Believe it or not, Linkedin has as much to do with content marketing as it has to do with social media marketing. Here we explain how to create your first true content marketing strategy specifically for LinkedIn.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is one of the most important marketing strategies in the social media world; it’s also one of the most misunderstood.
Many people use the word “content” as if it means the same thing as “content marketing.” It doesn’t.
Content refers to the specific kind of media you’re creating, like blog posts, videos, or slide presentations.
Content marketing is the strategy you use to create that content and get people to see and share it. It’s a process that relies on creating content that’s valuable to your target audience. That’s the strategy.
And the good news is, content marketing is a process that anyone can use.
Why LinkedIn matters
LinkedIn is a network that allows users to connect with professionals in their field and industry. It’s divided up into different sections, or “groups,” which are split up by various factors. While LinkedIn groups allow users to post articles, others are strictly for the exchange of information, and some are used primarily for the purpose of networking.
LinkedIn is meant to be a place where users can connect with others in their field, to exchange information, and to build professional relationships. It’s the top social network for B2B marketers; they spend more time on LinkedIn than any other social network.
It is used by almost every industry with many business influencers on the network.
Savvy marketers are already using the platform to build their brand, engage with customers, and drive sales, so why aren’t you?
If you’re still unconvinced, here’s a LinkedIn marketing strategy that generated $101k+ in 9 Months.
Why you need a LinkedIn content marketing strategy
Because LinkedIn is one of the most widely used professional social networks, it has a huge amount of potential customers who are more open to reading content shared by their connections.
It’s a great place to promote your content and connect with your target audience.
Whether you’re just getting started with LinkedIn, or you’ve been using it for some time but your profile isn’t converting at the rate you’d like it to, you should know that LinkedIn offers a ton of different ways to use the platform to your advantage.
So how do you make the most out of this platform? How do you create a LinkedIn content strategy that actually works?
You have to treat LinkedIn with a full-on content marketing approach and use it to build the brand awareness and authority of your business.
Start out by making sure you’re creating the best profile possible. For more information on how to do that, check out How to Transform Cold Leads into Sales Conversations Using LinkedIn.
Then, move on to publishing your own content. Get to know the rules and etiquette of the platform, then find out how to get your content in front of the right people.
Below we’ve listed the 4 most important steps that you need to follow in order to create a LinkedIn content strategy that actually works.
How to Create a Killer LinkedIn Content Marketing Strategy
Step 1 Research
The first and most crucial step you’ll need to take requires you to create a list of high-value, high-potential target accounts that you think your business solution will serve best.
The purpose of selecting these accounts as a first step is that it allows you to focus your sales and marketing efforts only on the accounts that are guaranteed to yield big revenues.
The needs of these accounts will inform your entire marketing strategy.
Step 2 Mapping contacts
Now that you’ve selected your accounts, your next step is to build comprehensive personas of the individual buyers who run them.
This process of constructing personas is the most complicated part of the entire process. Why?
To create both accurate and precise personas, you must create a detailed map illustrating the complex web of connections between the buyers of the account, the target account’s market, the target company and its culture, and the dynamics of the internal relationships involved at each level.
Phew! That’s a lot.
Let’s break this down to 3 phases to better understand what’s going on:
Phase 1 | Understand the market
You’ll begin by familiarizing yourself with the latest news and trends of your target account’s market, equipping you with the information you need to accurately assess both their pain points and the role your business solution plays in addressing them.
Phase 2 | Get to know your target accounts better
You’ll use this new market insight and pair it with your target account’s role in the market.
The best place to start is always in getting to know the buying teams on a one-to-one level; they’re the ones performing their company’s role in the market, after all.
This goal of personalization is why it’s critical to make genuine efforts to learn their personalities, priorities, agendas, likes and dislikes, role on their team, influence in the company, etc.
Phase 3 | Put it all together
Now you’ll take this crucial data and context and pinpoint not only what your target account is looking for in a business solution, but also precisely how and where they want it digitally delivered to them.
This insight becomes the roadmap to capturing your targeted accounts through strategic positioning of your business solution.
It also makes repositioning your product with account relevant content not only safe and straightforward but also guaranteed to maximize your exposure to the accounts you value most.
Step 3 Generating Relevant Content
Now it’s time to use this information to guide the direction of your content generation.
Because most modern B2B buyers are looking for free and industry-relevant educational content to inform their buying process, much of the content you generate will need to reach out to meet your prospective buyers on this level.
This approach will also allow you to prove that you not only understand their frustrations at their most fundamental level but that you are also equipped to identify the cause of those frustrations and enact the best solution.
Now you need to let them know how great your solution is. Here is one simple tip to help you stand out on LinkedIn.
Step 4 Delivering account-specific interactions
Armed with the right contacts and content, you can now laser-focus your budget on the individual buyers working your targeted accounts.
Everything from emails and online advertising to web content, webinars, and direct mail is curated and applied as a one-to-one communication strategy using the insights gleaned from the previous three steps.
To help with this critical final step in creating your LinkedIn content marketing strategy, here are 6 Steps to Launch Your First LinkedIn Ads Campaign and 3 Ways to Increase Impressions, Engagement, and Post Clicks on Your LinkedIn Company Page.
Ready, set, go!
Now you’re ready to build your first LinkedIn content marketing strategy. LinkedIn is a huge platform for B2B marketers and a powerful tool that can help you build a platform for your brand and audience.
There’s no better time to start using it than now.
It’s never too late to start, and the sooner you start building your strategy, the sooner you can start seeing results.
We hope the information in this article helps you build a successful LinkedIn content marketing strategy. Thank you for reading!
The post How to Build Your First LinkedIn Content Marketing Strategy appeared first on DigitalMarketer.
