-depth stories.
• Tip: Keep videos under 2 minutes and add captions since many users watch without sound.

5. Infographics and Visual Content

LinkedIn users appreciate visual content that helps them digest complex information quickly. Infographics, charts, and visual breakdowns of data can enhance your posts’ performance.

• Why They Work: Visual content makes information more digestible and engaging, which increases shares and likes.
• Tip: Use visuals to support text-based posts for a better overall engagement rate.

6. Polls

Polls are an easy way to get your audience to engage directly with your posts. By asking a question relevant to your industry, you not only engage your network but also gather valuable insights.

• Why They Work: Polls encourage users to interact with your content, which helps increase its visibility.
• Tip: Keep poll questions simple and relevant to your audience’s interests.

Best Practices for Engaging People on LinkedIn

Engagement on LinkedIn is driven by consistency, relevance, and interaction. Here’s how you can boost your engagement:

1. Post at the Right Times

Knowing when your audience is most active helps ensure your posts get seen. On LinkedIn, the best times to post are generally between 8 AM and 11 AM on weekdays, particularly Tuesday to Thursday.

• Why It Matters: Posting during peak hours increases the chances of your content appearing in users' feeds.
• Tip: Use LinkedIn analytics to track the performance of your posts and adjust your timing accordingly.

2. Engage with Comments

LinkedIn rewards two-way interaction. When people comment on your post, respond to them promptly. This not only boosts engagement but also helps build relationships with your network.

• Why It Matters: Engaging with comments increases the likelihood of your post being shown to more people.
• Tip: Ask follow-up questions or acknowledge insightful comments to keep the conversation going.

3. Use Hashtags and Tag Relevant Connections

Hashtags help your content reach a broader audience. LinkedIn allows you to use hashtags related to your industry, which helps your content show up in relevant searches.

• Why It Matters: Using 3-5 relevant hashtags increases the discoverability of your post.
• Tip: Tagging relevant individuals or businesses in your posts also drives engagement and shows thoughtfulness.

4. Share Content Consistently

Consistency is key on LinkedIn. Posting regularly (at least 2-3 times a week) keeps you top-of-mind for your audience. However, quality is more important than quantity.

• Why It Matters: The LinkedIn algorithm prioritizes users who post regularly and engage with others.
• Tip: Share a mix of personal insights, industry news, and thought leadership content.

Why Businesses Should Be Using LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a vital platform for businesses for several reasons:

1. B2B Marketing and Lead Generation

LinkedIn is the top platform for B2B marketing, and 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. The advanced targeting features of LinkedIn Ads also make it easier to connect with decision-makers in other businesses.

2. Building Brand Authority

By regularly posting high-quality content, businesses can position themselves as industry leaders. This builds trust and attracts followers who may turn into clients or partners.

3. Talent Recruitment

LinkedIn is a powerful recruitment tool. Companies can showcase their culture, values, and job openings, attracting top talent from their network or beyond.

4. Networking Opportunities

LinkedIn allows businesses to connect directly with potential partners, clients, and even competitors. It’s a great platform for forming strategic relationships that can benefit your company.

There's a lot of reasons to love Linkedin, not least of which is that it is a haven for connection without all of the cringe memes and gratuitous shots of holidays and long eaten meals that other social media platforms are built on.

More importantly, it is a platform that validates credentials - its pretty hard to make up what you do and who you are when there are 900 million folk who can fact check your existence and claims about education and employment.

For many people who find the noise of other platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram not right for their demographic, Linkedin may be the missing link in your business marketing strategy and personal brand.