Focusing Your Social Media Marketing – LinkedIn

Clients often ask us which social media network they need to be on and how often they need to post to succeed. Providing a steady stream of fresh content for all of the major social networks is a daunting prospect. The good news is that on social media (as in all aspect of marketing), you don’t have to be all things to all people. Choose the social media that make the most sense for your business and focus your attention there.

To help you evaluate the options, we’re running a series looking at each of the major social media platforms. We’ll tell you who’s using that media, what they’re posting and how to capitalize on it. In our first installment, we’ll look at LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network.

Who’s Linking?

Roughly 28 percent of adult Internet users, or 23 percent of the population at large, use LinkedIn.  The network boasts more than 347 million users worldwide and more than 111 million in the U.S. alone.

Usage is highest among people aged 30 to 49, 31 percent of whom are active on LinkedIn, and second highest among 50- to 64-year-olds at 30 percent, according to statistics from Pew Research. LinkedIn is the only network to attract more users from that age group than in the 18 to 29 age bracket that dominates every other major social media. That may be changing, however: LinkedIn reports that students and recent college graduates are its fastest-growing demographic, comprising roughly 11 percent of users.

LinkedIn has skewed slightly male in the past, but that gap has nearly closed. Roughly half of users have a college education, and 44 percent have household incomes of more than $75,000, giving LinkedIn one of the wealthier social media demographics. Urban users dominate the site at 32 percent, with 29 percent hailing from suburbia and only 14 percent from rural areas.

What LinkedIn Does Best

As a professional network, LinkedIn is by far the best site for recruiting and sharing company news. It is a relatively formal space. LinkedIn encourages users to contact only people with whom they have some connection, and the network punishes users who abuse that policy. LinkedIn offers many unique professional networking forums that make excellent resources.

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How to Take Advantage of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the place to go with corporate news such as new product releases and job openings. It is great for B2B content. It is also ideal for sharing industry insights and expert advice. Posting purely for marketing purposes and posting too frequently are faux pas. LinkedIn is for networking, recruiting and sharing knowledge, not selling.

Companies that encourage employees to repost corporate content or to publish their own posts on LinkedIn get the dual benefit of building their corporate platforms and helping their employees grow and network professionally. And that’s good for business!

LinkedIn: Polished, Professional, Fabulous

LinkedIn is a powerful recruiting and networking tool for brands and individuals. It’s fun and sociable, but in a buttoned-down, low-key way. Companies need to be there, but only with the right content. LinkedIn is great for reposting blog content and encouraging employees to post about their work. The forums are powerful personal and corporate networking tools.

Next time, we’ll take a look at the social media boss, Facebook.

Need help with your social media planning? Talk to us today about a free social media audit.