Why People Need to See the People Behind the Business

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After a while, it all starts to sound the same.

The businesses that cut through are not always the loudest. They are not always the ones posting the most, using the trendiest format or shouting the hardest about what they do. They are often the ones that feel the most genuine. The ones that sound like there are actual people behind them. The ones that make you think, “I get them.”

That is what brand humanisation is really about.

Not making your business overly personal. Not sharing everything. Not turning every team member into a content creator. And definitely not trying to be relatable for the sake of it.

It is about helping people see the humans behind the business, the values behind the work and the thinking behind the message. Because people do not build trust with logos. They build trust with people.

A human brand is easier to trust

Trust is one of those words that gets used a lot in marketing. But really, it is very simple. People want to feel that you mean what you say.

They want to know there is substance behind the message. They want to understand how you think, what you care about and whether your business feels like one they would want to work with, buy from, recommend or join.

That is much harder to do when your brand sounds like everyone else.

There is nothing wrong with professional content. Your business still needs clear messaging, useful information and well-presented communication. But if everything feels too polished, too distant or too anonymous, people have very little to connect with.

A human brand gives people something more. A point of view. A tone they recognise. A sense of what matters to you. A feeling that there are real people behind the work. That is where trust starts.

People connect with what feels real

We all know the difference between content that has been created to tick a box and content that actually feels like someone meant it.

The first is easy to scroll past. The second makes you pause. Not because it is perfect, but because it feels specific. It feels useful. It sounds like it came from a real conversation, a real experience or a real belief.

That is why humanising your brand matters. It helps your audience understand not just what you do, but how you see the world.

What do you care about? What do you believe should be done differently? What have you learned from your work? What do your clients, customers or community often misunderstand? What makes your approach yours?

These are the things that make a business feel more alive. And in a crowded market, that matters, because people are not only comparing services. They are comparing confidence, chemistry, trust and fit.

Human does not mean unprofessional

One of the biggest worries businesses have is that sounding more human means becoming less professional.

It really doesn’t.

Human does not mean casual to the point of carelessness. It does not mean oversharing. It does not mean abandoning your brand guidelines, posting every passing thought or trying to sound like someone you are not.

A human brand can still be polished. It can still be strategic. It can still be thoughtful, expert and commercially focused.

The difference is that it does not hide behind empty language. It says things clearly. It sounds like the people inside the business would actually speak. It knows when to show warmth, when to show expertise and when to have a point of view.

That balance is important. Because the goal is not to make your business sound informal. The goal is to make it feel believable.

Your people are part of your brand

Your brand is not just your logo, colour palette, website or latest campaign. It is also the way your people show up. Your leaders. Your team. Your client-facing people. Your culture. Your stories. Your values in action.

For many businesses, this is where the strongest content already exists, but it often stays hidden. It comes out in client conversations, team meetings, event discussions, proposals, workshops and all the little moments where people explain what they do and why it matters.

But then the public-facing content becomes safer. More distant. More generic. More “brand voice” than human voice.

That is the missed opportunity.

Your people often hold the clearest proof of what your business is really like. The founder who can explain why the business exists. The leader who can make sense of change in your sector. The team member who can show the care that goes into the work. The client story that reveals the impact behind the service. The behind-the-scenes moment that helps people understand your standards, values or personality.

These are not just nice extras. They are trust-builders.

Stories make your business easier to remember

People remember stories far more easily than they remember service descriptions. That does not mean every piece of content needs to be emotional or dramatic. It simply means your communication should help people understand the human context behind what you do.

Why did you create this offer? What problem were you seeing again and again? What did a client conversation make you realise? What has your team learned from delivering the work? What belief shapes the way you approach things?

Those stories create meaning. They give people something to hold onto. And they help you move away from content that simply says, “Here is what we do,” towards content that says, “Here is why this matters.”

That shift is powerful. Because when people understand the why, they are much more likely to care about the what.

Social media is where your human side can show up

Social media gives businesses a real opportunity to sound less faceless. Not because every post needs to be personal, but because platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook allow people to see the texture of your business.

The thinking. The team. The process. The opinions. The values. The moments that might not make it onto a service page but still shape how people experience your brand.

This could be a founder sharing what they are learning, a team post that feels genuinely proud rather than forced, a behind-the-scenes look at how something came together, a reflection after an event, a client story told with care or a simple post that explains something your audience keeps asking about.

None of this needs to be complicated. In fact, the best human content often is not. It is clear, honest and useful. It sounds like you.

Practical ways to humanise your brand

Humanising your brand does not need to mean starting from scratch. Often, it means paying closer attention to what is already there.

Let your leaders have a voice

Your leaders do not need to become influencers, but they do need to be visible enough for people to understand what they believe, how they think and why they care.

A leader’s perspective can add weight to your content because it gives people access to the thinking behind the business. That might be through LinkedIn posts, blogs, video snippets, interviews, event reflections or comments on the issues shaping your sector.

The format matters less than the voice. The point is to help people see the person behind the role.

Share the thinking behind the work

Do not only show the finished result. Show the thinking that led to it.

Why did you approach something in a particular way? What problem were you trying to solve? What did you learn? What would you want others to understand?

This kind of content helps people see your expertise in action without it feeling like a hard sell. It also makes your work more meaningful, because people can understand the care, passion and experience behind it.

Use real stories, not generic claims

Lots of businesses say they care about clients. Lots of businesses say they are passionate, expert, friendly and different.

The stronger question is: where can people see that?

Real stories make your values easier to believe. That could be a client challenge, a team moment, a lesson learned, a community initiative or a small example of how your business does things differently.

You do not need to make everything into a case study. But you do need to give people something real to connect with.

Sound like yourself

This is one of the simplest and hardest things to get right.

So much business content sounds like it has been filtered through what people think a brand “should” sound like. The result is often content that is technically fine, but completely forgettable.

Humanising your brand means finding a tone that feels like you. Clear. Useful. Warm. Confident. Not trying too hard. Not hiding behind jargon. Not sounding like every other business in your space.

When your content sounds recognisably like your business, people start to build familiarity. And familiarity is part of trust.

Make engagement feel like a conversation

If someone comments on your post, replies to your email, leaves a review or asks a question, there is an opportunity to show the human side of your brand.

A thoughtful reply can do more for trust than another perfectly scheduled post. People notice when businesses listen. They notice when responses feel considered rather than automated. They notice when the tone feels warm, helpful and real.

That does not mean every interaction needs to be long or deeply personal. It just needs to feel like someone is actually there.

The takeaway

Humanising your brand is not about trying to be more interesting for the sake of it. It is about making your business easier to trust.

When people can see the humans behind the brand, they can better understand what you stand for, how you think and why your work matters. That is what creates a connection.

Not noise. Not endless posting. Not polished content with no personality. Just clear, useful, human communication that helps people feel closer to the business before they ever get in touch.

Because in the end, people do not just want to know what you do. They want to know who they are choosing to trust.

Cutting Through the Noise on LinkedIn: A Guide for SMEs

LinkedIn. Have you heard of it? Of course, you have. It’s the essential platform for SMEs and their leaders to connect with their target audiences, demonstrate expertise, and foster relationships. However, with a user base exceeding 900 million and a surge in content creation, standing out is a considerable challenge. To make a lasting impression, you need to go beyond generic posts and adopt strategic, audience-focused content.

So, to help you with that, this guide explores how SMEs can rise above the noise on LinkedIn by creating meaningful content and selecting impactful topics for maximum engagement.

Why LinkedIn matters for SMEs

LinkedIn isn’t just another social media platform—it’s a professional network where decision-makers, thought leaders and industry peers convene. For SMEs, LinkedIn provides a range of opportunities, including:

  • Building brand credibility by showcasing expertise.
  • Connecting with decision-makers in B2B industries.
  • Recruiting top talent to enhance workforce quality.
  • Strengthening personal and company branding to boost visibility and trust.

However, LinkedIn’s effectiveness depends on your ability to stand out amidst a flood of posts, articles, and updates.

The key to cutting through the noise: Audience-centric strategy

One common pitfall for SMEs and leaders is crafting content for a broad audience rather than their specific target group. To distinguish yourself on LinkedIn, you need a focused strategy that delivers real value to your audience.

Understand your target audience

Effective LinkedIn content starts with a deep understanding of your audience. Are you targeting small business owners, industry professionals, potential clients, or future employees? Each group has distinct needs, challenges, and interests.

How to identify your audience:

  • Analyse your LinkedIn connections and followers: Identify their industries, roles, and levels of seniority.
  • Review engagement metrics on past posts: Find out which content types and topics resonated most with your audience.
  • Use LinkedIn Analytics: Gain insights into audience demographics to fine-tune your approach.

Example: A SaaS company targeting HR managers should focus on streamlining recruitment processes or enhancing employee retention rather than broad technology trends.

Choose topics that add real value

Your audience is exposed to countless posts daily. To stand out, your content must solve their problems, address their questions, or inspire them. Here’s how to select impactful topics:

  • Address pain points: Identify challenges your audience faces and provide actionable solutions. For example, a financial consultant might create a post titled “How SMEs Can Manage Cash Flow During Uncertain Economic Times.”
  • Spotlight industry trends: Offer insights on emerging trends or regulations that impact your audience. Be among the first to cover relevant topics, positioning yourself as a thought leader.
  • Leverage your expertise: Share unique perspectives, experiences, or lessons learned that set you apart from others. Authenticity goes a long way in engaging your audience.

Tip: Use LinkedIn polls or comments to directly ask your audience what topics they’d like you to cover.

The Elements of great LinkedIn content

While choosing the right topics is critical, how you present your content is equally important. To make your posts stand out, focus on these key elements:

Clarity and brevity

LinkedIn audiences prefer concise, easy-to-read content. Avoid lengthy paragraphs or excessive jargon. Instead, break your content into bullet points, headings, or short sentences for better readability.

Strong hooks

Your opening line is crucial. To grab attention, start with a bold statement, question, or surprising statistic.

Example: Instead of “Here’s why networking is important,” try, “80% of professionals say networking was key to their career growth—are you doing it right?”

Visual appeal

Visuals significantly boost engagement. To complement your content, incorporate infographics, charts, or high-quality images. LinkedIn’s carousel format works well for showcasing tips, processes, or case studies visually engagingly.

Call to action

End your posts with a clear CTA to encourage audience interaction. For instance: “What strategies have helped you manage remote teams? Share your insights in the comments!”

Timing matters: When to post

Posting at optimal times is essential to maximise reach and engagement. LinkedIn engagement peaks during specific windows when professionals are most active.

Optimal times to post:

  • Midweek Mornings (Tuesday–Thursday): Posts between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. perform best.
  • After Lunch (1 p.m.–2 p.m.): Afternoon posts can also gain traction as professionals scroll during breaks.
  • Avoid weekends or late evenings, as LinkedIn activity typically declines during these periods.

Pro Tip: Use LinkedIn Analytics to track when your audience is most active and schedule posts accordingly.

Be consistent, not overwhelming

Consistency is crucial for building a strong LinkedIn presence, but quality should always take precedence over quantity. A few high-quality posts per week are far more impactful than frequent low-effort updates.

Example strategy:

  • Post 1–3 times weekly, mixing formats like text posts, videos, and articles.
  • Respond to comments on your posts to foster engagement.
  • Share and comment on trending topics or others’ content to maintain visibility within your network.

Building a thought leadership presence

For SME leaders, LinkedIn is the ideal platform to establish authority and credibility. Thought leadership content goes beyond product promotion, positioning you as a trusted voice in your industry.

How to create thought leadership content:

  • Write LinkedIn Articles: Explore industry challenges, share case studies, or provide insights into future trends.
  • Speak authentically: Share personal experiences, lessons learned, and unique perspectives.
  • Engage in conversations: Participate in LinkedIn Groups, comment on relevant posts, and respond thoughtfully to comments on your own content.

Example: An SME leader in the sustainability sector could write an article titled “How SMEs Can Lead the Way in Net-Zero Initiatives,” enriched with personal anecdotes.

Collaborate and leverage networks

LinkedIn is not just about broadcasting—it’s about networking. Collaborating with other professionals or businesses can amplify your reach and credibility.

Ideas for collaboration:

  • Partner with industry peers to co-author posts or host LinkedIn Live sessions.
  • Share client success stories (with permission) and tag them in your posts.
  • Engage with thought leaders by commenting on their posts and participating in discussions.

Track, learn, and adjust

Success on LinkedIn requires continuous refinement. Regularly monitor your performance to identify what resonates with your audience and where adjustments are needed.

Key metrics to monitor:

  • Engagement rate: Likes, comments, and shares reflect how well your content connects with your audience.
  • Reach and impressions: Understand how many people your posts are reaching.
  • Click-through rate (CTR): Track how often users click on your links or CTAs.

Pro Tip: Experiment with different formats, tones, and topics to identify the strategies that work best.

Final thoughts: Stand out by adding value

Standing out on LinkedIn is about more than just content creation—it’s about crafting the right content for the right audience at the right time. By understanding your audience’s needs, sharing authentic insights, and engaging consistently, SMEs and their leaders can establish a powerful LinkedIn presence.

Remember, LinkedIn is not merely a marketing tool—it’s a platform to build relationships, share expertise, and create opportunities. Use it wisely, and your SME can rise above the noise and make a lasting impact.

Amplify Your Content: A Guide to Content Repurposing for SMEs

Creating content can feel like a never-ending uphill trek, right? One minute, you’re high on inspiration, churning out blog posts like a pro, and the next, you’re staring at a blank screen, praying for a sprinkle of creative magic. The struggle is real, especially for SMEs. You’ve got limited time, tight budgets, and—let’s be honest—no army of content creators at your disposal.

That’s where content repurposing comes into play. Think of it like squeezing the last bit of toothpaste from the tube, or better yet, like using leftovers to make a gourmet meal. It’s about taking what you’ve already worked hard to create and spinning it into something fresh, exciting, and, most importantly, useful for your audience.

In this guide, we’ll dive into how repurposing your content can make your life easier, why it’s key to a smart marketing strategy, and how you can start doing it effectively. Whether you’ve got a blog that’s a bit long in the tooth or a video you think deserves a second life, this guide’s got you covered.

Why Content Repurposing is a Game-Changer

1. You’re Already Sitting on a Goldmine

Let’s get this straight: you’ve probably got tons of content just waiting to be used again. That webinar you did six months ago? Still relevant. That blog post that got decent traffic last year? It’s ready for round two. With repurposing, you’re taking the hard work you’ve already done and giving it new life, saving yourself from starting over every time.

Think about it this way: If your content were a cow, repurposing would be like making milk, butter, cheese, and even ice cream from the same source. Why settle for just one product when you can have the full dairy aisle?

2. Reach New Audiences Without Extra Work

Everyone consumes content differently. Some people binge podcasts while jogging, others scroll through Instagram on their commute, and some might prefer good old-fashioned blog reading with their morning coffee. By repurposing, you meet people where they are without doing double the work.

That long blog post you wrote? Turn it into an infographic for Pinterest or a Twitter thread. That 20-minute video you made? Slice it into bite-sized clips for Instagram. The content doesn’t change, but the format does. Suddenly, you’re speaking the language of each platform, grabbing eyeballs you would’ve missed otherwise.

3. Extend the Lifespan of Your Content

Here’s the thing: good content shouldn’t die. It should age like fine wine. The sad truth is that without repurposing, most content is like a one-hit wonder. It has its moment in the sun, then fades into obscurity.

Repurposing breathes new life into your greatest hits. Got an old article that’s still relevant but buried on your blog? Update it, turn it into a video, or make it a downloadable guide. The content gets a second wind, and you get to squeeze even more ROI from it.

How Repurposing Solves Pain Points for SMEs

Now, let’s talk about your pain points. Because let’s be real, you’ve got a few.

1. Not Enough Time in the Day

If you’re juggling running a business and managing your marketing, you know time is your most precious commodity. You can’t sit around coming up with fresh ideas for every new post or video. Repurposing lets you take one big idea and milk it for all it’s worth (remember that cow metaphor?).

It’s efficient. It’s smart. And it saves you hours of brainstorming and content creation. For example, that eBook you spent weeks on? You can turn it into five blog posts, three podcasts, and a series of social media posts. Suddenly, your one piece of content is working triple shifts.

2. Consistency is Hard to Maintain

You know that consistency is key to building an audience. But consistently churning out new content? That’s tough. Repurposing lets you be consistent without the burnout. One piece of content can fuel your content calendar for weeks.

Got a blog post that did well? Use parts of it for your email newsletter, break it down into social posts, and spin it into an infographic. That’s one piece of content doing the work of many, helping you stay visible even when your content creation energy is running low.

3. Content Fatigue for Your Audience

People get bored. Fast. Repeating the same message in the same format can cause your audience to tune out. But by presenting your core messages in new ways, you keep things fresh.

For example, if you’ve got a webinar packed with valuable insights, don’t just post the recording and call it a day. Create an infographic summarising the key points, then break those points into individual social posts. Same message, different package—your audience stays engaged without feeling like they’re getting hit with the same thing over and over.

Effective Content Repurposing Strategies for UK SMEs

1. Break Blog Posts into Social Media Posts

Your blog posts are probably full of bite-sized pieces of wisdom just waiting to be shared. Break your post into several social media snippets. Got a post on “How to Improve Your SEO”? Each tip can become its own social post with a graphic or image.

This gives you a steady stream of social content without creating anything new. Plus, it gives your followers a sneak peek at your blog, encouraging them to click through and read the whole post.

2. Turn Videos into Blogs (and Vice Versa)

Videos are amazing, but not everyone has time to sit down and watch a 20-minute clip. Repurpose that content by transcribing the video and turning it into a blog post. This way, you’re catering to both visual and text-based audiences.

Got a great blog post? Flip the script. Turn it into a video and share it on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. You’re repurposing the same information but giving it a different form.

3. Turn Data into Infographics

If you’ve ever published content with stats, charts, or important data points, you’ve already got the ingredients for a killer infographic. People love visuals—they’re quick to consume and easy to share.

Let’s say you’ve got a blog post packed with industry stats. Turn those numbers into an infographic and share them on platforms like LinkedIn, Pinterest, or your website. Infographics also tend to get shared more, amplifying your reach further.

4. Repurpose Webinars into Email Sequences

Webinars are a treasure trove of content waiting to be repurposed. Once the webinar is over, break it down into smaller chunks. Write a series of email newsletters that dive into key insights from the event.

You can also create shorter video snippets from the webinar, each focusing on a specific topic, and use those as part of an email sequence or social media campaign.

5. Combine Several Blog Posts into an eBook

If you’ve written several blog posts on a similar topic, why not bundle them into a downloadable eBook? This not only provides additional value to your audience but also helps with lead generation.

For instance, if you’ve published several posts on digital marketing for SMEs, you can combine those into “The Ultimate Guide to Digital Marketing for Small Businesses.” Add a download form to your website, and voila—you’ve got a lead magnet ready to go.

Some Stats to Back It Up

  • Content Marketing Institute found that 60% of marketers who repurpose content say it’s one of the most effective strategies for saving time and boosting efficiency.
  • According to HubSpot, updating and repurposing old blog posts can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%.
  • Orbit Media discovered that 55% of marketers say they regularly repurpose blog content into social posts, videos, and other formats.
Best Practices for Successful Content Repurposing

1. Focus on Evergreen Content

Not all content ages well. A blog post about “Top 10 Trends of 2022” might not have much life left. But pieces about industry best practices, how-to guides, and core business strategies are evergreen—they remain relevant year after year. These are the perfect candidates for repurposing.

2. Adapt to the Platform

Repurposing doesn’t mean copy-pasting. You’ve got to tweak the content for each platform. What works on Instagram won’t necessarily fly on LinkedIn. Keep the core message, but change the format, tone, and length to fit each platform’s audience.

3. Track Performance

Repurposing is great, but only if it works. Use analytics to track which repurposed content performs best. If your blog posts-turned-social media posts get lots of engagement, keep doing it. If your webinars don’t get much traction in email, try turning them into video clips instead.

Wrapping Up

Content repurposing isn’t just a hack for squeezing extra mileage out of your content. It’s a smarter way to work. For UK-based SMEs with limited time and resources, it’s the perfect solution to keep your content fresh, reach more people, and save you from the constant grind of creating new material from scratch.

So, before you sit down to craft a new blog post or record a new video, take a moment. Ask yourself: could this be repurposed? Chances are, the answer is yes. And that’s your key to amplifying your content without burning yourself out.

Happy repurposing!

How To Use Your Networks To Amplify Your Content

The challenge now is no longer in the creation of content but, instead, on how to get that content to its intended audience.

With millions of posts, tweets, and videos uploaded every day, it goes beyond “just posting”; your content has to cut through the noise. And this is where leveraging your networks comes in. In this never-ending roar, your networks—whether colleagues, friends, followers, or professional contacts—can help amplify your content so it makes the cut.

The following article explores content visibility challenges, the rewards of leveraging your network, and practical ways to maximise exposure and interaction with your content.

Understanding the Barriers of Not Using Your Network

Of course, the biggest challenge for anyone or any business that creates content is that the algorithms of these platforms themselves change. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram work in such a way that the content able to provoke reactions will be on top. If your content does not instantaneously get likes, shares, or comments, it likely will be buried under an avalanche of other posts. Even high-quality content can go unnoticed if it doesn’t gain traction quickly.

Also, organic reach for content is at an all-time low. For instance, Facebook has severely minimised the visibility of organic posts compared to paid advertisements. If you don’t have a network to tap into with your initial engagement, chances are your content won’t even reach a fraction of the potential audience.

Plus, the competition is brutal, with content being churned out left, right, and centre. Creative ideas on their own just don’t cut it; you need amplification strategies.

The Benefits of Using Your Network to Amplify Content

One of the best ways to crack through these barriers is by using your network. Here’s how:

Expanded Reach: By sharing your content with your network, the same content can be shared further into their networks to create a ripple effect. In short, a single share of your content would make it available to as many people as possible, way beyond your capacity to reach them.

Improved Credibility: Shared content usually improves your network’s credibility. Your connections believe in you, and when you share something, they’re more likely to find it valuable. This plays an important role, especially on professional networks like LinkedIn, where trust needs to be developed.

Higher Engagement: Your network is a catalyst for increased engagement. Pushing your connections to like, comment, or share what you are posting further boosts its visibility. Increased engagement sends a signal to algorithms that what you post is of value and, therefore, encourages more distribution.

Content Longevity: When you use your network to share content, it can lead to a more sustained level of engagement. Instead of your post disappearing after its initial burst of visibility, continued sharing and interaction can keep it relevant for a longer period.

How Networks Increase Reach and Engagement

Understanding the mechanics of how networks extend reach and multiply engagement is key to unlocking the full power of your network:

Algorithmic Favour: As mentioned, social media algorithms favour content that has early and consistent engagement. Activating your network to engage with your content immediately after you post it will help increase the chance of the platform’s algorithm picking it up.

Social Proof: It is in the behaviour of humans to be more likely to try things that others have tried before. If people within your network share, like, or comment on your content, it indicates social proof of the value of that content, making engagement easier for the rest.

Network Effects: Each time an individual in your network shares your content, it exposes your content to their network. This launches a series of reactions through the network effects that could enlarge the radius of your content further than any possible method of doing it manually.

Relevant Audience: The people in your network share a keen interest in your content, meaning the audience you start with is relevant. In turn, this relevance is what will trigger the likelihood of your content clicking within this audience and being shared by them to their own audiences, thus amplifying reach across a larger yet equally relevant one.

Content With A Purpose: The competition for attention has never been tougher. Being able to cut through the clutter takes more than pithy headlines or beautiful design; it requires a deeper connection with your audience rooted in a clear and compelling purpose.

Practical Strategies for Networking

Knowing the benefits is one thing, but applying them requires strategy. Here are some practical ways to leverage your network to amplify your content:

Personal Outreach: Don’t rely just on passive sharing. Reach out to key connections and ask for them to engage with your content. A personal ask goes a long way instead of general announcements.

Develop Shareable Content: Always consider creating shareable content. This means content that will, by its very nature, be relevant, captivating, and valuable for the audience.

Good types of content include Infographics, insightful articles, and thought-provoking questions.

Actively Participate: Amplification works two ways. Be active in viewing content that the people in your network will be sharing: comment, like, and share their posts. The better you engage with other people, the better the chance that they will return the favour.

Make the Best Out of Groups and Communities: Most platforms have groups or communities with a specific interest. Shared information in such spaces will naturally boost visibility because the content is shared with precisely the right audience.

Utilise Influencers: If you have any connections with them, work with the key influencers related to your industry. They can massively magnify your content by sharing it with their huge and responsive audiences.

The takeaway?

Today, with a highly cluttered digital environment, high-quality, standout content will take you far. But even with great content, if you don’t know how to employ your network strategically to amplify your content, then your content is pretty much dead in the water. This way, you can hugely enhance the reach and engagement of your content by understanding barriers to visibility of that content and the power of networks. Don’t forget that your network is more than a list of contacts—it’s a dynamic tool that multiplies your content far beyond what you could ever do by yourself.

Why An Employer Branding Strategy Is Important

What comes to mind when you think about your company’s brand? Maybe it’s the logo or the brand messaging, or perhaps you think about how the wider world sees your organisation.

Whilst these tend to be what springs to mind first, another element of a company’s branding is arguably as vital but often neglected. Employer branding is crucial to attracting and retaining talent for purpose-driven organisations. In our new world of work and ultra-competitive business world, it’s more important than ever.

In this post, we look at the benefits you can expect when you establish a strategy for employer branding and, crucially, how you achieve it.

Is Employer Branding For Me?

If you want to increase your job pool of qualified candidates, save money and improve how your company is perceived online, then yes!

For recruiting and talent acquisition, a positive employer brand is everything. In fact, you can actually save money on recruitment by having a strong employer brand strategy. 

Just think about a potential recruit logging onto your website to find genuine employees talking about how great it is to work at your company – it’s a smart way to entice those candidates without spending a penny on external advertising.

Creating Candidate Personas

You probably have buyer personas that help you create and target online content. Now, think about taking the same approach with candidates. Building candidate personas is a brilliant way of branding your company for potential recruits.

Consider demonstrating internal work culture with photos and videos generated by employees to genuinely showcase what it’s like to work at your company or compose blog posts on company events. Video testimonials are also a surefire way to give your employer brand a boost – current and former employees who’ve had a great experience working at your company can be your biggest advocates. 

These pieces of content can be seamlessly mixed in with your consumer-facing content through your social channels, and with a staggering 1 in 4 job seekers using social media as their primary tool for job searching and research, content like this can have a significant impact on the way future employees interpret your employer brand.

Don’t Neglect Career Sites

You have full control of your social channels and website, but your company is represented elsewhere on the internet too. Career sites like Glassdoor are go-to’s for potential recruits, so it’s important to pay attention to these websites.

As part of your employer branding strategy, you should dedicate time to address negative comments on these sites. Don’t deny issues from disgruntled former employees or get defensive – instead, address the issues and show how your company is working to improve and move on. You can never have total control over your employer brand, but you can help shape the narrative by being honest on sites like these.

CEO Branding

That’s right, it’s crucial that your CEO is factored into your branding strategy too. 

Think about some of the biggest companies in the world – Tesla, Microsoft, Meta – the CEOs of these firms are synonymous with their brands. Any news story about Tesla has Elon Musk’s face plastered all over it; ‘Meta’ and ‘Zuckerberg’ are connected in Perpetuum. 

The reputation of your CEO is closely tied to the reputation of the brand they lead. Research by Brand Finance found that particularly outspoken CEOs have the biggest influence on the way customers perceive their brands (and surprise, surprise – it’s not always in a positive way!)

CEO branding is not just for large corporations; in fact, it can be most effective in smaller start-ups and founder-run organisations. Demonstrating the founder’s expertise and putting them front and centre can help build trust among both consumers and investors.

Bringing out the best of the CEO without ensuing reputational liability is a very delicate balancing act and only works if the leader embodies and projects the core brand values. 

So, how do you harness this unique marketing tool? Here are 3 considerations when building your CEO brand:

  1. Define the CEO’s personal brand

Begin the process by defining the CEO’s executive personal brand. Work closely with the CEO for this piece of work. Consider their personality, strengths, vision, goals and just what sort of a CEO they are. 

  1. Look to the Future

Consumers want CEOs who are forward-thinking and able to anticipate their needs (sometimes before they even know what they want themselves.) Think about how Mark Zuckerberg articulates innovation at Meta – his ‘big picture’ thinking shows he welcomes change and growth and is undeterred by obstacles. He clearly expresses this long-term vision for the company (thinking in terms of decades, not quarters or years), stating the brands’ internal values in 2022 as – “move fast”, “build awesome things”, and “live in the future”. 

  1. Don’t be scared of failure

Once you incorporate your CEO into your employer branding strategy, you need to be prepared to embrace all that comes with that. Being seen is a huge part of CEO branding, so they need to be confident to get out there and show their face and be prepared that not everyone will like them all the time. 

When done well, CEOs are perhaps one of the most underrated marketing tools that you have at your disposal.

We hope you try out some of these employer branding tips. Not only will these techniques benefit employee retention and fuel talented applicants, but they can positively affect other aspects of your company as well.

Attract Top Talent with Your Organic LinkedIn Posts

Talent attraction goes beyond recruiting. It is about having a long-term employee retention strategy in place. And in the current age and time, staying relevant and true to your business goals is crucial. Here are some innovative talent attraction strategies that can help you attract and find your industry’s top talent to fill open job roles now and in the future and retain them for a long time.

Highlight your employer branding

Before applying for a job, employees tend to look for reputable companies that share the same mission as theirs. To leverage this, increasing your brand visibility is vital. No company can flourish without a strong employer brand. And to prosper, you need employees that identify with your values. Thus, focusing on employer branding is an effective talent acquisition strategy. Utilise your LinkedIn company page so potential candidates can assess their fit and align their goals with that of your company. Create a compelling employer brand that is representative of your company’s core values. A well-developed employer brand is a key to attracting top talent. This way, potential candidates can assess their fit and align their goals with that of your company.

Plan and write crisp job descriptions

A well-crafted job description can make you stand out as a company that values talent. Keeping this in mind, enticing job descriptions work well as a talent attraction strategy.

Job descriptions should have:

  • Your company culture
  • Job requirements
  • Pay scale
  • Company profile
  • Any benefits you may offer
  • Company’s website or blog

Build connections through social media recruiting

Social media recruiting is a talent acquisition strategy you should definitely not miss. Social media networks serve as great platforms to search for potential hires and be found by them. Information shared on social media tends to have a higher consumption rate. Share your company information on your LinkedIn company page and other social media networks in the form of short videos, infographics, or posts. Connect with candidates on social media and let them know what differentiates you from the others. Besides lowering your recruiting costs, social media recruitment gets in touch with a wider talent pool in a short period. This will help you build a strong online reputation and connect with the industry’s top talent around the globe. Social media recruitment also doubles up as a method to boost employer brand.

LinkedIn is by far the largest global professional network, with more than 770 million members in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Make sure you get the most of it to attract top talent.

Download our FREE guide to learn how to boost your organic reach on LinkedIn

13 Ways To Boost Your Personal Brand On LinkedIn

We’re all familiar with branding our business, but what about branding ourselves?

The past 18 months have been a turning point for many business leaders. No longer interacting at trade fairs and conferences, CEOs suddenly had a laser-sharp focus on their personal brand – and how that was represented online.

Working on your personal brand is an excellent idea if your offline reputation took a hit due to the pandemic. It helps sell and market you and offers a human element to your business. LinkedIn is by far the best platform for establishing your brand, but with so many people brand building, how do you get it right without getting lost in the sea of content?

A good strategy is essential, so here are our top 13 tips to start brand-building.

Getting the Basics Right

To start thinking about your personal brand, begin with the basics. Once you nail these elements, you can go on to think about content and outreach, but it all starts here.

  1. Remember – LinkedIn is your Living CV

Your LinkedIn profile is not something you fill out one day and then walk away from. Instead, it’s a living, breathing record of your achievements and career successes. So the first thing to remember when trying to ace your personal brand is to keep your profile updated – whenever you make a career move, speak at a conference or publish an article.

  1. Optimise Your Profile for Search

Did you know you can optimise your LinkedIn page for SEO?

Understanding your relevant keywords is a crucial aspect of understanding your personal brand. Determine the keywords you want to be found for when potential clients of employers search LinkedIn and use them in your headline, summary, and job descriptions. All the work you do to optimise your profile will be lost if you don’t choose the right keywords, as no one will discover your profile.

  1. Sell Yourself

Just as you would when talking about your business, it’s essential to sell yourself in your description. Again, be specific – include facts and figures to demonstrate your accomplishments, but keep it concise and to the point.

  1. Choose the Right Profile Photo

As with any branding, images are key. When people are skimming through your profile, the first thing they will spot is your profile photo, so it’s essential that the picture represents your brand.

Ensure your photo includes a clear view of your face and shoulders and is clear, crisp, and well-lit. You should be dressed professionally, and remember, a smile goes a long way!

  1. Don’t Forget Your Cover Photo

LinkedIn cover photos are another opportunity for you to shape your personal brand, so be sure to take advantage of this feature. Consider including your company’s logo or an image that reflects your profession. We’ve seen some great examples of company pages that include a CTA in the banner to engage visitors further.

  1. Make Your Headline Count

LinkedIn profile headlines are limited to 120 characters, so you need to get creative to make this prime real estate as effective as possible. Your headline needs to grab the reader’s attention and make them want to stick around. Once you’ve chosen your headline, test it on a mobile device too to make sure it works across devices.

Think Content

Now we’ve got the basics sorted, let’s take a look at how content can help shape your brand on LinkedIn.

  1. Write Articles

To have a chance of standing out in the crowded field of LinkedIn, you need to be creating your rich content. We know you’ve heard this over and over – that’s because it’s one of the best ways to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise and develop your brand on LinkedIn.

Most companies are sitting on a goldmine of information and data that would be interesting to your customers and/or peers; creating content is just about getting that information out there.

Even if you have a blog on your website, publishing on LinkedIn has specific advantages. All your connections get notified whenever you publish on the network, and you can choose to feature these articles on your LinkedIn profile.

  1. Create Brilliant and Diverse Content

The thing that will differentiate you from everyone else on LinkedIn is providing exceptional content that people simply cannot resist. Try to ensure this content is a diverse mix that represents all sides of your personal brand – videos, infographics, free ebooks, and live webinars are all great ideas.

  1. Reshare your top-performing posts

Keep a close eye on what posts perform best, and repurpose or reuse that content. They resonated with your audience, so take your own lead and let them inspire other content, and reshare those super-successful posts to get more traction.

Your Network
  1. Leverage Industry Influencers

Influencers are crucial to your personal brand – establishing relationships with influencers in your industry by mentioning them in posts can help boost your visibility on LinkedIn and affirm your personal brand for other users.

  1. Participate in Groups

LinkedIn groups are a powerful resource, especially as you develop your personal brand. Groups allow you to meet and mingle with other professionals in your industry and offer the potential of powerful connections and working relationships down the line.

There’s one crucial part to being part of these groups: participation. Comment, share content, offer advice and start conversation threads – this kind of engagement will mean you reap a lot more of the benefits of groups than if you sit on the sidelines.

  1. Keep an Eye on Connections

A huge part of LinkedIn is making and maintaining connections. Accept all requests that come in, even if you don’t know the person. The more connections you have, the higher LinkedIn will rank you, and the more others will see your profile.

  1. Engage

Crucially, you must continue to engage with LinkedIn for it to be an up-to-date authority on you and your personal brand. So regularly post, share, engage and keep your profile up to date. The more present you are, the more benefits you will get from the network.

LinkedIn is one of the most critical networks for personal branding; it’s a powerhouse tool to have at your fingertips, so we hope these strategies help you to make the most of personal branding on LinkedIn.

Get to Know the LinkedIn Algorithm

The goal of the LinkedIn algorithm is to deliver the most relevant content to each user’s newsfeed. LinkedIn wants to keep traffic on their website and stop irrelevant or low-quality content from showing on newsfeeds.

Looking at clicks, likes, comments, and shares, LinkedIn’s algorithm fills newsfeeds with content that seems most relevant to a user’s actions on the platform. Knowing this can help you create and share relevant and helpful content that will encourage more interactions.

So, you need to define your business goals for the platform and think about whom you are trying to reach on LinkedIn. For example, are you trying to raise brand awareness for your company or collect sales leads? Or maybe you want to increase your influence as a thought leader in your industry?

Create a LinkedIn content marketing strategy around what your target audience would find most valuable, and post content that will help you reach your company’s goals for being on the platform.

As LinkedIn wants to keep traffic on the platform itself, here are a few ways you can satisfy LinkedIn’s goal while also delivering the most relevant and valuable content to your followers:

  • Post-text-only updates that don’t include URLs that lead away from LinkedIn. If you really want to include a URL that directs users off of LinkedIn, try adding it as the first comment of your post.
  • Use LinkedIn native video instead of linking it to YouTube or another website.
  • Publish Articles on LinkedIn’s Blogging Platform, Pulse, instead of linking them to your website.

On LinkedIn, videos are vital

Videos are 5x more likely to start a conversation, plus they tend to convert better. Members spend almost 3 x more time watching videos than static content pieces. Because video is the most important medium on LinkedIn, make sure you use LinkedIn native video and upload videos directly to the platform instead of linking to YouTube or other websites. This will also satisfy LinkedIn’s goal to keep users on the platform. In addition, you can share your LinkedIn videos to other social media platforms to drive more traffic to your LinkedIn page. LinkedIn videos can be up to 10 minutes long. Use short and concise descriptions for the video so connections know what it is about and are encouraged to watch. Since videos are the most successful form of content on LinkedIn, be sure that the videos are lightweight since 57% of LinkedIn users access the app via mobile phone. Stay away from Flash because that won’t work on iPhones or iPads.

Some advanced video tips:

  • The optimal length of a video is about three minutes. It’s enough time to be valuable to viewers, but not so long that they lose interest.
  • Include an SRT file with your upload, which will add captions so that even your connections who can’t listen to the audio can still watch your video and know what’s going on.

When using an image, it is good to include statistics from time to time

LinkedIn is all about networking; if people want to share an image, they want to appear knowledgeable. If your image has statistics or quick facts on it, it is more likely to be shared across LinkedIn. Though people want to see statistics and quick infographic videos, remember that users want to know there are still people behind the company. Don’t be afraid to show company milestones or highlight your company leaders! People want to see the human side of your brand. But don’t talk about yourselves too much — find the balance between highlighting your company’s human side as well as sharing other relevant content for your target audience.

Publish Articles on LinkedIn’s Blogging Platform, Pulse

Similar to the intent of native LinkedIn video, LinkedIn’s Pulse platform aims to keep traffic on the site when its users are sharing long-form content with their connections. One way to start incorporating Pulse into your LinkedIn marketing strategy is by using your company’s existing blog posts and repurposing them as LinkedIn articles. Be sure to edit the content to best fit the interests of the LinkedIn audience you are targeting. Then, after publishing the article, share the link in a post using excerpts from your article to entice followers. You can do this right after publishing the article or later, following these steps:

  1.  Scroll below to the end of the article
  2.  Click on ‘Share’
  3.  Choose ‘Share in a post’

This keeps users on LinkedIn, gives you content to share on your business page and helps drive attention to your content. Other types of LinkedIn articles you could publish could include company announcements, new hires, or your company’s reaction to trending industry news.

Share Your LinkedIn Content at the Optimal Time and at the Optimal Consistency

Now you know what to post, but when is the best time to post it? Timing matters on LinkedIn, and a little research on your audience goes a long way when deciding when to post your content so that it can reach as many people as possible.

Apart from the purpose/goal of your posts and the topics that will be of the most value to your audience, your social media strategy should also include the optimal time the posts should be shared to reach the largest number of people. When trying to find the optimal time to post, you should consider your buyer personas, time zones your connections live in, and your industry as a whole.

Make sure you target the right people

Most B2B marketers close their eyes and shoot their shots. However, once you have refined your strategy, it will make refining your target audience a lot easier.

The Post Targeted updates feature is a great tool for audience targeting on LinkedIn. These updates help tailor content to the specific audiences you are targeting. The posts will only target the corresponding feeds. In order to use this feature, your page must have 300 followers.

Posting a targeted update is quite simple. First, you have to draft your updates on the Home tab of your super content admin view. Then click the dropdown menu to select the audience you want to target. Next, add the target audience’s criteria on the target audience setting page. Then click ‘Save’ to secure this template and post!

The estimated target follower audience is the number of potential people who will see the post. If your targeted posts aren’t reaching a broad enough audience, remove some targeting criteria to broaden your audience. Employees will not be notified when posting a targeted update.

LinkedIn is a great platform where you can grow, learn, and connect with customers and professionals from your industry.

As paid advertising is used more widely across social media and organic reach gets tossed to the side, we’ve put together a free guide to help you boost your organic reach on LinkedIn.

Instagram Organic Marketing Best Practices

Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social networks worldwide.

With so many options and variety in how to showcase your service or product, it is natural you may find it a little daunting.

With a good organic Instagram marketing strategy, you can increase brand awareness, gain new followers, grow engagement, support customer service with useful information, and make sales by highlighting a product or service.

So you must be wondering how you can achieve all this.

Creating a consistent style, planning content, and knowing when to post is key, but here we are presenting Instagram best practices for 2021, which may help your brand easily rise above the rest in 2022.

1. The first and the most important thing is to know your audience.

Instagram has over 1 billion users, making it an ideal platform for your brand to get the recognition it deserves.

So, who is your ideal customer?

Think about breaking down your audience into age, gender, location, and interests.

Once you’ve found who your target audience is, ask yourself what else they may be interested in. Then, make sure your content matches your audience’s interests.

To gain traffic, relevant audience, and brand recognition on Instagram, it’s important to set your main, and most importantly, realistic goals.

We all want thousands of followers, but let’s start with your first thousand and grow from there. The key to gaining a new audience lies in keeping consistent content that is attractive, starts a conversation, and makes your followers want to share it with others.

Keeping dedicated followers is equally as important as gaining new ones. Keeping content fresh, attractive, and tailored to the audience keeps the existing audience engaged, while like-minded people are attracted to join in the conversation.

2. Create a style guide

Instagram is a visual app, so when it comes to it, visuals are everything. Find your style and make it consistent. Ideally, you should stick to colour combinations and visual styles that fit your brand persona.

Having a consistent style keeps your grid neat and your brand recognisable when it pops up on someone’s feed.

3. Make sure you interact with your community.

An organic Instagram marketing strategy doesn’t just mean broadcasting to the world. It has to be interactive.

Interaction is what turns your Instagram profile into a community. Followers will pick up on the fact that you’re present, interested, and engaged.

Make sure you respond to comments and direct messages daily and comment or react to posts that tag your brand. You can also comment on posts relevant to your brand and industry.

Instagram is the perfect platform to create intriguing and captivating visual stories about your brand. So start creating visuals to tell engaging stories about your brand history, your customer stories, your employee experiences, or your brand impact.

High-quality content that encourages your audience to like, comment, or share, is always a win.

4. Get your community involved

Inviting your community to help share your brand’s story on their accounts is a great way to help reach new fans and customers. Start driving user-generated content by following these three strategies:

1.      Start a hashtag for your brand and encourage your followers to use it

2.      Celebrate your community by showcasing their content in your feed and stories

3.      Include a strong CTA

Think about what action you want your audience to take after seeing your post. For example, do you want them to like, comment, share your post in their stories? This can help you with creating the right copy for your post to make your community members engage with your content.

Building a solid relationship with your customer base is really important. You can also create special moments that your customers can be part of via Instagram feed, Stories, and more.

5. Measure performance and find the best time to post

Using Instagram’s insights, you can see how your audience engages with your content. The better you understand how and when your audience engages, the easier it is to know what to post.

Click on ‘View insights’ on the bottom left of any post. From here, you can see the number of likes, comments, shares, and more. Insights offer an in-depth look with reach and impressions.

Compare these insights on each of your posts to see what kind of content your audience is looking for. 

Once you identify the posts that resonate with your community most, take inspiration from those posts for future ones.

Take note of the time posted as well, since this can give you a good idea of when your audience is most active. Once you’re on the insights page, tap the ‘your audience’ section to gain insight into your followers and audience. This covers location, age, gender, and most active times. Under most active times, you can see when the best time to post on Instagram is. From what day of the week to what hour works best.

Timing posts to when the audience is most likely to be online increases the reach of your content.

6. Use a content calendar

Consistency is key, so the ability to pre-plan and schedule your posts ahead of time ensures that you can keep up. 

Using a content calendar will help you organise your content in one place and keep your style consistent. In addition, having your content and captions ready ahead of time saves you the trouble of scrambling for a new post. 

When planning content, think about how often you want new content on your page. You don’t have to post every day to be successful, but post often enough that people don’t forget about you. Make sure you’re not posting too often that people’s timelines are flooded with your posts. This could lead to an unfollow, or Instagram’s algorithm will simply lower your posts’ reach by not showing your posts in the newsfeed.

Planning your content can set you up for a whole month of consistent, on-brand, and engaging posts.

8. Use hashtags to boost content discovery

Hashtags are your best friends on Instagram. They help your content show up in the search results of said hashtags and in the Explore pages of people who’ve viewed or interacted with similar content. So hashtags on Instagram are a great way to boost content discovery and overall brand visibility.

Make the most of niche hashtags and industry-related hashtags that can help you reach the right audience. And don’t forget to share branded hashtags to encourage user-generated content.

9. Partner with influencers to reach new audiences

With the ability to reach hundreds of thousands of people through their posts, influencers can add fuel to your Instagram promotion efforts. Influencer marketing is another way to get your brand in front of new audiences, and the trust that audiences have in influencers’ recommendations can be a huge boost to your customer base.

When partnering with influencers, it’s crucial that you work with people whose audience base overlaps with yours. In other words, make sure you only partner with influencers who can reach your target audience.

10. Stay on top of Instagram changes and updates

The platform has added on to popular content options like Stories and IGTV to introduce features like Reels and Instagram Shopping. Moreover, it has even enhanced existing features to introduce trends such as augmented reality filters to Instagram Stories. Brands can even create custom AR filters to promote audience engagement and gain better visibility.

When it comes to Instagram stories, they allow for great engagement with your audience.

Use these best practices to make your brand stories a bit more creative:

– Use interactive features: Think about using the vote button, quiz button, and question/answer buttons. These interactive elements not only allow you to get to know your audience but this gives great insight into what your followers like. Lay these elements over brand photos or videos.

– Try the create feature: a great way to share new content without having to take photos or video. Use fun GIPHY’s, create lists, and other fun content that engages with your audience.

Think about what your audience may have in common with you and start a conversation. Great engagement can come from fun, interactive content.

– Highlight your most important stories: Instagram highlights showcase important information in a convenient spot. When users first find a new Instagram page, they usually head to their profile to see what they have to offer.

By adding important information such as weekly specials or special services, company achievements, or job postings, users can easily interact with the page and become quickly informed.

Another great novelty on Instagram is the Instagram Reels – quick, fun videos that allow a bit more personality over a traditional post or story.

If you are planning to use reels, make them unique by following these best practices:

– Add Text: The Instagram Reels subtitle feature gives an excellent opportunity to allow accessibility. Plus, more information that can’t always fit in your video can pop up in the form of text bubbles.

– Tag Products: Showcasing a product in your Reel. Tag so that once your audience can see how great it is, they can buy it immediately!

– Make it Entertaining: Like Instagram stories, Reels are a great opportunity to showcase your brand’s personality, whether it’s through fun videos of your products, behind the scenes with employees, or other creative trends.

– Use Fun Effects: Add music and voiceover to your reels to express your brand’s unique personality.

– Engage and Inform: The great thing about reels is that they become a permanent part of your feed. So, once you have created fun, informative reels, continue to share them to show off what your brand has to offer.

Finally, besides following the above-mentioned best practices, make sure you make the most of your Instagram bio.

With 150 characters or less and a profile photo, this leaves little space for large-scale information, so keep it simple and add your website or a featured link to get users exploring more about you.

Think of a quick, witty, and clear message to get your brand voice across. This is the place to let everyone know who you are, what you do, and what makes you stand out.

Don’t be afraid to change it up by announcing sales, news, or other features at an appropriate time.

Top Tips on Utilising Email Marketing and LinkedIn for SMEs

In our hyper-digital world, there are a handful of essential digital marketing outputs that every business must embrace.

Even the smallest of SMEs can benefit from a solid digital presence, so we’d thought we’d do a rundown of two of the most important platforms out there – email marketing and LinkedIn.

We often hear that SME leaders assume that these tools are suited to the big firms, but no matter the size or industry of your business, both email marketing and LinkedIn can help you foster better client relationships, help establish your brand, and develop your customer base. Firstly, let’s take a look at how email marketing can work wonders for your business.

Leveraging Email Marketing for your SME

Email marketing is frequently cited as the most fruitful form of digital marketing – 80% of business professionals consider email a vital aspect of customer retention. Furthermore, when used correctly, email has the potential to deliver the greatest ROI of any marketing channel.

However, inboxes are a battlefield for marketers, so it’s crucial to remember the core strategies that make email marketing effective and ensure you stand out from the crowd.

One of the most important practices to remember with email marketing today is to be as transparent and open as possible with your customers. Generic emails won’t get you far, and an unsolicited approach is not only a violation of GDPR but also a sure-fire way to annoy potential customers.

So, in that spirit, focus on getting customers to subscribe to your newsletters, and build a powerful and robust email list by remembering the following tips.

Timing is everything

The optimum time to send emails will depend on your audience – so take advantage of research available online to get some advice for your firm. The day of the week matters too – Tuesday is reportedly the best day by far.

Provide one clear call to action

Don’t be tempted to fill your campaign with calls to action. Instead, keep things simple – emails with one call to action can increase clicks by 371%. To ensure maximum clickability, keep your call to action between 2 – 4 words and place it near the top of your email.

Keep things personal

Personalised emails have 6x higher transaction rates, so if you’re not already segmenting your audiences, then get to it! However, sending fewer, more relevant emails that recommend products based on past purchases, browsing history or include the recipient’s location can achieve better results than mass mailouts.

Don’t forget to test

Regular testing and measuring will ensure you are staying on top of your evolving customer base. First, find out what devices and email clients your subscribers are using and optimise these formats. Tools like Litmus let you test your email messages on various clients so you can fix any problems that might occur across devices.

Embracing LinkedIn for your SME

Companies of almost any kind can benefit from maintaining a LinkedIn presence, and although it does require a dedicated, platform-specific approach, the stats speak for themselves. In 2020, 94% of marketers were using LinkedIn to publish content; so, if you’ve not embraced LinkedIn yet – now is the time!

First things first, you need to start thinking up some ideas for brilliant content. Here are a few of our favourite ideas:

Publish how-to blogs or list posts

Writing informative articles is a great way to raise your visibility and start conversations on LinkedIn. It demonstrates your industry expertise and positions you as a thought leader. How-to blogs and list posts receive the most attention on LinkedIn and given their easily digestible formatting, it’s easy to see why.

Share industry-adjacent content

The key to LinkedIn articles is to consistently share information that interests your clients. Customers remember smart people who offer up reliable advice, so sharing industry-adjacent content helps keep you top of their minds in the long run.

Create screencast tutorials and presentations

A screencast is simply a video recording of your computer screen accompanied by audio narration. For example, use a PowerPoint presentation or high-quality visuals, and narrate as if you were giving a presentation. Screencasts are one of the most cost-effective techniques for producing video content and are the perfect place to start if you’re camera shy or don’t have a video camera.

Content is king, but it’s not the only thing you need to pay attention to if you’re trying to get a leg up on LinkedIn.

Building your following is a sure-fire way to gain traction on the platform, but you want to make sure those connections are relevant and add value to your network. So read on for our tips.

Add a page link in your email signature

If you’re already emailing someone professionally, it’s likely your page will interest them.

Add the follow company plugin to your website

This drives visitors from your website to your LinkedIn, increasing your reach.

Mention companies and pages in page updates

By mentioning companies with the @ symbol, it’s easier for them to reshare your content in front of your audience. Think about the companies you admire and have solid followings and mention them in your updates.

Keep it up

Post consistently – according to LinkedIn, pages that post daily get twice the member engagement. Try the 3, 2,1 technique to keep your content varied- every week, aim to post three pieces of industry-related content, two pieces of ‘proud’ content (content that makes your employees and followers feel good) and just one piece of product-related content.

Remember to engage promptly – reply, comment and ask questions and keep your business details and photos up to date. Building a community on LinkedIn requires attention.

LinkedIn and email marketing are crucial facets of any company’s digital marketing efforts, whatever size the business is. We hope these tips help you take advantage of these brilliant tools to reach your current and potential customers.