On LinkedIn, as on other social platforms, content is king. Executives, brands and influencers have dramatically ramped up their output, with the platform reporting that users are publishing an astonishing 1.5 million pieces of content every minute over the past year. This trend is true at our agency as well, where our clients are now posting almost 2.5 times more each month on LinkedIn than they were a year ago.
Contrary to popular belief, this surge in executive content isn't a response to declining engagement rates, despite widespread reports and discussions about this issue. Instead, it’s a deliberate strategy to maximize the reach of LinkedIn's algorithm, which downplays virality and rewards content that is educational, specific and tailored to a particular audience, message or theme, while also burying salesy or overly promotional content.
Unlike TikTok, where a viral video can attract millions of views from a broad audience, LinkedIn's idea of virality is more targeted—often topping out at a few hundred thousand impressions—to ensure that content engages a specific audience. For corporate communications teams, this means helping executives own a specific niche, or set of niches, to drive meaningful influence. To be credible, the choice of niche, audience, messaging and theme must be thoughtful and strategic, based on a combined assessment of career accomplishments, traditional PR and the company’s brand.
Long-term success comes from identifying areas of expertise and consistently creating content that aligns with those topics. While many executive profiles fall short by losing focus and posting too frequently without a clear purpose, nearly every top voice or executive who has built meaningful "linkfluence" on LinkedIn has remained disciplined and committed to a niche strategy, focusing on the audience, purpose and takeaway of their content.
To maintain that same commitment and consistency, we've outlined four key questions your communications team should consider with each executive post to ensure the content stays aligned with their niche strategy:
Question 1: Who is the audience I’m trying to reach?
A common pitfall in LinkedIn strategies is when content isn’t clear about its target audience. It's not just about the industry or seniority level you want to reach. You also need to consider the audience’s location, interests, pain points and even questions they might have on certain topics. Ensuring each piece of content connects to these complex layers in your target audience is crucial for achieving strong performance.
Question 2: What purpose or value does my content serve?
A campaign, no matter how well-researched or strategically planned, can fall short if it lacks a clear and compelling purpose. To ensure content resonates and achieves its goals, it's crucial to be clear about 1) the intent as envisioned by the executive, 2) the value it offers to the audience, and 3) how it fosters meaningful engagement.
From our experience, content that clearly aligns purpose with value is the difference between posts that drive engagement and generate opportunities, and those that fail to make an impact. The most effective leaders create purpose-driven content that provokes thought and encourages their audience to explore different perspectives or gain fresh insights that they wouldn't have encountered otherwise.
Question 3: Does this content have the necessary components to encourage engagement?
Once you have identified your audience and clarified your purpose, the next step is to ensure that the post encourages engagement and fosters conversation. Write your post so you not only share information but also ask questions and invite your audience or network to share their insights. When comments start to flow, executives should actively engage by responding, keeping the conversation alive and dynamic.
Question 4: Can this content be picked up by LinkedIn News’ editorial team?
The final consideration is whether your content meets the standards for boosting by LinkedIn's editorial team. The determining factor is typically whether the content ties into a relevant topic or theme in the news and how it adds value to the ongoing conversation surrounding a topic. We've found that content with a truly niche perspective often gets additional support from LinkedIn's editorial team, including features in trending timelines or spotlight boosts.
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By using the framework above to guide your strategy, your communications team can create content LinkedIn content that is much more impactful. Your timeline will be meaningful, useful and high quality, driving engagement and elevating your executive's presence on LinkedIn.
Dorianne Ciccarelli is Vice President of Digital at MikeWorldWide. Clayton Durant is Director of Emerging Media & Platform Strategy at MikeWorldWide.