Download to read offline
Uploaded byBlack Marketing
How we built an always-on content strategy.
The document discusses how LinkedIn was used to build an always-on content strategy and grow a LinkedIn page to over 100k followers. It provides tips for content marketing on LinkedIn, including establishing a company page, regularly posting visual content, testing different strategies, and using both organic and paid content. Targeting best practices are also covered such as aligning content with specific audiences and leveraging LinkedIn's targeting options.
More Related Content
![[Webinar] Content Amplification Playbook: Harness Social Media to Boost Your ...](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/webinarcontentamplificationplaybookharnesssocialmediatoboostyourcontentreach-190725175948-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
Similar to How we built an always-on content strategy.
![Leveraging Your Content on LinkedIn to Drive Leads [Webinar Deck]](https://cdn.slidesharecdn.com/ss_thumbnails/april29thwebinarfinalforslideshare-150427182222-conversion-gate01-thumbnail.jpg?width=640&height=640&fit=bounds)
How we built an always-on content strategy.
- 1. OUR JOURNEY TO100K HOW WE BUILT AN ALWAYS-ON CONTENT STRATEGYJuly 13, 2016 11am PST | 2pm EST #SophisticatedMktg
- 2. Alex Rynne Associate Content MarketingManager LinkedIn @amrynnie Cassandra Clark Marketing Manager LinkedIn @cassandra3 #SophisticatedMktg@LinkedInMktg
- 3. 1 2 34 5 Why content marketing on LinkedIn Why a LinkedIn Company Page or Showcase Page Our path to 100k: 3 major themes with examples Targeting best practices Q& A WHAT WE’LL COVER #SophisticatedMktg
- 4.
- 5.
- 6. PEOPLE SPEND TIMEON OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS, BUT THEY INVEST TIME ON LINKEDIN. #SophisticatedMktg
- 7. #LinkedInMktg 79% Of B2Bmarketers believe social media is an effective marketing channel 80% Of B2B leads come from LinkedIn 43% According to HubSpot, 43%of marketers say that they have sourced a customer from LinkedIn #SophisticatedMktg
- 8. FOR THE FIRSTTIME IN THE HISTORY OF MEDIA YOU CAN ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD’S PROFESSIONALS IN ONE PLACE #SophisticatedMktg
- 9. OUR DIGITAL LIVESCONVERGE ON VERY FEW BIG DESTINATIONS
- 10. THE LARGEST GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF PROFESSIONAL S 414Mprofessionalsare on LinkedIn 61M senior-level influencers 40M decision makers 22.8M Mass Affluent 3.1M marketers 10.7M opinion leaders6.8M C-level execs 4.1M IT decision makers #SophisticatedMktg
- 11. 9 billion contentimpressions / week 15X content vs job postings in the feed 57% mobile PROFESSIONALS ENGAGE WITH PURPOSE – AND WITH CONTENT #SophisticatedMktg
- 12. ESTABLISH YOUR COMPANY’SIDENTITY BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE WORLD’S PROFESSIONALS IDENTITY Your company’s profile to the world’s professionals NETWORK Connect professionals and your employees to drive economic opportunity KNOWLEDGE Share content & opportunities to make professionals more productive & successful
- 13. LINKEDIN SHOWCASE PAGES HIGHLIGHTYOUR INDIVIDUAL BRANDS WITH SHOWCASE PAGES • Allow LinkedIn members to follow the aspects of your business they’re interested in • Create a dedicated page for aspects of your business with their own messages and audience to share with • Share focused content to build a relationship with a specific audience
- 14. LINKEDIN COMPANY & SHOWCASEPAGES Lead Generation Thought Leadership Brand Awareness MEETING YOUR OBJECTIVES KEY METRICS Page Followers1 Post Clicks2 Engagement & Comments3 Event Registrants4 Event Registration #SophisticatedMktg
- 15. LINKEDIN COMPANY & SHOWCASEPAGES ACTION ITEMS Post 3-4 times a day1 Engage with & respond to followers’ comments2 Change cover image every 6 months3 45% Company Updates containing links can have up to a 45% higher follower engagement #SophisticatedMktg
- 16. Born January 2014 10,000 May 2014 24,675 December2014 Publish only rich media posts (Visual is the new headline!) Test posting at different times of day and watch engagement 40,000 July 2014 Experiment with themes (e.g., ‘Monday Motivation’) and posts without links 50,000 September 2014 Change social headers every 6 months Sponsor top-performing organic content 30,000 April 2015 100K CELEBRATING FOLLOWERS #SophisticatedMktg
- 17. 60,068 December 2015 Launch moreSponsored Content Campaigns (mix of lead generation, brand awareness and thought leadership plays) 60,000 November 2015 Incorporate more quotes and stats into our imagery May 2016 Ensure image always matches messaging Test length of updates (found 150 characters or fewer perform best) 80,000 March 2016 70,000 January 2016 Incorporate more A/B testing using Direct Sponsored Content Post 3-4 times a day 90,000 April 2016 100K CELEBRATING FOLLOWERS 100,000 #SophisticatedMktg
- 18. COUNTING TO 100K 3 KEYCONTENT MARKETING TACTICS TO ENGAGE YOUR TARGET Test everything. Visual is the new headline. Organic is good. Paid is better. #SophisticatedMktg
- 19. TEST EVERYTHING. “eBook” “guide” StatQuote Object Human vs. vs. vs.
- 20. This is what VISUALIS THE NEW HEADLINE. #SophisticatedMktg
- 21. This is what VISUALIS THE NEW HEADLINE. #SophisticatedMktg
- 22. 587% increase inimpressions delivered ORGANIC IS GOOD. PAID IS BETTER. +360,67 2 impressions +93 1 clicks 182 followers #SophisticatedMktg
- 23. LINKEDIN SPONSORED CONTENT Deliverrich content in the LinkedIn feed across all the devices.
- 24. LINKEDIN DIRECT SPONSORED CONTENT WithDirect Sponsored Content, reach your target audience directly in the feed without publishing on your Company Page. Personalize Test Control #SophisticatedMktg
- 25. LINKEDIN SPONSORED CONTENT Deliverthe right content to the right people and boost quality leads on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/1TEY 7Fl Advertising today is a whole new playing field. Get ahead in the game with The Little Big Book of LinkedIn Advertising: http://bit.ly/1hlyOlx Tune in as industry leaders discuss practical insignts on how academic institutions can best leverage LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/1BifEqw Are you ready to provide the first (and best) solution to suit your prospects’ needs? http://bit.ly/1BifEqw WHAT TO SHARE #SophisticatedMktg
- 26. DIRECT SPONSORED CONTENT +571% CLICKS +490% IMPRESSIONS vs. ALWAYSBE TESTING #SophisticatedMktg
- 27. LINKEDIN SPONSORED CONTENT &DIRECT SPONSORED CONTENT Lead Generation Thought Leadership Brand Awareness MEETING YOUR OBJECTIVES KEY METRICS Engagement rate1 Impressions2 Company or Showcase page followers 3 Inquiries/ qualified marketing leads generated 4
- 28. LINKEDIN SPONSORED CONTENT &DIRECT SPONSORED CONTENT ACTION ITEMS Select a compelling visual1 Run Sponsored Content 2-4 times a week2 Run for 3 weeks, then test & iterate3 Add URL tracking codes to measure post-click actions (site visits & conversions) 4 Set up campaigns by audience5 Shift budget to the audience with the highest engagement rate 6
- 29. LINKEDIN SPONSORED CONTENT Visual is thenew headline1 Keep it short & sweet2 Snack-able stats work wonders3 Variety is the spice of life4 BEST PRACTICES #SophisticatedMktg
- 30. Rich demographic data JobFunction, Seniority, Company Name, Geo, Industry Interest-based targeting Group Membership, Skills, Companies Followed Persona targeting Job Searchers, Opinion Leaders, Mass Affluent, Business Travelers Your own audience data Target Account Lists Market to Who Matters: GET TO THE RIGHT PROFESSIONAL AUDIENCES #SophisticatedMktg
- 31. How we deliverrelevancy to our target audience Total addressable audience Any member in the marketing, media or communication job function ● Geo targeting ● Title targeting ● Company size targeting ● Account Based Targeting ● Skills targeting ● Company targeting ● Industry targeting Segmentation within our addressable audience
- 32. Content and targetingstrategies must be aligned Seniority = entry, manager, senior Seniority = director, VP, CXO, Owner, Partner
- 33. Leverage targeting fordeeper personalization in the feed
- 34. Using title andskills targeting to differentiate between brand and demand generation marketer Job title = Demand Generation Manager, Digital Marketing, Acquisition Marketing, SEO Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Marketing Automation Manager, etc Job title = Brand Manager, Brand Marketing Manager, Global Marketing Manager, Director Brand Marketing, etc
- 35. TARGETING TIPS BEST PRACTICES Don’t hyper-target1 Aligncontent and targeting strategy2 Don’t be afraid to experiment3 Try audience expansion4 #SophisticatedMktg
- 36. GETTING STARTED KEY TAKEAWAYS Set up aLinkedInCompany/Showcase Page1 Utilize rich media and A/B test everything2 Implement a good mix of organic and paid3 Try audience expansion4 #SophisticatedMktg
- 37.
- 38. MARKET TO WHO MATTERS Forthe first time in the history of media, you can reach the world’s professionals-all in one place. More than 433M people worldwide gather on LinkedIn to stay connected and informed, advance their careers, and work smarter. Together they comprise the largest global community of business professionals. These are the decision-makers, influencers, and the leaders of today and tomorrow-precisely the people you want to target. For more information, visit marketing.linkedin.com.
Editor's Notes
- #7 Why are the world’s professionals now gathering in this one place, on LinkedIn? Because the people you’re looking to market to are just like you and me. We’re all searching for the right destinations to find the best information, and there are actually fewer places where we’re gathering in large numbers. Think Amazon for buying stuff, Google (and Baidu) for finding information across the web, FB (and QQ) for connecting with friends/family, YouTube for watching videos
- #10 Why are the world’s professionals now gathering in this one place, on LinkedIn? Because the people you’re looking to market to are just like you and me. We’re all searching for the right destinations to find the best information, and there are actually fewer places where we’re gathering in large numbers. Think Amazon for buying stuff, Google (and Baidu) for finding information across the web, FB (and QQ) for connecting with friends/family, YouTube for watching videos
- #21 This is what it would look like without. Size and text-safe size. Places you can find free image tools. Stock photography is a dirty word around here.
- #22 This is what it would look like without. Size and text-safe size. Places you can find free image tools. Stock photography is a dirty word around here.
- #23 Find older example of promoted post. (Increased impressions gained from sponsoring.) Talk about reach. -Test things organically before you’re ready to spend Another advanatge of paying to play is the Follow button appears at the top right, making it easier to expand your reach. Optional if people don’t want to pay for it. 587% increase in impressions delivered
- #32 Taking from that list, here is sort of a elementary way of how we think about targeting. Our total addressable for the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions brand on LinkedIn is basically any member who is in a marketing or media/communication job function. However, we layer on different targeting features to basically slice out parts of that audience that are most relevant to us for that specific campaign. To the right is a list of various targeting parameters we use based on what the goal and content of our campaign is. These targeting features allow us to identifying relevant audiences that will find value in our content and engage with our sponsored content and if we’re doing our jobs right, make them want to engage further with us by becoming a showcase page follower. Also, keep in mind the more engagement you get with it a post, the more opportunity you have to deliver impressions and gain organic reach. So it’s important to make sure you are driving relevancy with your audience. One thing I want to advise on that might feel like a bit contradictory is to avoid the temptation to hyper target audiences. With all the targeting options available it can be easy to narrow in on a very niche audience. It a fine art to balance scale and relevancy. Always start with broad targeting and then monitor and itierate your targeting based on the audiences engaging most with the content, which you can view in campaign manager. Then once you’ve identified audiences that you are seeing engagement with, try the audience expansion tool which will allow you to find similar audiences.
- #33 Marketing Skills, Exec Playbook We have talked a little when we talk about delivering relevancy to your audience. When you’re thinking about your targeting strategy on LinkedIn, you have to think about why people are on LinkedIn in the first place. They come to consume content for their professional development. A good content marketing strategy is one that aims to be useful to your audience. Serve that purpose for them. When you think about the audience you are trying to engage with on LinkedIn and you have defined who you are going to target, make sure you are serving that audience with content that is also serving their professional goals or wants/needs. Don’t be self-serving. If you’re are asking them to do something for you (i.e. fill out a form) give them content that will be mutually beneficial. So here are two examples that do extremely well for us on Sponsored Content. The example to the left of your screen is an eBook we did in partnership with Hubspot called the Marketing Skills handbook. The same goes for the eBook to the right. On the right is a guide geared more towards our executive audience. How to have social presence and leadership. Both are top Sponsored Updates performers, do very well. They see these in the feed and they want to consume this, to help them do better in their roles. The executive playbook on the right is one of our top revenue driving pieces of content. It is one thing to run a campaign targeting executive decision makers, but they are downloading this content and consuming it. We are not just asking them to fill out a form so that our sales team has a lead they can follow up on, we are sharing with them our expertise on having a professional social presence for executives. So my point here, is content and targeting must be aligned. Make sure your content serves your audience well.
- #34 We use industry targeting a lot. So as we continue to optimize our targeting strategy we have tried to take a more targeted, personalized approach in our messaging. Many of us have heard about how the future of marketing is about shifitng from 1:many conversations to 1:1 conversations. We’re trying to adopt that approach in the way we communicate in our advertising and content. We target case studies to industries that company is in. Or we have eBooks that directly address pain points in a specific industry. However, even if you don’t have a huge content engine pumping out industry specific content, you can use sponsored posts to directly speak to those industries or any other audience you want to speak to for that matter. This campaign was for the launch of our big 2016 research. While the research itself is relevant to a wide group of marketers, we want to make sure we were addressing specific audiences within our marketer audience that this research would be especially relevant to. So you see we have one creative that is generic and the targeting is pretty broad. Then we have two creatives targeted on industry (tech industries and finance related industries) that speak directly to those marketers. As you can imagine performance was much higher in the personalized creatives. The tech creative had a 185% higher engagement rate. However, I think the purpose here is bigger than that. The stats are nice to look at, but you could argue that these marketers would have clicked on the generic version regardless. But its the ability to use targeting to have 1:1 conversations in the LinkedIn feed with targeted professional in your audience. This is so extremely valuable in today’s world of advertising and social media. And it has really helped us build a relationship with our audience and climb to that 100k followers. +184%
- #35 Next is an example of how we’ve used title and skills targeting. I touched on this in the first slide Recognizing that there are many different roles and responsibilities within the marketing job function and with that, every marketer has different goals and pain points they are trying to solve for. Our content team has identified subsets of our target audience and we use LinkedIn targeting to reach those specific groups within our audience. The example to the left is a guide our team wrote on how to use LinkedIn for Demand Gen goals and same approach to the right for for marketer’s with brand goals. We’ve identified what we think are top job titles and skills for demand gen and brand marketing. On the slide here are some examples of some of the titles we used to reach these audiences with this highly specialized content.
- #36 Just to recap some targeting best practices as your grow your sponsored content: Don’t hyper target, balance between scale and relevancy Iterate
- #39 Add Dyanmic Ad