You might think of LinkedIn as somewhere that only job hunters, recruiters and sales people hang out, but did you know that there are 9 billion content impressions in LinkedIn feeds every week? This content is generated by just 3 million users, so as share of voice goes, it’s a great way to reach a huge audience with less competitive conversation than say, Google or Facebook.
People spend time on other social networks, but they invest time in LinkedIn, seeking content that helps them to solve a professional problem. According to stats from LinkedIn, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn. This is why 92% of B2B marketers leverage LinkedIn over all social platforms and 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content.
The professional social network is also fantastic for generating traffic to your website – 46% of social media coming into B2B company sites comes from, you guessed it, LinkedIn.
But it’s not just about B2B. LinkedIn has 450 million professionals who use the site and stats from the social network reveal that it’s become a destination where people consume high-quality content from professional publishers – think The Wall Street Journal or The Economist – who are sharing content into their feed. In short, the audience on LinkedIn are primed and ready for relevant information that they can use to help them succeed.
The different types of content that can be shared across LinkedIn is extensive, ranging from long-form pieces of content such as whitepapers to images, news, videos, status updates, slides, podcasts and external articles. You can also contribute to groups to join conversation in your industry. Hashtags also work on the site, so you can help your audience find your organic content more easily and grow your brand awareness.
Another reason why LinkedIn is the king of organic is the ability to publish long-form content as an influencer – alongside legendary business heroes such as Bill Gates and Richard Branson. This can be a key tool to increase engagement and traction on your content – according to a study by Google consumers check 10 pieces of content before they make a purchase decision, so it’s important that your prospective customer can find your content easily when they’re ready to make that decision. Content can also be shared through your LinkedIn Company Page and specific Showcase Pages to increase your organic reach. These tools are free to establish brand awareness and thought leadership. By sharing relevant information, perspectives and product information to reflect your company’s vision you can help your customers find your content, without having to spend a penny on targeting or sponsored content.
Also, did you know that SlideShare is also part of LinkedIn? With 70 million unique visitors per month, the site is one of the top 100 most-visited websites in the world and the world’s largest professional content-sharing community. 80% of visitors to SlideShare find content through organic search (20% from Google alone) that takes them directly to the information they’re looking for.
It’s the perfect organic opportunity to showcase content such as presentations, portfolios, conference talks and webinars to raise brand awareness and thought leadership alongside your LinkedIn presence. The visual aspect of SlideShare can resonate more quickly with some viewers than text heavy posts too.
When you consider the power of LinkedIn for inbound marketing, things start to get interesting. Combining a solid organic content strategy with personalised LinkedIn outreach can lead to lucrative results.
So what are you waiting for? If you want to find out more about how to boost your organic reach using LinkedIn, contact us today.
Written by guest blogger Lucy Thorpe.
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