LinkedIn’s September 2020 algorithm update and redesign included several changes that happened years ago on other social channels: greater prominence for ads and promoted posts and less visibility for organic content from businesses.
Individual users are now less likely to see the updates your business posts, which means existing LinkedIn lead gen strategies won’t be as successful as they were a few weeks ago.
The good news: LinkedIn is still a great channel for driving leads, as long as you’re focusing on the right things and realistic about what kinds of results to expect.
Even better? Your existing content and PR efforts can help power your new LinkedIn strategy.
Here’s a little background on what changed, a high-level overview of three ways to increase your LinkedIn reach, and tips on how existing content and PR efforts can facilitate the process.
On September 24, LinkedIn unveiled a new look that coincided with an update to its algorithm. (If you’re interested, this summary of past updates by Tim Queen is excellent.) Like earlier updates, the most recent one changed which types of content and posts get priority in members’ timelines.
Here’s a high-level summary of the changes:
The bottom line: it’s now harder for businesses to get a large audience for organic, unpaid posts.
This is probably frustrating to most marketers, but it shouldn’t be surprising. As I mentioned earlier, other social media platforms prioritized ads and promoted posts years ago to boost revenue streams.
And as with other social platforms, LinkedIn can still be a great way to generate leads – but you’ll need a new strategy for making sure your content is seen by potential leads.
What will work given the latest update? Three key tactics:
Here’s a look at how each of these can help your LinkedIn lead gen and how your existing content and PR efforts can power all three.
Because organic posts now have a much harder time reaching anyone beyond first-degree connections, one simple way to boost visibility of your posts is to grow your first-degree connections.
What does that look like?
Startups should aim to do both.
Start by encouraging employees (especially thought leaders) within your business to proactively connect on LinkedIn with everyone they meet in real life (or via Zoom events, interviews, email, etc.).
When possible, include a personal note with invitations to connect: “Just watched your webinar on digitizing the loan origination process. Great stuff! Looking forward to seeing more of your insights.”
Hit the blue "connect" button to connect with anyone you've had a real-life interaction with.
Starting every connection with a note helps lay the foundation for real, meaningful relationships. This is key for success.
Then focus on growing your business’s follower base.
Here’s how your existing content and PR efforts can help you both strengthen existing relationships and increase your follower count:
Over time, the network of people who follow your business and are actively engaged with its employees will grow, meaning more people will see your organic posts, meaning you’ll have a bigger universe of potential leads.
The second way to boost lead gen efforts on the new LinkedIn is to spend a lot of time engaging on the platform, either from your business page or the pages of key thought leaders within your business.
Engaging more often can work for three reasons:
LinkedIn news pieces have commentary on current events...
... and feature posts with related commentary from LinkedIn members.
The catch: being active enough to make these things happen on LinkedIn (or any social platform) takes a lot of work. It requires daily activity in the form of posting, engaging with others’ posts, and commenting on current events.
It could well be a full-time job.
The good news, again, is that an existing content or PR program can make the job easier. Here’s how:
Give readers a reason to click with a pull quote of140 characters or less.
The reality for many small teams is that being extremely active on LinkedIn (or any social channel) isn’t a top priority. That’s fine. Even modest increases in activity, paired with network-growing efforts, can help increase your content’s reach and therefore boost your lead gen efforts.
In most cases, though, these efforts will be most successful when supported with strategic paid campaigns.
By “double down,” I don’t mean “immediately double your LinkedIn ad budget.”
I mean renew your commitment to making paid promoted posts work. The reality of ads getting top priority won’t go away anytime soon. Social media platforms need to make money, and ad revenue is their most efficient way of doing that.
Again, existing content and PR can help:
Want more inspiration? Find out how one Chicago marketer used LinkedIn to get prospects to call him.
LinkedIn has always been a great place for B2B brands to connect with potential clients, employees, investors, and partners.
While the algorithm update means that organic posts will have a smaller reach, it doesn’t change the reality that nurturing meaningful relationships is one of the best ways to generate qualified leads for your business.
By focusing LinkedIn activities on establishing and deepening those relationships, startups can enjoy continued ROI from the channel. Existing content and PR can support those efforts by sparking and fueling the conversations that, bit by bit, help people to get to know, like, and trust each other.