LinkedIn for Smart Founders #1: Key Questions to Consider When Developing Your LinkedIn Organic Marketing Strategy // What is a Brand Ambassador on LI

As a Smart Business Founder, you might find yourself wondering: How can I use my personal LinkedIn profile to generate leads for my company? What value can LinkedIn marketing bring to my business? Is LinkedIn a good fit for my industry and target audience? How do I get started with LinkedIn marketing if I have never done it before? How quickly can I expect to see results from LinkedIn marketing efforts? What are the key benefits of investing in LinkedIn advertising over other platforms?

If these questions are on your mind, you are not alone. This newsletter is here to help founders like you make the most of LinkedIn.

Each month, we will share practical tips, Q&A, and the hottest news and articles about LinkedIn marketing and advertising to help you use LinkedIn effectively for you and your business.

Bi-Weekly LinkedIn Tip for Smart Founders

Key Questions to Consider When Developing Your LinkedIn Organic Marketing Strategy

I suggest splitting your LinkedIn marketing strategy into two distinct parts: organic and advertising.

The organic side covers your personal profile, company page, your employees’ profiles, and the organic content on these pages. It also includes social selling and lead generation using LinkedIn's sales tools.

Each part of your strategy requires asking different questions and addressing unique considerations.

When preparing your strategy for organic, consider the following questions:

• Goals: What are the main objectives you want to accomplish for your company through LinkedIn? What are the objectives for your personal LinkedIn profile? Your primary goals will dictate the specific methods you choose to reach them.
• Image: What image do you want to convey via your company’s page and your personal profile? This will guide you in creating templates and visuals for LinkedIn that align with your overall brand strategy.
• Message: What message do you want to communicate about your company? What about yourself? Defining this will help you maintain consistent messaging in each post and prepare the right copy for page and profile optimisation.
• Expected Actions of Target Audience: What actions do you want your target audiences to take after viewing your company’s LinkedIn page? What about after viewing your personal profile? Identifying different audience groups and their expected actions will help you set up specific CTAs in your organic strategy.
• Thought Leadership: If establishing the company or yourself as a thought leader is a primary goal, identify the domains or subjects you want to focus on. Understand that you can’t be an expert in everything; focusing on an in-depth area will allow you to create consistent, authoritative posts.
• Content Marketing Strategy: Do you have a LinkedIn content marketing strategy? If not, it’s necessary to develop one.
• Posting Calendar: Do you have a weekly posting calendar? If not, creating one is essential.
• Post Monitoring System: Do you have a system for monitoring posts? If not, it’s something you need to implement.
• Existing Content: What types of content has your company already prepared that you could share or repurpose on LinkedIn? Consider content that covers various stages of your buyer’s journey. Previously created content is an excellent resource for LinkedIn posts, with evergreen parts that can be reused effectively.
• Groups: Have you researched relevant professional groups in your industry? Have you joined these groups, and do you have a strategy for posting in them? Researching and joining the right groups is crucial for expanding your content’s reach and influence.
• Time Investment: How many hours per week is your company ready to invest in LinkedIn organic activities? A minimum of 5 hours is suggested.
• Employee Ambassadors: Do you have employees who are or would be willing to become LinkedIn ambassadors for your company? Identifying these individuals, optimising their profiles, and using them as brand ambassadors is vital for both organic content and lead generation.
• Virtual Events and Live Broadcasting: Do you plan to organise virtual events or live broadcasts? LinkedIn is a great platform for these activities, and they should be a part of your strategy if you plan to use them.
• CRM Integration: What CRM does your company use? It’s important to integrate your CRM with LinkedIn to streamline your marketing and sales processes.
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Do you have LinkedIn Sales Navigator? Is your sales team using it? For social selling and lead generation, Sales Navigator is essential for both you and your marketing/sales team.
• Account-Based Marketing: Do you currently use account-based marketing (ABM) in your practice? If you’re in B2B, it’s definitely worth testing. LinkedIn offers excellent tools for ABM, both for research and execution. You can identify high-value target companies and leads, connect with them, and use outreach methods through LinkedIn.

Smart Founders Ask Us

What is a Brand Ambassador on LinkedIn?

A Brand Ambassador on LinkedIn is typically an employee or an advocate of the company who uses their personal LinkedIn profile to support the company’s marketing and sales efforts. Unlike a regular LinkedIn profile that focuses primarily on personal branding, a Brand Ambassador’s profile is optimized to showcase the company, its services, and its values.

Brand Ambassador profiles are used in several key activities on LinkedIn, such as:

• Posting the company’s organic content on their profiles to increase reach and visibility.
• Sharing content in relevant LinkedIn groups to engage with specific communities.
• Connecting with potential leads to expand the company’s network.
• Engaging with content from potential leads to build relationships and increase visibility.
• Sending messages to connected leads to nurture relationships and drive sales conversations.
• Inviting leads to follow the company page to grow the company’s audience and brand presence.

Often, it is not the Brand Ambassador themselves who personally carries out these activities but rather the company’s marketing team managing the process on their behalf.

Bi-Weekly Hottest News and Articles about LinkedIn Marketing and Advertising

Welcome to Bi-Weekly Hottest News and Articles about LinkedIn Marketing and Advertising!

In this issue, we’re exploring standout LinkedIn marketing strategies, the surprising role of selfies, the effectiveness of newsletters, LinkedIn’s new video carousel feature, and how SEO tactics from platforms like LinkedIn and Medium can boost your website.

Explore the top trends and strategies making waves on LinkedIn!

?? B2B marketing and LinkedIn go hand in hand, creating a powerful synergy that benefits both brands and professionals. In Contently , Cari Thompson highlights top brands leveraging LinkedIn to elevate their B2B marketing strategies. For instance, 微软 captivates audiences with thought-leadership articles written by executives, alongside targeted ads that effectively reach key decision-makers. 谷歌 , in turn, takes a creative approach, using LinkedIn to spotlight its innovative cloud solutions and AI products, engaging audiences through informative posts and webinars. Meanwhile, 辉瑞 has turned its pandemic success into a storytelling opportunity, connecting emotionally with audiences by sharing compelling patient stories and hosting Q&A sessions with medical professionals. Want to discover more marketing examples? Read the full article:

?? At present, LinkedIn may feel less like a professional networking site and more like Facebook or Instagram, as users increasingly share personal content, including selfies and confessional posts. In their 彭博资讯 article, Charlie Wells highlights both the pros and cons of this trend. On the positive side, personal posts can foster genuine connections and enhance visibility in a competitive job market. However, experts caution that too much personal content may diminish professionalism and distract from career-focused messaging. Striking a balance between engagement and substance is crucial. For more opinions from experts on this new phenomenon, please follow the link:

?? Jacob Granger in Journalism.co.uk explores the effectiveness and challenges of LinkedIn's newsletter feature, which aims to help publishers and creators engage with its vast professional audience. While initial subscriber growth can be impressive, users express frustration over limited analytics, the inability to export subscriber lists, and a lack of monetization options. LinkedIn is reportedly improving engagement tools and features like AI-generated templates and enhanced article visibility. Follow the article to uncover what LinkedIn plans to do about these concerns and whether it can truly meet the needs of its users!

?? Social Samosa discusses LinkedIn’s new video carousel feature, introduced in March to attract younger audiences. This side-scrolling carousel showcases user-generated videos tailored to individual interests and directs users to a TikTok-like full-screen video feed. With 1.5 million content uploads per minute and a 34% increase in video uploads year-over-year, LinkedIn aims to emphasize video content. The article also speculates on the potential of a dedicated live-streaming feature while cautioning that TikTok-style videos might not align with LinkedIn's professional focus. Follow the article to discover LinkedIn's future plans for video content!

?? Kurt Lambert in SilverBack analyzes the impact of publishing on platforms like LinkedIn and Medium on SEO for your website. He explains that backlinks from social media sites generally do not offer significant SEO value, as they are typically "nofollow" links. In contrast, backlinks from self-publishing sites like Medium can provide valuable "dofollow" links. Lambert also addresses concerns about duplicate content, noting that while syndication may not harm the original content, it’s wise to include natural backlinks to the original post. To optimize SEO, publish original content on your site first, use Google Search Console for indexing, and then republish on third-party platforms with proper attribution. For insights on leveraging LinkedIn and Medium SEO tactics effectively, follow the link:

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Brought to you by the SmartB2B.Marketing Team. SmartB2B.Marketing - The Art of LinkedIn is an award-winning LinkedIn Marketing and Ads consultancy that specializes in creating and executing LinkedIn strategies for smart B2B companies. Our mission is to develop customized solutions that deliver the highest quality leads at the lowest cost.

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