The document discusses top sponsored updates on LinkedIn for Q2 2015. It analyzes what made certain updates engaging in different industries such as education, technology, finance, and business services. Common engaging tactics identified include using casual language, memes, infographics, questions, humor and addressing professional needs or pain points of the target audience. The top updates achieved high engagement through easy to consume formats, visual elements, and relevant, value-adding content.

1. Top Sponsored Updates
Q2 2015

2. Top sponsored updates for North America were targeted to US/Canada, served at
least 25,000 impressions, and are ranked by engagement rate. Engagement rate
includes clicks + social actions.
Methodology
2

3. Top 5 Sponsored Updates in North
America
3

4. Top Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Stands out from the rest of the news
feed by using a casual tone and
incorporating a meme
Uses a short-form article format for
easy engagement
Uses the intro copy to deliver an
upbeat message as a hook
4

5. Top Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Provides a lot of upfront value with the
use of statistics in the intro copy and an
infographic for visual engagement
These tactics are effective ways to
tease out longer content like survey
results or a research report
5

6. Top Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
The post optimizes mobile engagement
by eliminating the intro copy
Taps into a very broad desire to be
more successful: the main reason
professionals use LinkedIn. The
message is appropriate to the platform
6

7. Top Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Niche content finds a place on
LinkedIn with the use of an effective
targeting strategy
The image adds context to the post
7

8. Top Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
It keeps content social by using
human stories and peer learning
The intro copy is concise and clear
and adds to the image and title
8

9. Education
9

10. Top EDU Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Provides career insights in addition to a
call-to-action to take advantage of them
10

11. Top EDU Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Large-format images take up more in-
feed real estate and provide a visual
hook
11

12. Top EDU Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Uses a well-known persona
Taps into the desire of professionals
to continuously learn and improve
12

13. Top EDU Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Uses a familiar pros-and-cons formatto
present useful information in an easy-
to-digest way
13

14. Top EDU Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
The program reaches a broad target
of aspiring executives
Leadership is always a top content
topic on LinkedIn
Using first-person language keeps
the tone social
14

15. Technology
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16. Top Tech Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Stands out from the rest of the news
feed by using a casual tone and
incorporating a meme
Uses a short-form article format for
easy engagement
Uses the intro copy to deliver an
upbeat message as a hook
16

17. Top Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Provides a lot of upfront value with the
use of statistics in the intro copy and an
infographic for visual engagement
These tactics are effective ways to
tease out longer content like survey
results or a research report
17

18. Top Tech Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Finding relevancy with targeting, and
speaking in the language if your
audience, are two core best practices
18

19. Top Tech Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Professionals come to LinkedIn to
glean insights into industry trends.
Because of the forward-looking nature
of the article, using a question in the
intro copy encourages open dialogue
and comments, earning more viral
impressions
19

20. Top Tech Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Mixing up your content tone and
format with a little humor makes the
content more relatable, and stands
out from the more straightforward
tone often found in a professional
content feed
20

21. Financial Services
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22. Top Finance Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
The post optimizes mobile engagement
by eliminating the intro copy
Taps into a very broad desire to be
more successful: the main reason
professionals use LinkedIn. The
message is appropriate to the platform
22

23. Top Finance Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Use of a compelling stat created
intrigue and urgency amongst a broad
professionals investing in future
retirement
The infographic is clear and easy to
understand, even on a small screen,
optimizing mobile engagement
23

24. Top Finance Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
The use of an in-feed video player
keeps content engagement on-site,
reducing bounce rates experienced by
slow external page loads
Addresses a common pain point
amongst the target audience
24

25. Top Finance Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
The intro copy is short and effective,
adding a little value and providing a
clear call-to-action
The topic is broad enough to appeal
to a wide audience, so micro-
targeting on a post like this is not
necessary and can limit reach and
impact
25

26. Top Finance Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
“State of the industry” or “future of the
industry” reports have a natural home
on LinkedIn, where members are
looking to stay informed and maintain
career knowledge
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27. Business Services
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28. Top Business Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
The article illustrates how training
can turn a challenge into an
opportunity
Posing a question as a simple
challenge provides intrigue
The introduction of humor into the
comments encourages additional
participation
28

29. Top Business Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Identifies a big gap between need and
resource
Uses urgent language- “critical” and
“extreme” to hook the reader in
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30. Top Business Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Career advancement and job
placement are still common use cases
for professionals on LinkedIn. Paying to
promote a job fair or opening is an
efficient practice, and geo-targeting
keeps the relevancy high
30

31. Top Business Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
A large, colorful image draws attention
in a scrolling news feed
The question posed sparks the
imagination around personal use cases
for business technology, tapping into
the audience’s desire for inspiration
31

32. Top Business Updates- Q2 2015
What makes it engaging?
Introduces a new term into an existing
dialogue
Uses the popular list format to provide
short-form insights
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