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"What should I post on LinkedIn?"
It's a question I've heard from so many B2B business owners since I started working as a freelance social media manager 4 years ago. I even created an intensive workshop dedicated to helping solopreneurs uncover the answers to this very question.
In my experience, the main concern is not about what content to share on social media. Rather, it's about how to effectively utilize these platforms to expand one's business. That's why I'm here to share a few simple tricks to help you plan your B2B LinkedIn content like a boss.
Clarify Your Business Objective
Any marketing consultant worth their salt would agree that a winning content strategy starts with clear business objectives. In my Content Strategy Roadmap Workshop, I often tell clients to think of every post as a special ops soldier embarking on a mission. Each soldier must have a clearly defined assignment before they can march forth, and the same goes for content on LinkedIn. In a mission-driven approach to B2B LinkedIn content, every post plays a part in a well-orchestrated battle plan that aligns with your overall strategic business goals.
See, your business goals inform your social media actions. They also help you focus on the core metrics that matter most for your business.
So, before you create a single post for LinkedIn, take a step back to answer the following questions:
1. What Are My Top Three Business Goals This Quarter?
Now, you're probably thinking: "I wanna make money. I want clients. I want higher paying clients." All of these are valid, yet rather vague. Your answers should be specific and measurable so that you can track your progress. They are also focused on one thing: sales.
A solid mission for your LinkedIn page should align with the 4 stages in the AIDA marketing funnel, which stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action.
Three good examples of this would be:
Increase brand reach by 15% in the next quarter.
Generate 60 qualified leads in the next quarter.
Convert 3 new paying customers in the next quarter.
Pro Tip from a Freelance Social Media Manager: Map Your Goals to the AIDA Marketing Funnel
Now, you can easily map these three strategic goals to the AIDA funnel and key metrics and actions on LinkedIn.
For example,
Increasing brand reach is linked to Awareness;
Generating qualified leads relates to Interest and Desire; and
Converting paying customers is connected to Action.
Awareness is the easiest metric to measure on social media. You'll want to see an increase in the average impressions for your content, as well as an increase in followers.
For Interest and Desire, you'll track the engagement metrics like likes, comments, shares, and direct messages or website clicks, follow-up conversations, sales calls, and all that jazz. In this space, your KPI will depend on your overall sales strategy. How do potential customers contact you? What's your sales process? When do you close the deal?
Finally, for Action, you'll want to measure your sales numbers and conversions. Are people following through with your call to action? Are they completing the contact form on your website?
By tracking these 3 strategic goals, you can now measure the success of your LinkedIn efforts and track your progress over the first 90 days. In the end, it's all about creating content that resonates with your target audience and drives them to become paying customers.
2. What Messages and Mediums Will Help Me Reach My Goals?
Now, that you know what you want to achieve from your LinkedIn campaign, let's look at what messages and mediums will help you reach those goals.
First, decide what type of content you will use on LinkedIn. Video, photos, carousels, articles, lives, audio events, infographics—there's no limit to the types of content out there. Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and think about what type of content they'd love to engage with.
If you're starting from scratch, do some competitor analysis and see what types of content are working for them. Since you can't peak at their analytics, scroll through their page and take note of the posts with the most REACTIONS, REPOSTS, and COMMENTS. You should also read through the comments and take note of the questions people are asking. That could give you a great starting point for content ideas!
If you've already got content on your LinkedIn page, assess which pieces of content have performed the best. Are there any that need to be tweaked or improved? What types of messages resonated with your audience?
Next, ask your followers what type of content they’d like to see more of. They may have some great ideas that you hadn't thought about!
It sounds like a ton of work because it is. There's a reason military units send TEAMS to accomplish missions—because so much goes into research, planning, and execution. However, the effort you invest in understanding your goals and developing content will pay off big time.
Decide How Often You Want to Post
With your battle plan in hand, it's time to think about how often you should post. The frequency at which you post will depend on your goals. If you're building brand awareness, you'll want to post more often. If you’re focused on lead generation, post less frequently with higher-quality content that speaks directly to a specific challenge your target audience is facing. It's really up to you. Consistency beats quantity, so pick a schedule that works for you and your team, and then stick to it!
If you post 3 times a week, for instance, you could dedicate the first post of the week to a brand awareness-focused piece, the second post to a lead-generating article, and the third to something interactive like a poll or quiz.
The key is to be consistent to build trust with your followers and keep them engaged. Plus, it'll make your life easier since you won't be scrambling to come up with something new every day.
Test Different Types of Visual Content - Top Tip from a Freelance Social Media Manager
As a freelance social media manager who writes articles and creates carousels on LinkedIn, I'm biased toward content that involves words and visuals. But don't limit yourself! Consider testing out different types of content to see what resonates with your audience.
You could test out a mix of articles, polls, quizzes, videos, and infographics as follows:
Monday - Carousel or Poll
Tuesday - Video or text only
Wednesday - How-To or Thought Leadership Article
Thursday - Infographic
Friday - Carousel or Static Image
While preparing this article, I reassessed my content mix for the next 90 days as follows:
Monday - Newsletter
Tuesday - Carousel
Wednesday - Static Post/Quote/Video/Carousel
Thursday - Carousel
Friday - Video/Static Post
Sat & Sun - Photos
More importantly, see which type of content brings the most leads. In sales calls or contact forms, ask your leads where they found out about you and what about your content caught their eye. Even if you don't close the lead, you're gathering data that you can use to inform your content strategy.
Whatever you decide to post, make sure it's valuable, the messaging and visuals align with your brand, and the content is optimized for LinkedIn. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, if you follow these tips, you can maximize
Map a Content Theme to Each Day
Finally, you can map a content theme to each day of the week. Your goal should be to create content that educates, entertains, and engages your followers so that they look forward to what you post.
For example, Monday can be dedicated to industry news and trends; Tuesday could focus on how-to tutorials or thought leadership articles; Wednesday can focus on case studies and client testimonials; Thursday could focus on your business events, products, or services; Friday can be dedicated to fun facts about your company, behind-the-scenes stories, and team member interviews.
Now, if you put it all together, you could create a quick content calendar to get you started.
Here’s an 1-week sample I've created based on my experience as a freelance social media manager:
Monday
WHAT - Industry news and trends
HOW - Carousel
TITLE - Top 5 Trends to Look for in 2024
Tuesday
WHAT - How-to tutorial
HOW - Article
TITLE: How to [the service you want to promote] in 5 Simple Steps
Wednesday
WHAT - Client testimonials and case studies
HOW - Article/Video
TITLE: How We Helped a Client Grow Their Business by [percentage or amount]
Thursday
WHAT - Benefits & Services
HOW - Carousel
TITLE - Get the Most Out of [Your Services] with These 5 Tips
Friday
WHAT - Behind-the-scenes stories & team member features
HOW - Photo
TITLE - Meet the Team: Get to Know Our Newest Member!
The following week, you can swap out the themes. So, if you share a case study in week one, post a testimonial in week two. That way, you can keep your content fresh and engaging.
Start Optimizing Your Content Today!
With clear business goals and the right combination of content, you’ll be able to build meaningful relationships with your followers and customers that will lead to lasting engagement.
Still, stuck? Set up a free consulting call with our team.
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