7 Reasons Why You Should Pay Attention to LinkedIn in 2018

For quite sometime, LinkedIn seemed like the social media platform that got left behind. As all the others made significant progress in terms of the user experience and acquiring followers, LinkedIn looked stuck in time. It was lacking most the attributes digital marketers wanted on a social platform. For a site of its aspirations and nature, it was a notable miss in many companies’ internet marketing strategies.

 

 

 

Yet, from 2013 to 2017, LinkedIn has had remarkable growth making it a platform you can no longer ignore. It has quickly re-positioned itself from just a site where people went to look for jobs and a forte for B2B companies to a platform where anyone can thrive. More importantly, businesses need to integrate into their online marketing plans. Here is why you need LinkedIn Marketing.

1.      The Growth in LinkedIn Users

In 2011, LinkedIn had 140 million users, just a million over the current number of users in the US alone. In just a few years LinkedIn has gained over 300 million users to now stand at over 500 million users. This terrific growth shows little signs of stagnating anytime soon.

The unique environment offered by the platform with more genuine people and the great interactions and conversations attract more people. As a business, you want to be part of this space. You want your products and brand in front of such a discerning audience that looks to grow even further.

2.      It is a Content Haven

After catching up with other platforms in terms of creating and serving up content LinkedIn went a step further. Whether it is long-form text, short forms, video or images, LinkedIn has a unique product for it. It has worked hard to establish itself as a content-first social site with an emphasis on social and business content.

This is a great opportunity to establish your brand as a leader in your field and build relationships. Crucially, it is the engagement rates that are making digital marketers purr. In my experience, this is one of the areas that LinkedIn truly bests the competition. It offers several times the engagement rate in other platforms on all forms of content.

From simple aspects like impressions and click-through rates to shares and comments, the site offers plenty of activity. The time to join in the fun is now.

3.      Accuracy and depth of data offered

The information users leave on the site is incredible. It is accurate and in-depth making targeting easy and effective. There are no cases of wasted impressions. You get to style your marketing content and promotions to the exact audience you want to aim for. This takes guesswork and gut feelings out of the way.

Besides segmentations, there is enough data for analysis and evaluation of your ads performance. This helps you identify which part of the target audience your ads resonated with effectively. The range of filters available even at the individual level is tremendous. This is information you can use on other platforms and general design of other promotional material. It even makes it easier to do A/B testing as the results come from sufficient and accurate data.

4.      Value Provided

Every resource spent in terms of time and money whether in banners or sponsoring of content has to earn value. Digital platforms make it easier to track the returns on your investment and LinkedIn offers plenty in this regard.

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Besides offering accurate insights into your target market and better engagement LinkedIn offers better leads which increase your conversion rates. AThe people whose interest you capture have crucial roles in either spreading awareness or becoming your customers at some point.

Further, the platform is far much better suited for creating relationships with your customers more than any other. You do not have to cut through a lot of noise to get genuine feedback. You can also easily design your message to suit individuals.

5.      Easy to Use

One of the biggest value the platform offers is the ease with which you can create a following. This is because LinkedIn is set up to allow easy sharing of content and creating relationships. You do not need to be a well-known brand starting out, only great content and consistency.

The platform also offers a range of applications supported by third-party providers. These are what make it easy to access and analyze data, as well as set up advertisements and monitor them.

6.      Employee Amplification Opportunities

LinkedIn provides a unique environment for you and senior members to also chip in in your product and brand promotion. This works well both for B2B and B2C businesses. The professional nature of LinkedIn means you can still promote your brand and products among your connections and following.

It offers a great ambassadorial role for the leaders in your company. This increases the awareness and reinforces the efforts of the company’s official handle.

7.      You Can Follow Industry Insights and Competitor Activity

More than any other social media platform, LinkedIn provides an accurate and comprehensive outlook to the trends in your industry. You have a mix of competitors, discerning customers, influencers, related industries.

These stakeholders and others participate in insightful discussions and exchange ideas on wide issues. From their conversations and content shared, you can tell what the market wants and the general direction of the industry.

This serves you well in a number of ways. First, you can understand which content is in demand and which adverts and new promotional methods are resonating well with people. You also get to know which new opportunities have not been exploited and the segments your competitor is focusing more on. It also helps you to position your company strategically in time to take advantage of current and future trends.

Conclusion

Every year sees digital marketers adopt new practices or platforms in an effort to stay ahead of the competition. This year it would help your efforts and ultimately, bottom line if you include LinkedIn in your marketing arsenal.

The increasing popularity of LinkedIn is not just hype or a passing fad. The numbers and the strong presence of leading brands on the platform bear testament to its emerging prominence. Do not just get a page and do the occasional posting.

First, understand the kind of content, even banners and other advertisements, which connects to the audience on this platform. Once you get this you can work on a strategy and maintain consistency.

There is still a lot of room for LinkedIn’s growth. This includes both the products offered and the community. However, now is the right time to step in as the initial problems marketers had have been resolved. The fast growth rate also allows you to achieve a significant following and the desired impact in a short time.

Joining later when the community has almost reached Facebook numbers means you will be getting in a crowded area. This will have a negative effect on the engagement levels, especially for new entrants. Creating a unique voice or offer will require more resources than the present time.

If you have any questions on how to get started or want to share insights feel free to post in the comments and we can continue this discussion.

 

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