There used to be a time, especially before the impact of Covid-19, when most brands considered only Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter (and maybe TikTok), as necessary brand channels, but now, there’s a new kid on the block: LinkedIn. The last couple of years have brought in a surge of activity and users on the platform, leading to ‘record levels of engagement’, and where there is engagement, there are brands.
In 2021, almost every major brand out there has a conscious LinkedIn presence, and one that is more than merely cross-posted content from other channels - in fact, the ten most followed pages on LinkedIn have a collective following of over 80 million users! Such brands have been using the platform for everything from end-user brand awareness, B2B lead generation, employer branding, recruitment drives, product launches, and more. At this point, you must be thinking that this is only for the big brands, and that as a small business owner, there’s not much you can do with the platform. But the truth is that as long as you have something meaningful to say, almost anyone can succeed on LinkedIn.
Unlike most other social platforms, on LinkedIn, you can rely entirely on organic content to build your brand awareness. This is because LinkedIn’s algorithms work slightly differently from the algorithms used by Facebook or Google, whereby LinkedIn tries to focus its content on ‘people you know, talking about things you care about’. This means that instead of seeing only influencer content, promoted content, and ‘viral’ posts, users are served content from their first connections, and basis their interests, which are prioritised by LinkedIn based on a number of factors, including something called ‘dwell time’.
Why does any of this matter?
For two reasons: the first is that LinkedIn’s algorithms allow good content to shine, regardless of who the author is and how many followers they may have, while the second, for almost the same reason, is that you don’t necessarily need to promote your content to build traction on the platform. In short, LinkedIn is free and has a level playing field. Even so, managing a LinkedIn business page seems daunting for many small business owners and marketing teams. There is a persistent fear of putting out content that does not perform well, of not having anything meaningful to say, or of simply having to login everyday.
Thankfully, all of these problems are easily fixed.
Every business has something to say, and even without a big old marketing
‘strategy’, there are many things that you can do as a small business owner to boost your brand, which includes telling your personal story on LinkedIn. Beyond that, talk about your company’s culture, its people, your workplace, milestone events and achievements, and anything else that’s worth sharing with your network. And keep in mind that your first and foremost audience will always comprise of your colleagues, team mates, friends, family, coworkers, and such. So, don’t focus only on ‘selling’, instead focus on building a brand story and a personal connection with your audience.
As for putting up content that doesn’t ‘perform’ well - stop worrying! The only way to find out what works and what doesn’t is through trial and error. Every big brand started small, and not every piece of content that every brand puts up is going to go ‘viral’. Yet, there is value in consistency, as it helps your brand occupy a share of mind of your audience. And finally, if you’re worried about having to login everyday and manage the posting schedule, etc, you can rely on free scheduling apps like HootSuite or others, that let you schedule your posts in advance. Dedicate one day or a few hours and simply schedule your entire monthly content at one go! Aim to post once a day on weekdays, and simply skip the weekends, as weekend activity on LinkedIn is very low. Experiment with posting times and different types of content, and soon you’ll be on your way! And if you’re still looking for more tips on how to leverage LinkedIn for your brand, check out our article on LinkedIn best practices for small businesses.
The Invisible Paintbrush is a small agency for small businesses that offers end to end marketing services for pre-launch & early-stage start-ups, solopreneurs, family businesses, freelancers, and more. If you enjoy reading our articles, follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram to keep receiving updates! To share this article, use the social icons below:
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