LinkedIn has turned into a powerhouse for marketing, especially for B2B campaigns. With 93% of B2B marketers tapping into LinkedIn for their organic social marketing needs in the year leading up to October 2021, you can see why this platform is significant.
Out of those who used paid social media strategies, 75% picked LinkedIn, resulting in the best outcomes. As a result, LinkedIn's ad revenue reached 3.8 billion in 2021, and the numbers are expected to double to 7.7 billion by 2026, as measured by the best revenue recognition practices.
However, becoming a LinkedIn influencer and optimizing your returns requires a deep understanding of the nuances of the platform, which can be challenging. In this article, we’ll explore the intricacies of LinkedIn influencer marketing and share examples that you can emulate to succeed in this growing and promising field.
Understanding LinkedIn Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing on social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook aims to capture the attention of users through entertaining content. This is usually the case because such platforms are utilized, primarily, for that purpose by their user base.
On the other hand, LinkedIn—a more professional platform—caters to an audience primarily interested in networking with like-minded individuals, engaging with thought leaders, and learning from educational content.
The platform usually features bite-sized insights, valuable lessons from experience, and hard facts from its community. It's about substance rather than just style.
Leveraging the authority of this platform can give your brand a strong voice in the business community. You're not just reaching consumers; you're engaging with industry leaders, fellow professionals, and potential business partners.
This makes LinkedIn influencer marketing an essential strategy for elevating your brand, building trust, and positioning yourself as an industry leader.
LinkedIn Influencer Marketing Examples to Emulate
Short Videos & Summarizing Text
When it comes to engaging content on LinkedIn, short videos paired with summarizing text make a powerful combination. The video, usually 2-3 minutes long, focuses on sharing informative content. Alongside it, you'll usually find a concise caption summarizing the key takeaways from the video.
Why It Works
- Short videos grab attention and educate quickly: People appreciate content that's to the point. Short videos can convey a powerful message quickly, grabbing the viewer's attention.
- Summarizing text increases knowledge retention: The summarizing text reinforces the video’s content. It helps embed the information more firmly.
- Gives viewers the option to read or watch: Not everyone has time to watch a video. By providing a summarizing text, you allow viewers to choose how they want to consume the information, whether by watching or reading.
How You Can Emulate It
- Keep videos 2-3 minutes long: This length is ideal to convey essential information without losing the viewer's interest.
- Use visuals and transitions to back up your statements: Visually appealing content can make your video more engaging and help illustrate your points.
- Include relevant links in text summary: Including links in the summarizing text not only provides further reading, but also enhances your credibility as it shows you've done your homework.
Image Carousels With Bite-Sized Insights
Image carousels are a series of pictures or slides that contain insights on a specific topic, presented in a visually engaging way. Think of them as a visual journey through key points or ideas related to your industry.
Why It Works
- Breaks a large post into bite-sized chunks: Rather than overwhelming your audience with a wall of text, image carousels break the content into digestible parts. This approach makes it easier for viewers to absorb the information.
- It makes textual content visual: By turning insights into visual content, you're making the learning experience more enjoyable and relatable. Images can often communicate ideas faster and more effectively than words alone.
- Adds an interactive element: The swiping action needed to navigate through the carousel adds an interactive touch, making your content more engaging and keeping your audience more involved.
How You Can Emulate It
- Introduce the topic in the first carousel: This sets the stage and prepares your audience for what's to come. It builds anticipation and provides context.
- Write one or two short sentences per image: Keeping the text concise ensures that the visuals remain the focal point, and the information is easy to grasp.
- Include your brand identity in each slide: Consistent branding across the slides not only looks professional, but also reinforces your brand's presence in the viewer's mind.
Share Lessons From Your Experiences
Experience-based content is all about authenticity. It's where you, as the creator, share an anecdote from your personal life or professional journey. It could be presented in the form of a video or text post, depending on what feels right for you.
Why It Works
- Helps audiences connect with the content (and the creator): By sharing personal experiences, you're allowing your audience to see a more human side of you or your brand. This fosters a deeper connection and builds trust.
- Leaves a lasting impact: Personal stories often carry powerful lessons. When shared with authenticity, they can resonate deeply with your audience and leave a lasting impact that goes beyond mere information sharing.
- Motivates and inspires audiences to act: Hearing about someone else's experiences and the wisdom they gained can be inspiring. It can motivate your audience to take positive actions in their own lives or businesses.
How You Can Emulate It
- Share your brand’s story and personal experiences: Don't be afraid to open up. Your audience may find your journey, challenges, and triumphs relatable.
- Include a positive takeaway at the end: Summarize what you've learned from the experience and how it has shaped you or your brand. This positive conclusion can leave your audience with something valuable to ponder.
- Engage with the viewers in the comments: Your story might spark thoughts, questions, or similar experiences from your audience. Engage with them in the comments to keep the conversation going and build a community.
Include Numbers, Statistics, and Facts
This content approach focuses on bolstering your conclusion or actionable advice with cold, hard facts and figures. It could be a post with or without multimedia, but the key is to include credible data that supports your statements.
Why It Works
- Informs and educates rather than suggests: When you provide data-driven insights, you're suggesting a course of action and educating your audience on why it makes sense. It elevates the content from mere opinion to informed guidance.
- Facts and figures make the post more trustworthy: When you back up your statements with solid data, you're showing that your conclusions aren't just opinions—they are grounded in reality.
- Justifies the conclusion or advice objectively: Numbers don’t lie. By including statistics and facts, you're providing objective evidence that supports your conclusion or advice, thus making it more convincing.
How You Can Emulate It
- Verify facts and figures before using them: Ensuring the data you use is accurate is essential. Double-check your sources to maintain your credibility.
- Share the source to improve trustworthiness: Citing your sources not only boosts transparency but also allows interested readers to delve deeper. It's a mark of professionalism that can enhance trust.
- Try to add multimedia: From informative charts to a well-designed infographic, multimedia elements can make the data more digestible and engaging.
LinkedIn Influencer Marketing Done Right
In the rapidly evolving world of LinkedIn influencer marketing, here are the four strategies that can help you build authority among experienced professionals:
- Short Videos and Summarizing Text
- Image Carousels with Bite-Sized Insights
- Sharing Lessons from Your Experiences
- Including Numbers, Statistics, and Facts
Don’t be afraid to experiment with these approaches to discover the perfect way to connect with your professional network on LinkedIn.
Happy marketing!
About Author
Oliver Thyra is the head SaaS copywriter and content strategist at Your Marketing Digest. His intense passion for marketing and his engineering background has made him a guy who understands how to sell software subscriptions with words. In his free time, Oliver enjoys quality time with his pets (he has 4 golden retrievers!).