With 4 major networks, Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and new ones growing in popularity every day (including Instagram and Pinterest), it can be difficult to determine where to put your resources and attention. Each network requires a specific content and engagement strategy. The worst thing a marketer could do is “spray and pray”, hitting all the networks with the same messages all the time. At HootSuite, given our audience and our product, it makes sense to dedicate marketing resources to all the social networks, but this is not the case for all organizations. The different networks have different audiences and each one can help you achieve your marketing objectives in different way. Here are 4 questions to consider:
- What network(s) does my target audience use the most; specifically what networks would they use to research questions related to my product or service?
- What are the marketing objectives I want social media to impact (Share of Voice, Traffic, Engagement etc)
- What are my current resources and budgets for social marketing and what are the resources required to manage each social network?
- Where have we had the most success in the past?
This blog series provides examples that illustrate the differences between the major social networks. This part breaks down LinkedIn. To view part 1 on Twitter, click here.
LinkedIn is still seen by many brands only as a place to look for new employees. In reality, LinkedIn has become a content marketing platform.
Posting to LinkedIn can be done daily, as long as you have content suitable to that audience. Where a post about funny gifs might succeed on Twitter, it probably won’t connect as well with your followers on LinkedIn. Since the social network is largely frequented by business professionals, consider content that offers tips and techniques, industry insight and other assets they might share with their professional networks. Brands like Disney and CNBC are great example of brands excelling on LinkedIn. It is a very effective network for B2B brands as well, HubSpot is a good example.
LinkedIn also offers fantastic thought leadership opportunities. HootSuite’s CEO, Ryan Holmes, was able to attract a brand new audience of over 300,000 followers with his LinkedIn Influencer posts. This platform was recently opened up to all LinkedIn users, a fantastic opportunity for professionals to share their insight and gain attention in their industry.
You don’t need to swallow the whole ocean, choose the network(s) that can help you deliver on your marketing objectives and then focus on getting those right before you expand. Let me know what networks work best for you in the comments or on Twitter @cameronu.