When it comes to social media platforms, LinkedIn is your go-to option for content directed at other professionals. For instance, for our behavioral health clients, it’s the best way for them to reach referring providers, whether it’s through thought leadership posts or by sharing their attendance at recent conferences and events. From there, they can organically grow their client base.
LinkedIn is especially important for small businesses (like Carlisle & Co.!). With over 33.2 million small businesses in the United States alone, this platform can help you stand out. In fact, founders and executives get three times more engagement on their content compared to average users.
In today’s blog post, let’s look at five strategies to help you grow your brand on LinkedIn.
1. Build strong connections.
If you accept every request on LinkedIn, you may end up with a network of followers who don’t actually care about your content. The platform, though, works on a connection to connection basis. When you publish a post, it is shown to your first connections and followers only. If they engage with your post, LinkedIn will then push it out to their connections, expanding your reach.
Given the algorithm, it’s important to think about your target audience and make intentional connections. You can find someone in your industry, look at the comments on their posts, and find people who meet your criteria. Reach out with a personalized message to build your network.
2. Write engaging content.
Let’s be honest: The rise of social media has caused our attention spans to get shorter and shorter. Every LinkedIn post needs to grab the attention of someone scrolling in the first three seconds. We advise clients to lead with a pain point — something that people can relate to or a problem they want solved. Your first sentence (the hook) should be less than 10 words and get right to the point. Your second sentence should expand on the problem, and the third sentence should offer an easy-to-grap solution.
3. Add comments on a regular basis.
Your comments are just as important as your posts, maybe even more so. Your comments get seen by the post’s author and their audience, meaning they may be seen hundreds of times. You need to be strategic though: Find accounts that are two to ten times the size of your own and follow a consistent commenting schedule. Add value to the comment section with helpful information, thoughtful questions, and personal experiences.
4. Use comments on your own posts!
Instead of including your calls to action in your captions, add them to the comments. That way, your posts can focus on educational content that builds brand awareness and trust. Once a follower is invested, they may be interested in your online course or upcoming webinar, which you can mention in a comment to your post with a link. If a post accrues a lot of comments, be sure to pin your comment to the top for easy access.
5. Post at strategic times.
Your engagement within the first hour of posting determines a post’s success. Before you hit publish, take 10 to 30 minutes to actively comment on posts on your feed. After you post, continue to engage on the platform. Pay attention to your own feed and be sure to reply back to the comments you receive in a timely manner.
Even better, these tips can help you grow your LinkedIn following too.
In order to gain new followers, it’s important to receive engagement soon after posting — the more people who interact with your content immediately, the more people will ultimately see it. Believe it or not, likes should not be your ultimate goal. The algorithm pushes out your posts to non-followers based on dwell time (how long people spend on your post), comments, and then likes.
If you’re looking to develop a digital marketing strategy and expand your online reach, please reach out to our team today.
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