Why do people follow and engage with brands the way they do?
An overload of content and posts isn’t always the answer, says Andy Crestodina. Instead, providing relatable messages and fostering a two-way communication system between content consumers are the key ingredients that drive high engagement.¹
The audience on LinkedIn is filled with professionals who are hungry for helpful content that can help them advance in their careers. Brands with a huge number of followers probably understand this. This must be why they use different content strategies to stay relevant.
If you’re looking to up your LinkedIn game, you might need to review what these top brands do differently. By applying some of their strategies, you can improve your online presence and attract top candidates on LinkedIn.
Following the Footsteps of the Most Relevant Brands on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a treasure trove of insight that you can apply to your own company. Let’s look at how these seven big companies reached success and how this can help improve your organization.
1. Amazon (29.3M followers)
A bio that communicates the company’s mission is one of the first evident things you’ll notice when visiting Amazon’s LinkedIn page. The popularly known e-commerce company constantly maximizes its presence on LinkedIn by featuring testimonials from both employees and other organizations–pushing a culture that’s employee-centric (Amazonians).
Their daily posts largely revolve around limelight interviews with real workers. This makes Amazon’s presence on LinkedIn feel current, dynamic, and up-to-date.
2. Google (27.6M followers)
Google is known by many people to produce the most relatable content. Making use of their large networks of staff, they encourage a culture that allows employees to share company updates and other relevant content with their channels. This type of employee advocacy creates a powerful way for the company to expand its reach on the platform and increase engagement.
For example, they create and share employee-generated content, such as stories and photos that showcase the company’s identity. The use of the hashtag “#lifeatgoogle”, has become a culture among employees. This alone has generated over 6,000 followers and mentions.
3. LinkedIn (24.3M followers)
LinkedIn uploads value-packed pieces to meet the pain points of candidates who are seeking career advice and employment opportunities.
In a new research on social media psychology, Andy Crestodina mentioned that users expect personal and social connections. They want to interact with the brands they admire.³
The LinkedIn page uses polls, open-ended questions, and short posts to spark interactions. Another helpful strategy includes the use of infographics. They use large-sized graphic content to provide advice and encourage followers to take specific actions.
In the end, the emotions of content consumers are likely to win. About two months ago, LinkedIn posted a meme about Excel skills. That single post gained more than 19,000 tractions, which is one of the highest reactions they’ve gotten in the last five months.
4. TED Conferences (23.4M followers)
For TED, headlines are gold. LinkedIn’s userbase are passionate professionals who value thought leadership, and TED conferences understand this.
The use of captivating headlines to share updates and behind-the-scenes content from TED events and conferences is a common strategy. This allows them to create a sense of exclusivity. In the long run, interested candidates will always refer back to the resources.
5. Microsoft (18.8M followers)
When you scroll Microsoft’s LinkedIn page, something immediately comes to mind. This is most likely the fact that they’re hinged on staying updated about tech trends.
They keep their page fresh with stories spanning a variety of news and tips for managers and employees. If you’re conversant with LinkedIn, Microsoft is probably what you remember when the thoughts of where to get IT updates cross your mind.
6. Forbes (18M followers)
Like TED, Forbes is also known for specifics, and they use rich headlines to refer readers back to articles on their website. They have even committed to a LinkedIn-specific content strategy, which includes launching a weekly LinkedIn Newsletter with exclusive content aimed at assisting professionals at all levels.
According to Sprout, images have 68 percent engagement from content consumers. Videos, text-based content, stories, and polls have 50, 30, 26, and 26 percent engagement respectively.²
7. IBM (14.9M followers)
If IBM’s page can scream it would only say one thing—we care about our employees! They’ve built an online presence that consistently showcases innovation, diversity, and inclusion as their core values. This puts on the spotlight employee stories and their success.
What’s Your Takeaway?
Looking at these brands, there’s a lot you can learn and apply to your company. Be sure to test out a few things—or even all of them!
Let your employees shout!
- Give workers their own platform by encouraging them to make content in a way that reflects your organization’s image.
- Share testimonials and stories in your content to give potential candidates a glimpse of what it’s like to work in your organization.
- What your employees have to say about your organization can inspire top professionals to join your company. Don’t hesitate to share employee experience—especially if they’re enjoying it!
Let the creative juices flow.
- Create content that showcases your company’s unique selling points and what makes it a great place to work.
- Focus on creating content that itches the curiosity of followers by using open-ended questions.
- Invest time into creating hooks that answer candidate questions in different areas.
Look for another angle.
- It’s not always about the long posts. Short, meaningful posts can go a long way in connecting with candidates across the globe.
- Study trends and include subject matters that are largely talked about.
- If you can’t create content from scratch, you can try sharing resources from partners and other staffing organizations.
- Your content doesn’t always have to be original. Value and relevance are your best weapon!
Be human!
- Humanize your organization’s page by creating trends using unique hashtags and encourage current employees to participate.
- Engage in direct conversation with your network by allotting time to check their feeds and respond to their posts.
- Chances are that candidates want to see the human side of tech companies. Let your posts speak about the personality of your organization.
- Don’t hold back from exploring the human side of candidates. Remember, emotions always win!
ENGAGE WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS, ENGAGE WITH US!
In today’s competitive job market where candidates are drawn to companies that capture them the most, it’s important for staffing agencies to work with marketing firms that understand the in and out of creating related content.
At Allied Insight, it’s our goal to help your staffing agency attain a strong online presence. By leveraging marketing best practices such as personalized thought-leadership content and SEO optimization, we’ll reflect your values and you scale your business forward.
Become an agency that stands out. Contact us today!
References
- Andy Crestodina. “Why Do People Follow Others on Social Media”. 2https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-research-social-media-psychology-why-do-we-follow-andy-crestodina?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card. Published April 21, 2022. February 3, 2023.
- Jacqueline Dooley. “Why consumers follow and unfollow brands on social media”. https://www.clickz.com/why-consumers-follow-and-unfollow-brands-on-social-media/262169/?amp=1. Published July 10, 2020. February 3, 2023.
- Andy Crestodina. “[New Research] Social Psychology: Why Do We Follow?”. https://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/social-media-psychology-research/?utm_source=linkedin-pulse&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-media-psychology-research. Accessed February 3, 2023.
