LinkedIn is the most rewarding social media platform for organic B2B content. However, only 15% of marketers say they’re actively creating content for LinkedIn.
Creating for LinkedIn and posting on LinkedIn are two different actions. Tailoring content for the LinkedIn platform involves strategy. Posting one-off content usually lacks the approach and energy you’ll need to gain traction on the platform.
Social media is a portal for content marketers and LinkedIn has proven to be the B2B dimension. The major differentiating factors are the mindset and demographics of LinkedIn users.
For example, when people click on the Instagram app, most of the time it’s a mindless action that takes place out of habit (The Social Dilemma, anyone?). With LinkedIn, the action is intentional.
The person is in a business-focused mindset and therefore paying attention vs. scrolling with banner blindness. Visits are deliberate making the engagement high.
With this knowledge, content marketers have deduced that LinkedIn is not only the perfect B2B platform, but it’s also ideal for every stage of the decision-making process — especially because starting with a niche audience makes the job of reaching your ICP that much more tangible.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to create LinkedIn content is that more than 50% of all social traffic to B2B sites comes from LinkedIn.
Why it’s important to establish your company as a thought leader on LinkedIn
Data shows that the typical buyer consumes 7 to 10 pieces of content before making their choice. (LinkedIn)
91% of marketing executives list LinkedIn as the top place to find quality content. (LinkedIn)
Only 0.59% of posts from B2B marketers come from company pages, but over 10% of leads generated come from them. (Foundation Inc.)
LinkedIn is 277% more effective for lead generation than Facebook and Twitter. (HubSpot)
Let’s get niche, 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn vs. 13% on Twitter and 7% on Facebook. (Neil Patel)
Four out of five LinkedIn members drive business decisions at their companies. (LinkedIn)
Be where the decision-makers are, it’s that simple.
Content types and how to break them down for LinkedIn
The following sections break down the different types of content in each stage of the funnel and how to use this content on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn loves a well-rounded profile and rewards participation. You should never share a piece of content, a blog, for example, one time, and let it compost on your website.
There are dozens of ways to repurpose content that utilizes every bit of effort and information that went into the original piece.
If you’re not familiar with all of the benefits of repurposing content, Rand Fishkin wrote a great blog post that I continue to revisit.
What LinkedIn offers
1. Posts
The original, vanilla content share. Throw an update (caption) in there and you’re good to go.
Careful linking away from LinkedIn though, the algorithm hates when you do that.
2. Video
Videos can get 5x more engagement than the posts forementioned. For best results, upload the video natively to LinkedIn.
I know, I wish LinkedIn and Youtube could be friends too.
3. Articles
To date-ish, only 1 million LinkedIn articles have been published. As a content marketer, I’m hyper-aware of duplicate content, but apparently, LinkedIn articles don’t apply.
While the algorithm rewards native content over linking to a blog, this is a double-edged sword.
Basically, you have to choose what is most important for this post: more people reading the content with no website clicks, or fewer people reading it but getting some clicks to your site.
If you’re an overachiever, you can repost your blog content as a LinkedIn article per the article above.
4. Hashtags
Hashtags aren’t really a “tool”, but they’re great for reach. Individual users and companies can both follow any hashtag that interests them.
If you follow a hashtag, you’ll see posts that contain that hashtag in your feed.
5. Groups
Ah, groups. Taking advantage of groups is a proven way to gain traction on LinkedIn. All you have to do is join relevant groups and post your content in the groups.
My guess is that posts would be better received from a personal account vs. company profile—it’s more credible that way.
6. Events
A relatively new feature allowing companies (and users) to create events and gather attendees.
Rumor has it that more data will soon be accessible around the event tool. Right now, there’s not much to write to your boss about.
7. Stories
The shiny new object. LinkedIn stories have basically no data yet, however, this is what LinkedIn has to say. If you have time to create story content, definitely do so.
8. SlideShare
LinkedIn’s SlideShare is up to 80 million users monthly.
The PowerPoint-like tool is a great way to re-purpose blog posts and gets super high engagement (views).
9. LinkedIn Live
Currently an exclusive tool, LinkedIn Live is new and making a name. LinkedIn Live streams have increased by 158% since February. Think webinar, but cooler.
10. Polls
One of the many podcasts I’ve listened to on social media encouraged the use of polls. The driver here is the participation reward I mentioned.
LinkedIn “likes” when you utilize as many of their offerings as possible. Plus, polls are fun and they break up the feed.
Top of funnel content on LinkedIn: the awareness stage
Content can be geared towards any stage within the funnel, but there are content types more traditionally associated with each stage.
Starting with the awareness stage, a LinkedIn content strategy would likely have content such as blog posts, white papers, live video, webinar, infographics, press releases, guest posts, etc. planned.
1. Blogs + white papers
Blogs are a staple in any content strategy and they’re great for the awareness stage. A well-written and designed blog can change the way the reader works.
I’m biased as a content marketer, but when I learn from a blog and appreciate the copy, I sign up for their email list or at least connect with them on LinkedIn. This way I’ll continue seeing their content in my feed.
Big content pieces like white papers or eBooks usually serve the purpose of establishing the company as a thought leader and providing valuable content that’s typically exchanged for personal information like an email address. Blogs and white papers can be repurposed using very similar tactics.
My favorite recent example of repurposing blog content took place on our LinkedIn account. I published a blog called This cold email template has a 57% open rate.
This particular blog is also a good example because it’s derived from internal data meaning you can’t find the same opinion all over Google.
Because this piece did well (171 clicks), I repurposed it on LinkedIn as a click-through PDF. The PDF post got 583 clicks with a click-through rate of 25.06%.
Ways to repurpose blog content for LinkedIn:
- Continuously update the blog for current keywords and facts keeping it evergreen. Depending on the amount of content you’re able to create, share the blog monthly or bi-monthly on LinkedIn as a post while it’s relevant.
- Combine multiple blogs on the same keyword group or topic into an ebook or white paper. This type of content can be great for both the awareness and consideration stages of the funnel depending on the topic/copy. This is an efficient way to create a big content piece as you only need to expand on your original copy, not start from scratch. Big content pieces tend to build trust with people as the perception is that you’re an expert on the topic.
- Turn pull quotes into graphics.
- Create infographics or checklists out of the main takeaways. Everyone loves an actionable to-do list and since they’re short, people usually take the time to glance them over. Giving away one-sheeters is amazing for the awareness stage because the person then has a one-sheeter with your logo. If they need help on the subject, your company will probably come to mind. The SlideShare feature is a great one to utilize here.
- Turn the blog into a webinar or live video topic and outline. Video does insanely well on LinkedIn. Bonus points if you upload natively!
2. Checklists, tips, and infographics
This type of content is usually derived from bigger content pieces like blogs, white papers, or to accompany a live video as a giveaway.
Since checklists/infographics are generally “free” and not gated, people download or screenshot the PDF to revisit later or reuse with their teams.
I recommend uploading a checklist or tips graphic on LinkedIn as a PDF to make downloading easy. Here’s an example.
3. LinkedIn Live and webinars
LinkedIn Live is a relatively new feature. Facebook has offered a live video option for a while now, but it’s just not the same.
LinkedIn notifies all of your followers when you’re going live, enabling you to grab last-minute viewers. The vibe around LinkedIn Live is more casual and natural than a webinar that’s advertised weeks in advance.
LinkedIn Live also builds your LinkedIn following vs. your email list so you should decide which result aligns best with your current goals.
Webinars are a classic marketing tool for a reason — they work. First, it’s a popular opinion that video does very well on social media.
Second, they’re planned out and executed precisely with a clear goal in mind. Third, to attend a webinar, you must give your email list in exchange for the link to attend.
Continuously building your email list is a top priority for most marketing professionals.
One of the best things about hosting a LinkedIn Live or webinar is the opportunity to pull experts from outside of your organization.
Even if they’re in the same industry and their audience overlaps, you’ll almost certainly get new followers or email addresses, and therefore, potential new business.
Both occasions are appropriate for LinkedIn’s “event” feature. Webinars should be pushed weeks in advance while LinkedIn Live’s don’t need a warning.
Some even go live so often that they solely rely on the notification that LinkedIn sends and their follower base vs. attracting an audience beforehand.
Be sure to repurpose the video content by chopping the video up into smaller segments that hold individual takeaways. Here’s an example of a repurposed LinkedIn Live on LinkedIn.
4. Press releases
Press is always great to share on LinkedIn. A lot of the time press releases are around a new product launch or recent company growth.
Everything that applies to the blog/white paper repurposing can be done with press releases.
5. Guest posts
Guest posting can be a magical SEO force depending on the domain authority of the hosting company. Besides Google ranking growth and a traffic bump, guest posts are a lovely brand awareness tool and they’re gold on LinkedIn.
When sharing a guest post, you’ll tag the hosting company in your caption. Usually, the company will comment on your post and share it with its followers.
Just the comment will instantly boost your reach as all of their followers will now have your post in their feed. Guest posts should also be repurposed using the blog/white paper tactics.
Middle of funnel content on LinkedIn: the consideration stage
The consideration stage of a content strategy will contain product comparison guides, case studies, and video content.
The middle-of-funnel content makes the connection between the high-level industry knowledge and your specific product value.
These people already know about your company, now they’re analyzing if and how you can help them.
1. Product comparison guide
Product comparison guides are great. They get right down to the point and allow potential customers to skip the initial discovery call if they just want the information.
These guides can absolutely be shared on LinkedIn and are often repurposed as product videos using the guide as a script.
2. Case studies
This one is non-negotiable. Case studies are a must for all industries whether they’re in the format of a true case study or a simple customer review.
If we don’t even pick a restaurant without first checking their stars or scanning their reviews, companies aren’t going to pick a company without case studies.
Case studies can be repurposed if your client is willing to appear on video to help promote your company.
They should be shared on LinkedIn only after they’re broken down into individual graphics or infographics. Not many people are going to leave their LinkedIn feed solely to read about your product.
They might, however, pause within their feed and be impressed by your stats. As a good rule of thumb, get client approval before publishing any numbers.
Bottom of funnel content on LinkedIn: the decision stage
The bottom-of-funnel content is created to talk directly to buyers. Content made for the decision stage is tailored for people who have moved past the awareness and consideration phases and onto purchasing.
Because these people have already searched for contenders and compared companies, the content created for this stage doesn’t necessarily have to take SEO into consideration.
Content at this stage typically includes free consultations, special offers, coupons, video content, and always a call to action.
1. Free consultation
Depending on your product or service, a free consultation may or may not be an option. However, the consultation doesn’t have to be with your full product.
For example, JumpCrew is an outsourced sales and marketing partner. We recently did a free consultation campaign around writing a cold email outreach for potential customers.
2. Special offers/coupon
Like discounts and freebies, people can’t resist special offers. LinkedIn is a great place to promote this type of content, especially using an ad.
3. Video content
79% of people say a brand’s video convinced them to make a purchase.
According to Linkedin, if content is published in both video and written format, 59% of executives said they would choose to consume it via video.
B2B buyers name video among the Top 3 most useful types of content for making work purchases. (PPC Protect)
According to Forbes, 90% of customers say video helps them make buying decisions and 64% of customers say that seeing a video makes them more likely to buy.
4. CTA (call to action)
When you create bottom-of-funnel LinkedIn content, using a CTA is the best practice. This is the time to ask followers to take action from your content.
Whether that’s filling out a form or buying something on the spot, ask them to take the next step.
Use this information to provide value for your LinkedIn followers at all stages of the funnel.
If you provide value, you’ll gain followers and grow your organic traffic. Remember, consistency is the key to succeeding on LinkedIn.
