This article was originally published in the Elevate Your Marketing newsletter and has been repurposed and republished here with the author’s permission. Here is the link to the original article. 

Most B2B companies early in their journey struggle to find a rhythm when it comes to consistently posting on LinkedIn. The reasons for these could include:

• Not knowing how to or where to start.
• Not sure about what type and format of content to post.
• Not having the time and bandwidth to stay consistent on the platform.

However, interestingly, it’s not just early-stage businesses that tend to use LinkedIn ineffectively. Even some of the mature organizations fail to utilize the full potential of the platform.

In this article, we will look at a framework for creating content to improve the organic reach of your company on LinkedIn. To make sure that the learnings from this article are actionable, I have also included 5 templates (and 10+ examples) that you can use to create social media posts starting today.

A couple of disclaimers before we start:

Firstly, some of the examples of social media posts I have given in this article are my personal posts. But they can be extended to your company page as well.

Another disclaimer is that marketers who have spent some time with social media marketing might find this content a little basic. But you can jump right into the templates section where I believe even an advanced social media marketer would find a ton of value.

 

Defining the goals of LinkedIn marketing

Before we look at the approach to creating content for LinkedIn marketing, we all need to be on the same page on:

• What LinkedIn organic marketing can help you achieve.
• The time it takes for LinkedIn marketing to work.

First, we need to understand that LinkedIn organic marketing doesn’t work like ads. It’s a long-term game. You gotta play the ‘infinite game’ (an idea that Simon Sinek discusses extensively in his book ‘The Infinite Game’).

It’s not about getting a lead on day 1. It’s not about generating tens of thousands of views with the first post. Rather, it’s about:

• Building trust and credibility.
• Positioning yourself as an expert or thought leader in your space.
• Showcasing your persona (as a company and its employees/leaders).

For these reasons, LinkedIn organic marketing can do magic only over a relatively long period. Just like how we take time to trust a stranger, buyers need to trust you as a business before they spend their dollars on you.

And once that trust is built, converting them to paying customers becomes much easier and faster. That’s how you convert your LinkedIn content into a machine that consistently generates new demand.

That said, let us get right into the core topic of today’s discussion.

 

A framework for LinkedIn content marketing

There are predominantly 3 elements to the framework you can use to create content for LinkedIn organic marketing:

1. What content to post?
2. What should be the frequency of posting?
3. What content formats should you use?

Let us take a deep look at each of these next.

Types of content you can post on LinkedIn

When it comes to the content type, there is no end to how creative you can get. But here are some content ideas that you can use almost consistently to improve your reach on LinkedIn:

1. How-to posts – this is where you share step-by-step guides on topics related to your areas of expertise that are helpful to your customers and prospects. Here is an example of this.
2. Tips and suggestions – these are similar to how-to posts where you share suggestions on a relevant topic. This is an example of such a post.
3. Product or service promotion – this is where you directly promote your product or service offerings. Check out this example where Turing AI is directly promoting its product in the post.
4. Company updates – this can vary from awards and recognitions to key milestones and funding announcements. Here is a sample post from Evergent for your reference.
5. Polls – Polls tend to do well in terms of the number of impressions on LinkedIn. You can ask a question related to a problem or scenario your ICP is facing. Here is an example from Freshworks that perfectly demonstrates this.
6. Employee-related posts – how you can talk about your employees are very diverse. It could be about onboarding a new employee, an award some of them won, or an external contest they participated in. This post from Rocketlane is a good example of this.
7. Event-related posts – these include posts related to online events like webinars, offline events hosted by the company, or the company’s participation in an external event. Click here to see an example of this.
8. Memes and sarcasm (yeah, this can be a thing in B2B) – we all know that memes tend to get a lot of engagement (of course, only if it’s a good one). And even B2B buyers are humans. Using humor, sarcasm, and satire is one of the best ways to attract their attention. This is an example where UpGrad uses a trending topic to create a thoughtful post.
9. Culture and employer branding posts – a few examples of this type of content include posts on CSR activities, festival celebrations, training sessions, and other internal events. These kinds of posts attract a lot of engagement and reach. This post from Sendoso that highlights the topic of women leadership is a great example of this content type.
10. Industry trends – creating content around industry trends is one of the best ways to attract that segment of your ICP which likes to stay updated on the latest happening in their industry. Here is a good example of an industry trend-based post from Cisco.
11. Hiring posts – I guess, this doesn’t need an explanation or an example.

In all of the above posts, you can link to related content if you have any. For instance, in a how-to post, if you have a blog post discussing the topic in detail, you can link to it (either in the post or the comments. But it appears that LinkedIn is reducing the reach of posts that are adding links in the content. Hence, it’s recommended to add the link in the comments section).

Here is an example where Sprinklr is promoting one of its blog posts.

Posting frequency on LinkedIn

There is no golden number when it comes to the frequency of posting on LinkedIn. But you need to keep two things in mind:

1. You need to show up enough for people to remember you.
2. You don’t want to be overdoing it by appearing on people’s feeds way too many times.

That might sound generic. But let me explain.

On LinkedIn, you need to post at least 3-4 times a week. That will help to ensure the recall of your brand among your audience. Remember, winning with LinkedIn organic marketing is about being top-of-the-mind of your ICP, and that can only happen if you consistently show up on the platform.

On the other hand, you don’t want to come across as too spammy. Posting 4-5 times a day on your company page is too much. Publishing 3-4 posts on your personal profile might feel annoying to others. So even if you have enough content to post, I would suggest holding back the urge to post too many and sticking to the following:

• Company page: maximum 2 to 3 posts per day.
• Personal profiles of company leaders/employees: 1 to 2 posts per day.

You can also try with a different frequency during weekdays and weekends. Experiment with different combinations and see what works best for your business.

Content formats for LinkedIn organic marketing

There are multiple content formats in which you can create and publish content on LinkedIn such as:

• Text-based
• Image/GIF based
• Carousels
• Videos
• Polls (I am considering poll to be both a content type and a content format)

It’s hard to say that one format is superior to the other (this is because the success of a post will depend a lot on the content itself). Different companies and creators use different formats effectively. However, many experts suggest that carousels and videos tend to do well on the platform. At the same time, many creators and company pages attract a ton of engagement using simple text-only content.

In my personal experience, carousels consistently bring in more views and engagement in comparison with other formats. Polls get a ton of views (especially if it’s on a trending topic) but not a lot of reactions and comments. However, I have not seen LinkedIn consistently giving a push to all video-based posts.

One key thing to note here is that you need to read content formats together with content types. Certain content formats work well for specific content types.

For instance, photos and videos go well with employer branding posts. Carousels work well for posts that share tips and step-by-step guides. Images work best for sharing a quote or a short message/tip.

Essentially, the right combination of content type and format helps to maximize reach and increases the possibility of your post going viral.

 

Templatizing content creation for LinkedIn organic marketing

Now let’s get to the most important section of this article – templates for LinkedIn posts.

It’s difficult to build a template for every type of social media post. But having some templates handy can help you create content with ease again and again without having to think about a fresh idea.

In this section, I discuss 5 social media templates you can start using right away to create posts for some of the content types I discussed earlier in this article. I have also given a sample post against each of the 5 templates.

So let’s start.

A few general rules

We all know that there are a few important content elements that have a significant impact on the reach of a post. These include:

• The hook
• The body of the content
• The conclusion/CTA (Call To Action)

You can also use different proven copywriting frameworks like AIDA, PAS, and Before-After-Bridge to optimize your posts for better engagement.

That said, let us move to the templates.

Template 1 – tips or how-to post

These are posts where you share your expert tips on a topic that is relevant to your target audience. Here, you captivate the audience by picking a burning problem they are facing in their daily work life.

Here is a template you can use for posts like these. Do make sure to check out the sample post I have written using the same template.

Please note that I have written the sample posts only for your reference, but they are not optimized for copy, completeness, and reach.

Template 2 – employer branding post

Attracting the right talent is critical to a company’s growth. And this is why employer branding should be a key part of every business’s marketing mix.

Here is a simple template you can use to highlight how your company culture and policies are positively impacting your employees’ lives.

Template 3 – event related posts

Let’s say you are hosting a webinar intending to attract as many registrants and attendees as possible. One of the ways in which you would promote the online event is by using LinkedIn organic posts.

Though there are innumerable ways of writing a post to do this, here is a template you can use universally irrespective of the type of business you are in.

Also read: Webinar Marketing – Everything You Need To Know

Template 4 – product or service promotion

This is where you do direct selling. Here, you always need to focus on how your product or service solves a real problem for your prospects than merely talking about features.

Here is a template you can use for this. Be sure to make necessary changes to the template to tailor it to your business context.

Template 5 – industry trends

This is probably the easiest of all the content types. You can find industry trends from analyst reports, market research organizations, statistics websites (like Euromonitor), etc.

The objective here is to inform your target audience as to what the present and future look like for them. Here is a template you can use for this along with the sample post.

 

An exercise for you

Unlike the other articles where I simply share my thoughts, let’s do it differently this time – a mini assignment where you will try to implement the learnings from this article (no pressure 😀).

Take a piece of pen and paper or open a blank Word document. Copy and paste any of the 5 templates I covered in the article. Tweak it as you like. Now, write a real LinkedIn post for your company (or any other company you like). Have your friends or peers go through it and share feedback.

The last step is to modify your content based on the feedback you received.

That’s it. I am sure you did great with your assignment.

Hope this content was useful. I have only discussed 5 templates here. Similarly, you can try to create a template for every type of post your company (or leaders) would publish.

As always, until we meet next time, happy learning!

 

Skalegrow – B2B marketing agency

With marketing getting tougher and tougher, every wrong foot you make might hamper your growth. What you need is the right guidance and a helping hand. This is where Skalegrow can make a sea of difference.

Skalegrow helps IT, tech, SaaS, and embedded systems companies leverage new-age marketing tactics to grow their business. Check out the below intro video to learn more about what Skalegrow brings to the table:

We are already helping some of our clients generate leads and improve brand awareness using innovative marketing techniques. Visit our services page to learn more about how we can help. You could also write to us at info@skalegrow.com.

 

About the author

Naseef KPO is the Founder and CEO of Skalegrow. He comes with rich experience across multiple areas of B2B marketing including content marketing, demand generation, SEO, account-based marketing, marketing analytics, revenue attribution, marketing technology, etc. He writes thought-provoking and relevant articles on The Skalegrow Blog and his weekly LinkedIn newsletter Elevate Your Marketing.

Prior to starting Skalegrow, Naseef led large marketing teams in multi-million dollar B2B organizations where he made significant contributions to the topline growth of the business. He has also appeared on numerous podcasts where he shared his thoughts on trending marketing topics such as the application of AI in marketing, startup marketing, ABM, and B2B content marketing, just to name a few. Being the founder of Skalegrow, he is currently focusing on helping its clients stay ahead of their competition by using innovative yet practical marketing tactics.

You can connect with Naseef KPO on LinkedIn.