Gone are the days of LinkedIn being used as a glorified online resumé. LinkedIn has evolved. It's an incredible tool for generating new leads and increasing revenue. It’s the only social media platform that lets you engage with key decision-makers.
To do that you need an optimised profile, and to be producing content that provides value to your prospects.
You need to give your potential clients a reason to engage with your content. This will then give them a reason to engage with you.
But which type of content is best? Should you be putting out text-only content? Or should you focus on videos?
To optimize your LinkedIn strategy, you must understand the types of content you can put out.
1. Visual content
As an executive, the impact curated visual LinkedIn content can have is massive. 65% of people are visual learners, and 90% of what the brain receives in non-verbal.
The fact that we remember 80% of what we see vs. 20% of what we read means visual content could be your key to more clients. More clients mean more business. Make use of compelling photos and powerful quotes. Use an attention-grabbing caption to drive more profile traffic. Turn that traffic into more revenue.
2. Text
Socialmediaexaminer.com states that text-only posts on LinkedIn perform best. They receive 3x more views than posts linking to external sites. They even perform better than posts with images. But if images are so powerful when relaying information, why do text posts perform better?
The algorithm.
If you’re posting external links, then the algorithm won’t put that content in front of people. That’s because LinkedIn doesn’t like content that takes users away from the platform. As such, you have to make use of the 1,300 characters available in a text post. Doing this is a great way for founders to connect with more prospects and grow their business.
Share observations, realizations, anecdotes, or achievements. As always, make sure you’re providing value.
3. Video
You can post a video in 2 ways on LinkedIn: linking to an external host (ie YouTube) or posting a native video. There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these approaches.
Sharing YouTube hosted video content has its advantages. It can be a powerful way to feed into a larger social media strategy. Any views of your content count towards your total views. You also have access to auto-generated closed captions with YouTube. This is useful as the majority of people DON’T view videos with the sound on. Custom thumbnails can also grab more attention. YouTube hosted videos, however, don’t autoplay. Your prospect has to engage with your content, instead of being shown it.
Native videos, hosted on LinkedIn itself, DO have the autoplay feature. Passive engagement is higher as a result. The disadvantage of this is that auto-captioning is not available. Captions need hardcoding into the video file.
Both approaches come with advantages and disadvantages. It’s important for CEOs to understand them when trying to grow their business on LinkedIn.
4. Documents
Documents are a new LinkedIn feature. They allow business owners to upload a document showcasing something of value to their network. This document can then be engaged with as a slide-deck.
What could you showcase? Whatever you like.
Salient points from a company whitepaper, recent company achievements, or professional learnings. You could even break down those 1,300 characters from a text post into a presentation. Present a summary of the key points and you're there.
5. Articles
If establishing thought leadership in an industry is the goal, then posting articles is an excellent way to do it. Any content longer than 1,300 characters can be posted as an article. Longer form written content is a great way to showcase your expertise and build your credibility. Provide valuable content within a specific niche to position yourself as a leader. Leadership and authority translate to more traffic, more visibility, and more revenue.
6. Links
Links are at the bottom of this list for a reason. It’s not to say that they aren’t incredibly valuable tools. Just be mindful because the LinkedIn algorithm does not favor them. If you’re looking to showcase your company page or blog, then selective sharing of links will be useful. You’ll drive traffic to your page that you wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Make sure that you’re not posting links the majority of the time. Keep any links you do post relevant, and make sure they’re providing value. If the content is valuable enough, not enough the algorithm will be able to stop it.
Making effective use of all types of content
As a CEO, founder, or executive looking to grow their brand and business on LinkedIn, you need to make use of all the tools available to you. This means you need a content marketing strategy that makes use of all the different types of content. To discuss how we can help you craft such a strategy, help you to grow your business 10x, and avoid any potential pitfalls, book a free consultation today!
