How Brands Use LinkedIn In Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is constantly growing. As you can imagine, brands’ utilization of online platforms for marketing campaigns is as important as ever. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram are among the most used social channels for marketing that drove an increased ROI for businesses in the past years. Yet, businesses have also found ways to use LinkedIn to increase engagement and target specific audiences. Linkedin will be a strong platform to utilize during 2020 as businesses continue to create partnerships virtually, support communities, and promote new strategies.

How Brands Should Use LinkedIn In Social Media Marketing — use linkedin

This post will discuss why it is important for your business to use LinkedIn for influencer and online marketing campaigns. Additionally, we will provide ways to use this platform as part of your brand’s social media marketing strategy for 2020.

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Why Use LinkedIn in Social Media Campaigns

With 660 million users globally, LinkedIn is considered as one of the most popular social media channels. Therefore, the professional social network offers a wider reach for marketing and advertisements.

Thus, brands can use the platform to drive engagement, spread brand awareness, and connect to specific markets. Here are some reasons why your brand should invest in LinkedIn marketing.

Build Authentic and Real Connections

Authenticity will be one of the most sought after features of marketing and advertising campaigns this year. Brands can take advantage of LinkedIn’s ability to create professional yet personal and real connections. For instance, since the social platform is a business network, it provides more opportunities for brands to build stronger connections with audiences by talking about a company, the causes it supports, and its values without making a hard sell.

In addition, brands can also use LinkedIn to activate employee advocates and create genuine content for the company, as well as build and maintain personal relationships with followers.

Reach Out to Professional Audiences

LinkedIn is catered to professionals and businesses. So, if your brand is geared toward executives, the use of LinkedIn marketing is your best bet for reaching your specific audience.

Similarly, brands needing to establish connections with other brands and businesses can leverage the platform to build partnerships without traveling far distances to meet one another.

Create Connections Easily

LinkedIn enables brands and individuals to make associations with one another, even if they aren’t personally connected. Brands can use LinkedIn to build quick connections which eventually leads to collaborations and sales in the long run. Moreover, utilizing the social site will help form mutual and related connections, allowing for authentic relationships and a wider reach for both brands and influencers.

LinkedIn Influencers Are Well-Trusted

Since LinkedIn is a professional community, LinkedIn influencers can be viewed as some of the most trusted and credible brand ambassadors. As we know, trust in influencers is vital to gain new clients and partnerships. Utilizing LinkedIn for influencer marketing campaigns may result in new loyal customers.

9 Ways to Use LinkedIn for Online Marketing

Just like any social media platform, brands need to implement effective strategies to use LinkedIn in building an online presence that generates engagement and drives purchases. Below are some suggestions on how brands can use LinkedIn to create social media campaigns that wow.

1. Tell Your Brand’s Story on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is known as the world’s largest professional network. Thus, the social site’s audiences are open to learning from and connecting with brands and executives. Additionally, the website allows brands to create content that can inspire and produce an impact on users. Therefore, businesses can it to talk about the company’s vision, passion, and story to engage followers and build brand visibility.

For example, Coca-Cola highlights the company’s core values and beliefs by passionately sharing the causes it supports. The company uses LinkedIn to celebrate global events that empower others as well as to share the story of their employees.

2. Activate Employees and Employee Advocacy

In our previous post, we discussed how brands can effectively utilize employees and employee advocacy. Collaborating with employee influencers promotes authenticity, covers a wider audience reach, and creates an avenue for brand or product awareness. Since LinkedIn provides a number of employee connections, the platform can be an effective medium in activating employees to become brand advocates and ambassadors. For instance, brands may encourage employees to use LinkedIn posts produced by the brands in their personal pages, tag the company page on updates shared with employee connections, and use company hashtags on personal posts and content. Furthermore, brands may also feature employees’ testimonials about working with the company to establish credibility and partnerships with executives and other brands.

An example of a brand exercising employee advocacy on LinkedIn is Kellogg’s. The consumer goods company created #LifeAtK hashtag to produce content featuring the brand employees and their experiences working with the brand. In addition, Kellogg’s staff also used it to promote the brand and brand-related activities by posting their personal content with the brand’s hashtag.

3. Create User-Generated Content

Like other social media channels, brands may utilize LinkedIn to produce user-generated content to receive higher engagement. Since the platform is a network for professionals, companies may generate thought-provoking questions related to career goals and visions. Furthermore, brands may also ask audiences’ opinions and suggestions on work and self-improvement topics.

For instance, at the beginning of 2020, Adidas asked followers to share their New Year’s goals. Additionally, Adidas frequently builds engagement on LinkedIn through questions about coaching, personal development, and goal-setting.

4. Put Innovation Into Spotlight

Another way to produce highly engaging content is through innovation. Since advanced development can set your company apart from other brands, highlighting a breakthrough in technology and offerings may result in an increased following, new target audiences, and potential partnerships. Moreover, bringing innovation into the spotlight can help companies use LinkedIn to share brand stories in a more creative and appealing way.

Johnson & Johnson sets itself apart from other brands through new and modern inventions. For instance, the business regularly features the brand’s scientific leaders on its LinkedIn Page to provide insights and share information on technological successes. Furthermore, whether it be a new technology used for product development or innovation in health processes, Johnson & Johnson finds ways to deliver advanced developments and present these discoveries.

5. Showcase Brand Products and Services

If you think product and services promotions are only applicable to the brand’s Facebook or Instagram pages, think again. You can use Linkedin to endorse new products and services. However, businesses should present advertisements on brand offerings in a way that is relevant and appealing to professional audiences.

For example, whenever Nestlé features new products on the professional platform, the brand highlights innovation and a breakthrough in the technology used to create new offerings, ingredients, and product packaging.

6. Produce Video and Image Content Using LinkedIn

Video content is expected to be big this year. In fact, video social media content will still be considered a key priority when it comes to 2020 brand marketing strategies. Businesses can use LinkedIn to produce interactive and engaging content through video and image formats.

For instance, brands can produce video content to show company best practices, feature employees and activities, highlight brand awards and recognitions, showcase the company’s socially responsible programs, and spotlight interviews with the brand’s most influential leaders. In addition, companies and employees can also use the Live Video tool of Linkedin to create real-time content. The initiatives mentioned can capture and engage brands’ followers the most.

Nike is a great example of how to use LinkedIn to push video content. The brand features motivational videos and behind-the-scenes of product creations on the brand’s official LinkedIn page. Additionally, Nike is also among the few companies to integrate motion graphic image content to catch audiences’ interest.

7. Highlight Brand’s Social Good Campaigns

Cause marketing initiatives can help your brand create a genuine image, connect more with audiences, and drive sales. Moreover, social good campaigns can be your ally in winning the hearts of millennial consumers. In fact, about 91 percent of millennials prefer brands that are socially responsible. Since 87 million users of LinkedIn are millennials, the platform can be an effective tool to reach out to these particular audiences. Brands can use the platform to highlight causes that the company supports or feature employee posts about cause marketing campaigns organized by the business.

Mattel, Inc. uses Linkedin — Image Source

As an example, Mattel actively partners with organizations and communities to help and support them. The brand features the causes it supports on its official LinkedIn page. Furthermore, Mattel receives additional engagement through employee cause marketing-related content shared on their personal accounts.

8. Partner with LinkedIn Influencers and Brand Ambassadors

Another way to use the platform for your brand’s influencer marketing strategies is through collaboration with influencers. Influential company leaders and brand ambassadors are considered credible sources of information. Therefore, their opinions are respected and matter to their followers. Since Influencers already have a built-in following, brands can use Linkedin influencers to tap into new audiences, as well as gain new followers and connect with potential consumers.

Mercedes-Benz utilizes LinkedIn not only to create brand-owned content but also to collaborate with brand ambassadors and influencer partners. As a result, the brand reaches a wider audience and gains more engagement from followers.

9. Feature Company Behind-the-Scenes

One way to tell the company’s story and increase brand awareness in an authentic and creative way is through behind-the-scenes content. For example, brands may utilize LinkedIn to feature product creation, a sneak peek of new offerings and promos, day-to-day activities of employees, and brand cause-related programs on the brand’s LinkedIn page. Through these initiatives, brands can produce well-curated and engaging content.

Walt Disney uses Linkedin — Image Source

The main content of Walt Disney’s LinkedIn page revolves around its employees. The brand produces highly engaging content through behind-the-scenes posts. For instance, the company features interviews with employees about their jobs and shows daily work activities. As a result, Walt Disney shares more authentic and relatable content and builds brand recognition.

Wrap It All Up

If utilized properly, LinkedIn can be an effective social media platform for your brand’s online marketing campaigns. Some of the benefits you can receive from this professional network include, but are not limited to: building authentic and real connections, targeting the right audience, creating relationships quickly, and collaborating with credible brand partners. The nine ways to use LinkedIn Marketing provided above can help brands use the professional network to their advantage.

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