Going Viral Isn’t The Goal On LinkedIn

The Harlem Shake shook the world when it went viral, but what purpose did it serve? Going viral may sound like a solid idea, but does it help you build credibility?

Going viral isn’t a new phenomenon

The concept of content spreading quickly can be traced back well before the internet. Think of flyers or catchy tunes becoming popular through word-of-mouth. In the digital age, the term "going viral" emerged alongside "viral marketing campaigns" where information spreads organically like a virus. If you think about it - remember those forwarded emails? That’s another way content “went viral” but what purpose did it serve? Ultimately, going “viral” can be useful for gaining online attention or building brand awareness, but it’s not the way to establish authority. Going “viral” focuses only on vanity metrics - like impressions or reach - and ignores the fundamental importance of creating and developing a robust online presence for your personal brand, business, or product.?

Posting with purpose?

A single piece of content isn’t going to make you famous, powerful, or trusted in your industry. It might help you establish some level of presence in people’s minds, but it certainly won’t keep you there. Instead, as you navigate your online journey, and build your LinkedIn presence, consider the power of niche content and establishing yourself as a thought leader within your specific industry. Focusing your content efforts on a well-defined niche is a far more sustainable, effective strategy for lead generation and enabling long term success on LinkedIn.

Niche content must be your focus?

Niche content is laser-focused on a specific industry or segment of your target audience. Focusing your online efforts on generating niche content holds far more benefits than trying to create viral content. The benefits of niche content generation include:?

• Targeted reach: As you tailor and focus your content on a specific niche, you steer your online presence towards attracting a highly relevant audience. A highly relevant audience is already interested in your area of expertise, your sector, and your industry. They’re more receptive to your messaging, likely to be interested in your insights, and are more likely to convert into leads.?
• Building authority: Focusing on a particular niche enables you to demonstrate your in-depth knowledge and expertise. By consistently sharing valuable insights, you position yourself as a thought leader within your industry. As you build authority within your niche, you build trust and credibility with your target audience.
• Long-term growth: Instead of focusing on a funny video, you’re building a strong reputation within your niche. That’s a far more important investment in your long-term success. Niche content attracts the right kind of followers and leads. Your community organically builds around your content, as you showcase your expertise and highlight your insights. That’s the pathway towards ensuring sustainable success on LinkedIn.??

How to develop your niche content strategy

Building a niche content strategy is important. Here are five tips we share with clients who set out to establish themselves as industry leaders:?

1. Know your niche: Spend time identifying and defining your niche. The more targeted and specific you define your niche, the more relevant your content and strategy will be. Take into consideration your expertise, your objectives, and some of the key characteristics, challenges, and opportunities that exist within your selected niche.?
2. Define your target audience: Knowing who you want to reach is critically important. Conduct thorough audience research to define your target audience personas. Do you want to specifically target people who work in Finance? Are you looking to only connect with C-suite executives? What do the different types of people you want to reach and engage with look like, enjoy, interact with online? Defining your target audience and target personas will help you define the right type of content they’re looking for online.?
3. Choose your content formats: Now that you know what types of content your target audience engages with, you can select the type of content you’ll focus on delivering to your target audience. LinkedIn offers you a variety of content formats to use to engage with your target audience. Articles, polls, videos, infographics, live streams, and more, can be valuable tools. We recommend a blended approach for this. While your target audience may prefer video, that doesn’t mean you should only put out video content. It may mean you put out more video content than written content, but don’t simply rely on one type of content format.?
4. Focus on the value you share: Your content is valuable, because your knowledge of your niche is hardwon, and comes from your experience in your industry. Focus on the value you offer to your target audience.
5. Commit to consistency: Establishing yourself as a thought leader won’t happen overnight. A consistent approach wherein you commit to sharing high-quality content on a regular basis is a fundamental priority for enabling success through your LinkedIn content strategy.??

As you navigate your niche content approach, focus on the incremental growth of your online presence. Building a sustainable, valuable presence on LinkedIn is far more important than a once-off piece of viral content.?

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