This content was created by Girlboss in partnership with Semrush Social.
In case you missed the memo, LinkedIn is cool now? The 21-year-old networking site was once just a tired, stuffy place where you updated your resumé, looked for your next gig and cosplayed as a professional person who wouldn’t dare get wine drunk on a Tuesday night (if only your boss was on your Close Friends). But nowadays? It’s the place where storytelling and unfiltered honesty reign supreme—whether you’re talking about how your breakup is affecting your work life or the BTS of creating your company’s viral marketing campaign.
According to the Semrush Social Media Trends Report 2024, LinkedIn will dominate the social media landscape in 2024. The algorithm will prioritize video content from industry leaders (known as B2B influencers)—and it’s crucial to set yourself (or your brand) up as an expert on the platform, if you want to see sustained growth and engagement.
For more tips on how to build your brand on LinkedIn, we asked Julia Holmqvist, the social media manager at Semrush, and Callie Schweitzer, the head of community programs at LinkedIn, to share their best-kept secrets.
Why should LinkedIn be an essential part of a brand's social media strategy?
Callie: “Brands have a meaningful opportunity to connect with global professionals in a deeper way. The question to answer when you build your brand on LinkedIn is, ‘What role can we play in that?’ Members come to LinkedIn incredibly motivated, so ask yourself how can your brand help people get ahead in their careers—and stay ahead?”
What does LinkedIn provide for brands that none of the other platforms do?
Julia: “No brand should put all their eggs in one basket. Like we've seen last year with Twitter rebranding themselves to X and Threads launching, social media platforms are always changing. If you include more than one platform into your strategy, you have a higher chance of staying in the game in 2024. LinkedIn is a unique platform for employee advocacy programs (something no other platform is as good as) and offers more user friendly options to create PDFs and fun carousels!”
Can you give us a sneak peek into Semrush’s LinkedIn strategy?
Julia: “We work a lot on mixing educational content and engaging content in the channel. We've seen that PDFs with information that are downloadable are high performing, while videos still seem to be waiting to get that final breakthrough on the platform. There's a lot of talk about short-form video on all platforms, but on LinkedIn, people seem to prefer the static pictures. We also work a lot with social listening, actively commenting on posts and helping the audience with solving problems. We always educate before we sell. No one wants to read a pitch on LinkedIn.”
Why is it important to establish your brand as an industry leader on LinkedIn?
Julia: “There are still so many brands that are not utilizing LinkedIn, so posting your first post today will give you a head start. IIs it too late to start posting on LinkedIn? Absolutely not.”
Callie: “More than ever, our members want to know what business leaders are thinking and how their brand is adapting, and there’s no better no time than now to make LinkedIn a tool to share expertise, insight and opinion authentically.”
What tips do you have for building a brand on LinkedIn in 2024?
Julia: “Stay consistent, create a strategy for both content and a separate commenting/activation strategy—that is almost as important as posting yourself.”
Callie: “Be authentic: The more authentic you are, the more likely you'll get people talking and responding. The brands that are the most successful on LinkedIn are leaning into who they are, whether that’s a more casual vibe or a buttoned-up corporate one.
Think dialogue, not monologue: Your LinkedIn community is just that—a community, not an audience. I like to say, ‘LinkedIn is the ultimate focus group!’ It’s a community of people you can talk to and share ideas with. Ask your community for feedback and end your posts with a clear call to action or insight.”
Tell your story through people: Over the last few years, we’ve seen voices on LinkedIn become more authentic, and that includes brands. They’re leading with stories of people—whether that’s employees or customers, because people love seeing and hearing from people. Bringing human stories front and center makes your company so much more relatable. Showcase your culture by sharing your values, a day-in-the-life experience, social events or community involvement.
Switch up your formats: Whether it’s newsletters, multi-image posts, polls or video, the brands seeing growth on LinkedIn are experimenting with different kinds of media.
Share timely knowledge: Our goal is to provide professionals with the news and views to talk about the things that matter today. You don’t have to be a media company or publisher to share a lot of knowledge. Whether it’s news about your industry, new statistics or your brand’s latest research, brands that are timely and topical and tap into current workplace trends drive a lot of conversation.”
Keep it easy to digest: Think about your own content consumption. What’s more appealing: A big block of text or dynamic interesting formats? Emoji-inclined? Go for it! But remember to stay true to who you are.”
The world of social media is constantly changing. Get ahead of the curve with Semrush’s FREE Social Media Trends Report 2024. They tapped social-savvy experts and brand visionaries to tell you what’s in and what’s out.
