LinkedIn has a growth rate of two members joining per second, is home to 58 million companies and boasts over 800 million members. It’s hard not to view it as the most relevant social platform companies can utilise to increase their brand awareness and build relationships. However, with so much competing content, it is imperative to make your organisation stand out and break through the noise.
Below are C8’s three top tips for B2B businesses to nurture their brand voice and increase their status across social media, and the wider industry.
Build a content strategy
Without informative and enjoyable content, it is unlikely you will secure the engagement you need from the right audience. It is important to raise your social voice through a variety of posts which are not purely related to marketing your business, but focus on helping your audience and encourage discussion. Consistent short-form, digestible content that is thought-provoking and illustrates interesting ideas or opinions will be more likely to resonate with your audience than straight-up marketing spiel. It’s also beneficial to switch up your style of posting, including video content and polls, on occasion, to drive up engagement.
For example, C8’s posts range from industry news, blog posts, events, media coverage, and company updates. By highlighting industry developments, C8 is presenting itself as an up-to-date expert providing relevant and informative content to our audience, which includes current and potential clients. Posting team updates, such as employee promotions and achievements, shows the human side of the business, ensures employees feel valued and highlights the wonderful work they do. This variety ensures that our page constantly feels current and fresh, and talks to people, not companies.
Creating a well thought out content strategy, thinking about the types of posts your followers will want to see, will increase your engagement and in turn, this will build influence. Show off your industry experts and stay ahead of news stories and trends – and remember always to stay consistent!
Encourage company engagement
Your employees are your spokespeople in real life and via social media. When your employees engage with social posts you are creating an organic voice that will resonate with your audience. LinkedIn internal data has discovered that engaged employees influence eight times more Company Page views, four times more followers, seven times more job views, and four times more job applications. Not only this, but social posting between co-workers increases engagement by 60%, and they are fourteen times more likely to share their organisation’s social content.
This indicates that employees can maximise your organisation’s social media presence organically beyond the ‘corporate’ voice of your page.
Keep it fun and ‘beautify’ your posts
Whilst LinkedIn is the perfect place to connect with current and future clients this does not restrict it to corporate speak; it is still a social platform. It is 2022 and people interact with social media in a variety of ways. However, 57% of LinkedIn users access the platform using a smartphone, therefore, content should be optimised for this view. Relevant emojis are a fantastic way to draw people to a post if you feel that this works with your brand’s tone of voice; even swapping a bullet point for an emoji is a straightforward way to create better visuals for the user. Another powerful addition to your post is relevant hashtags allowing you to join conversations relating to your business and its purpose. The ideal number is three per post and this will help to filter you directly to your target audience.
In summary, do not be afraid to steer away from a strictly corporate voice. LinkedIn should not be a regurgitation of your company website and the services you offer. To maximise the potential of your page, make sure you are engaging with and celebrating employees, offering expert insight on industry issues and developments, and keeping on top of trends with relevant hashtags.
Now with this advice in mind, get posting!