Knowing how to leverage LinkedIn in your marcomms strategy is a skill set that can separate thought leaders and brands from the rest, as we learned from Thomas Aastad, founder of brand marketing and communications consultancy Studio Aastad, who was formerly a leader on the EMEA LinkedIn marketing solutions team. In our webinar, we learned why and how brands should be active on LinkedIn, what the user community is looking for and the importance of thought leadership for company executives and subject matter experts.

The takeaways: 

• Not being active on LinkedIn means missing out on a part of your target audience, because the only platform you can reach LinkedIn members on is LinkedIn
• 4 out of 5 LinkedIn members drive business decisions (over 950 million members worldwide)
• 73% of LinkedIn users are intent driven (2x more than Facebook) and are 1.7x more likely to be receptive to advertising 
  • Members aren't passively scrolling or multitasking while they're on, the way they might on Instagram or TikTok
• Three components to consider for your brand DNA on LinkedIn: your corporate brand (i.e. investors), consumer brand (customers) and employer brand (employees)
• LinkedIn members are seeking to learn and looking for advice
  • Seeking info like: employee POVs, jobs/skills, industry events, trends and news 
• What works on one platform might not work on another, so craft your content considering LinkedIn's B2B audience
  • A couple of questions to ask yourself: is this educational or informative to readers? Would you share this with your smartest peers/network?
• Know your target audience and make your content human and narrative-driven to reach them (it's a professional network, but content that is too clinical or even boring won't succeed)
• Pro tip: combine paid and organic content to maximize your reach and engagement 
• In addition to creating content, contribute to conversations, use tags/hashtags, consistently post/engage
• Encourage employees to engage: brand messages see 561% more reach when shared by employees
• Decision makers consume thought leadership to stay educated on the trends affecting their industries, and to generate new ideas for their businesses
  • 56% of professionals stated that a business executive’s presence on social media positively influences their purchase decision
  • 66% of professionals said they would be more likely to recommend a company or brand if they followed a company executive on social media
• Encourage your executives and thought leaders to utilize LinkedIn as another media channel 
  • Work with them on pinpointing their unique POV or expertise that adds value 
• If you're helping your execs with the writing, make sure to use a human, engaging voice