Why Your Content Needs More Direction, Not More Volume

Many businesses are not short of content.

But they are often short of clarity.

Yes, posts are going out. Blogs are being written. Emails are being sent. Reels are being tested. LinkedIn updates are being squeezed in between client work, meetings and everything else that needs doing.

But if the content feels a bit scattered, or worse, random, reactive or disconnected from what the business really should be saying, the answer is rarely to produce more.

It is usually to step back and ask a question:

All this content we’re producing. What are we actually trying to do with it?

Because content without direction can quickly become noise. And when everyone is competing for attention, noise is easy to ignore.

And quite frankly, who wants or needs more noise?

The problem with “just posting”

Social media has made content feel like and urgent and almost daily task. Sure, being on consistent is important, but there is always another trend, another platform update, another format people say you “should” be using. Before long, content becomes something you have to keep feeding rather than something that is genuinely working for the business.

That is where many small teams and founder-led businesses get stuck.

They know they need to be “out there”. They know visibility matters. They know silence is not a clever strategy.

But they also know that posting for the sake of it does not build trust, create clarity or make people care.

And that is the bit that really matters.

Good content should not just fill a gap in the calendar. It should help people understand who you are, what you stand for, how you help and why they should listen.

Strategy gives your content a job

A strong content strategy does not need to be complicated.

It simply gives your content purpose.

It helps you decide what needs to be said, who it needs to reach, where it should show up and how it should sound. It connects your business goals with your audience’s real questions, concerns and motivations.

Without that, content can start to feel (let’s go back to the beginning) a bit scattered, random, reactive and disconnected.

One week you are educational. The next you are promotional. Then you disappear. Then you come back with a post that sounds nothing like you because you felt under pressure to say something clever. Or funny. Or… just something.

That lack of consistency is not always obvious from inside the business. But your audience sees it.

They may not think, “This brand lacks a clear content strategy.”

But they don’t connect.

And they won’t remember you.

They certainly won’t feel enough trust to take the next step.

Your audience does not need everything from you

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is trying to say too much.

They want to explain every service, every offer, every benefit, every detail. But strong content is not about saying everything. It is about saying the right things often enough, clearly enough and humanly enough for people to remember.

Your audience (all your stakeholders by the way, not just people you want to sell too) does not need to know every part of your business straight away.

They need to understand:

  • What problem do you help solve?
  • Why should they trust you?
  • What do you see that they may not have considered?
  • How does it feel to work with you?
  • What do you believe about your space?
  • It’s called building a connection. And it’s where it starts.

Human content still needs structure

There is often a fear that strategy will make content feel all rigid or corporatey.

But the opposite is true when it’s done well.

The right strategy gives you the confidence to sound more like yourself because you are not starting from scratch every time. You know your themes. You know your tone. You know the stories, insights and ideas that matter.

That structure creates freedom.

It means your content can still feel warm, personal and spontaneous without becoming random. It means your brand can have a recognisable voice without sounding over-polished. It means your posts, blogs and campaigns start to feel like they belong together.

And that matters because people build trust through repeating sights and sounds.

Not one perfect post.

Not one viral moment.

Not one beautifully designed carousel that disappears after a week.

Trust comes from showing up consistently with something useful, relevant and recognisably you.

What direction actually looks like

Content direction does not have to mean a huge strategy document.

It can be much simpler and more useful than that.

It might mean defining three or four core content themes that your business wants to be known for.

It might mean turning your founder’s thinking into regular thought-led posts.

It might mean building a monthly rhythm around blogs, LinkedIn posts, email content and repurposed assets.

It might mean deciding what you are not going to talk about, so your content becomes sharper and more focused.

It might mean taking the conversations you are already having with clients and turning them into useful, audience-led content.

The best content strategies are not built around what a business wants to broadcast. They are built around the space between what the business knows and what the audience needs to understand.

That is where useful content lives.

More content is not always the answer

Like we said. There is nothing wrong with being visible. Quite the opposite.

In fact, most businesses need to be more visible than they are.

But visibility only works when there is substance behind it. If your content does not sound like you, reflect your values or connect back to your business goals and stakeholders, more of it will not fix the problem.

It will just make the problem louder.

Before you create another batch of posts, it’s worth asking:

Are we clear on what we want to be known for?

Are we creating content that reflects the conversations we actually want to have?

Does our content sound like us?

Is it helping the right people understand our value?

Are we building trust, or just doing it for the sake of it?

These are not fluffy questions. They are commercial ones.

Because when your content has direction, it gives people a reason to pay attention. It helps your brand feel more consistent. It supports your business objectives. It builds familiarity before someone ever gets in touch.

And, perhaps most importantly, it stops content from feeling like a constant scramble.

Your business doesn’t need to shout louder

It needs to be clearer.

Clearer about what you do. Clearer about who you help. Clearer about what you believe. Clearer about the stories, insights and ideas that make people want to listen.

That is what content and strategy should do together.

Not more noise.

Not more pressure.

Not more content for the sake of content.

Just thoughtful, human content with a clear purpose behind it.

And that is the kind of content people remember.

Need help giving your content more direction? At Colour Me Social, we help businesses turn their ideas, expertise and stories into content that sounds like them and works harder across the channels that matter. And we offer a completely free, no-obligation consultation, too…

Why Every Leader Needs a Strong Social Voice (And How to Do It)

These days, leadership isn’t just about what happens in the boardroom – it’s curated, shared in your social voice and judged online. Your digital footprint is your modern-day badge of credibility.

The Stakes Have Never Been Higher

  • 82 % of employees will research a CEO’s online presence before even considering joining that company. So whether your socials are live matters, especially when talent is doing their due diligence.
  • 92 % of professionals are more likely to trust a company whose senior executives are active on social media—presence builds trust, period.
  • 71 % of consumers are more likely to buy from a company if its CEO is active on social media—leadership visibility drives behaviour.
  • 70 % of consumers feel more connected to a brand when its CEO is active on social, and 72 % feel equally close when employees share stories too. Connection is the new currency.

The Influence of Authentic Connection

When a leader shows up authentically and humanly, the payoff is far bigger than vanity metrics:

  • Talent is magnetised. Leadership that’s visible and values-driven makes people want to belong.
  • Credibility gets real. You don’t need polished PR; you need to sound human.
  • You become part of the greater conversation. Whether it’s ESG, AI or purpose, your voice now shapes stakeholder perception.
  • Sales and trust align. Visibility and authenticity often mean shorter sales cycles and stronger brand loyalty.

Why a Strong Social Presence Creates Impact

A well-defined leadership voice does more than boost visibility. It creates tangible business outcomes.

1. Attracting and retaining talent
Employees don’t just want a job; they want to work with leaders who inspire them. A strong social presence demonstrates vision, values, and humanity – the things that make people choose to join and stay.

2. Building trust and credibility
In an era of information overload, trust is currency. People look to leaders for clarity, reassurance, and perspective. Sharing your expertise, your values, and your story helps build the trust that underpins every relationship – with employees, customers, investors, and partners.

3. Shaping the narrative on big issues
From AI to climate change, diversity to the future of work, stakeholders expect leaders to engage with the issues shaping the world. A visible, authentic voice positions you not just as a business leader, but as a thought leader who is actively shaping the conversation.

4. Driving commercial growth
Leadership visibility is no longer separate from business outcomes. Buyers, partners, and clients are influenced by what they see and hear from executives. When leaders show up consistently online, they shorten sales cycles, open doors to new opportunities, and create the kind of trust that drives revenue.

Yet So Many Leaders Still Miss the Mark

Why doesn’t it happen more?

  • Time-starved – there’s just no space in the diary for “posting.”
  • Message misfires – don’t know what to say or how to say it, without sounding corporate.
  • Inauthenticity – the fear of being “cringe” prevents realness.
  • Bad support – agencies and ghostwriters can’t capture nuance at the speed leaders need.

The result? Silence. Or worse: bland, forgettable chatter.

Enter: Leader Brand – Own Your Social Voice

This isn’t another content service. It’s the antidote to strategic silence.

Here’s the simple, no-BS process:

  1. A guided monthly chat – just one conversation.
  2. We extract the real strands – key quotes, tone, themes.
  3. We spin that into a suite of content – blogs, social posts, videos, audiograms. All your voice.
  4. You approve, we publish or support publishing. No ghostwriting. No corporate clichés. No AI vanilla noise

Why Leader Brand Works (Even in a 24/7 Era)

  • One conversation, many assets. Big impact, zero overwhelm.
  • You stay in control: your voice, your stories, your rhythm.
  • Visibility with integrity. You become the leader people want to follow, not the one they tolerate.
  • Business outcomes follow. Talent, trust, influence, when the messenger is real, the message lands.

Ready to Own Your Social Voice?

Start with one conversation. We’ll amplify your authenticity.

👉 Discover Leader Brand

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.

The Strategic Power of Purpose-Driven Content

Introduction: The Evolution of Content in the Digital Age

Relying on catchy headlines or sleek designs to capture attention is no longer enough. Every day, consumers are bombarded with an overwhelming amount of content—4,000 to 10,000 ads for the average person. For any business in the UK, whether a start-up, SME, or multinational, the heat is on to cut through the noise and build real connections with your audience—not through more content creation but through creating purpose-driven content that resonates, engages and builds trust.

This article delves into the importance of defining and embedding purpose into your content strategy. It’s a critical approach to ensure that everything you put out there resonates with your brand’s mission, values, and goals in a way that develops authentic engagement and trust.

If you’re a marketer, founder, managing director, or CEO, understanding the power of purpose means that you’re transforming your content from just another output into a strategic asset that powers long-term business success.

1. The Power of Purpose: Why It Matters More Than Ever

In a world filled with increasingly discerning and suspicious consumers, purpose-driven content offers a clear advantage: consumers are 91% more likely to support a brand they perceive to have authentic values. It acts as a compass for your content strategy: every article, video, post, or campaign is created not just for eyeballs but to connect on a real, human level.

Purpose Creates Clarity and Focus

When we have a clear purpose, we have clarity and focus to get something done. Without it, content risks being unfocused, inconsistent, and, ultimately, ineffective. For founders and CEOs, this might lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities.

A purpose-led approach ensures that every effort put into content serves to achieve broad business objectives, hence delivering results that matter. Brands that lead with purpose grow at twice the rate of other companies; hence, it is well linked to performance.

Authenticity Breeds Trust

Today’s consumers are more informed and discerning, especially in the UK market. They want authentic brand values, and they can see through content that is not really authentic. Purpose-driven content has the power to build trust because it mirrors the real values and mission of a brand.

63% of consumers say they would only buy from a brand that aligns with their values. Having a clear sense of purpose behind your content automatically makes it resonate with the audience, which breeds loyalty.

Consistency is Key

A clearly identified sense of purpose creates consistency across platforms and channels. Consistency in the message, be it through blog posting, social media, or email marketing, shows your brand identity. After all, it’s this level of consistency that helps business owners and marketing heads maintain a singular voice; this, in turn, helps them cut through the din of a marketplace. Brands that manage to stay true to their messaging tend to enjoy about 33% more revenue.

2. Defining Your Why: The Core of Purpose-Driven Content

Before you start to create your content, you need to determine why you’re creating it. Purpose should not be an afterthought; it is the driving force which shapes your content strategy and dictates success.

Start with Your Brand’s Mission and Values

Understanding your brand’s overarching mission and values is the first step to defining your content purpose. Why does your organisation exist? What value does it offer, and how does it differentiate itself from competitors? That content-to-purpose alignment is what marketing professionals should ensure—that all content created serves some meaningful purpose or is relevant to the brand.

Setting Clear Goals

Once you’ve defined your purpose, you can set measurable goals for your content. Is the goal to educate, inspire, entertain, or persuade your audience? Defining very clear objectives will guide you and keep your content strategy from running in any haphazard manner.

Every piece of content needs to have a clear and distinct purpose related to your brand’s vision, whether it is used for brand awareness, driving sales, or customer loyalty. Goal-oriented content marketing can result in a 13 times higher ROI than traditional marketing.

3. Knowing Your Audience: Creating Content That Resonates

Even the most well-crafted content will fall flat if it doesn’t resonate with the intended audience. Knowing your audience is as critical as knowing your purpose.

Detailed Audience Personas

To really hone in on your target audience, one of the biggest things you can do is create detailed audience personas. These might include demographics, psychographics, behaviours, and pain points. Such research is going to ensure that a marketing team creates content that speaks explicitly to the needs, desires, and problems of its target audience.

Address the Pain Points of Your Audience

It helps identify their problems, thus enabling you to provide relevant content that is solution-based. 82% of consumers want solutions that specifically address their pain points. When your content addresses a specific problem your audience is grappling with, it becomes a valuable resource. To add on that, the CEOs and founders should see it as an opportunity to help put their brand forward as a wise counsel who is trusted in providing advice and solutions.

4. Appeal to Emotion: The Key to Unforgettable Content

Purpose-based content isn’t just there to inform but to inspire, involve, and, at times, emotionally move the audience. Emotions are a powerful weapon in content marketing, as they guide content perceptions and memories.

Make an Emotional Connection

Content that touches emotions is likely to be remembered and shared. Emotionally charged content is twice as likely to be shared than non-emotional content. Whether you are trying to inspire hope, incite excitement, or provoke thought, the emotion your content evokes will determine how your brand is seen. A very effective way to do this is through storytelling. You can do this by telling brand-relevant stories and making relatable and trustworthy feelings with your audience. It is difficult to establish emotional engagement with other marketing strategies.

Emotionally Engaging Content Drives Action

In fact, 60 per cent of consumers who feel emotionally connected to a brand will purchase from that brand. Whether you’re pushing someone toward a purchase, getting them to sign up for a newsletter, or even just sharing content with their friends, the emotions that you evoke will drive the final decisions that your audience makes. For founders and CEOs, the ability to create emotion with content can hit the bottom line in everything from initial customer acquisition to long-term loyalty.

5. Executing a Purpose-Driven Content Strategy

After knowing what your purpose is, it is time to translate it into a content strategy that is weaved seamlessly throughout your entire organisation.

Internalise Your Purpose and Take It to Your Team

Ensure that your whole team understands your purpose. For CEOs and Managing Directors, this is necessary for consistency across departments. Every person who creates content—be it a marketing manager or copywriter—needs to know and live by your brand’s purpose. What is done internally will transfer to the external.

Regularly Assess and Adapt Your Strategy

Digital is always changing, and so should your content strategy. Keep reviewing your analytics to measure how well your content is doing in relation to your end goals. Are you hitting your engagement benchmarks? Are certain types of content resonating more than others? Be open to refining your purpose and approach to the content based on audience feedback and emerging market conditions.

Flexibility and Adaptability

While consistency is important, you also need to be flexible. Just as your business shifts and adapts over time, so do the needs and expectations of your audience. Marketing professionals and founders should, therefore, be prepared to adjust their strategies regarding content based on these changes and always seek to stay relevant, timeless, and purposeful in their content.

Conclusion: Purpose-Driven Content as a Competitive Advantage

The UK market is highly competitive; consumer attention is low, and trust is easily eroded, so being purpose-driven with content becomes a powerful differentiation tool. By embedding purpose into your content strategy, you not only make your content more compelling and engaging but also create a brand that is genuine, dependable, and consistent with your audience’s values. And, for the business heads, investment in purpose-driven content pays off with stronger customer relationships, a brand loyalty increase, and a more robust bottom line. By knowing why you’re creating content, who you’re creating it for, and how you want them to feel, you can turn your content into a powerful business success driver.

If you’re feeling ready to take your content strategy to the next level and build a brand that truly connects with its audience, then it’s time to focus on purpose. Book a totally obligation-free chat with us today to see how we can help you create purpose-driven content that drives results for your organisation.

References

  1. Statista – “How many ads does a person see a day?”
  2. Edelman Trust Barometer – Consumers more likely to trust purpose-driven brands
  3. Deloitte Insights – Purpose-driven businesses grow faster
  4. Havas Media – “Meaningful Brands” – 63% of consumers only buy from value-aligned brands
  5. Lucidpress – “The Importance of Consistent Branding”
  6. Content Marketing Institute – Content with clear goals generates 13x higher ROI
  7. Accenture Interactive – 82% of consumers expect brands to address personal challenges

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.

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.

Make LinkedIn work for your small business this year

LinkedIn has long been known as the home of B2B discussion, and in 2020 the opportunities to engage and grow your business are expanding. Companies of almost any kind can benefit from maintaining a LinkedIn presence, and although it does require a dedicated, platform-specific approach, the numbers speak for themselves:

  • LinkedIn has more than 645 million users, across more than 200 countries and territories; 
  • LinkedIn has added nearly 150 million new members in the past two years;
  • 94% of marketers use LinkedIn to publish content;
  • Of the LinkedIn users who are engaging with the platform monthly, 40% access it on a daily basis;

LinkedIn is the world’s largest and most active professional networking platform and your company page represents a huge opportunity to establish your brand as an industry thought leader, as well as attract top talent from around the globe. Here’s how to optimize your business page and improve your presence, authority, and recruitment prospects on the platform.

How to create and optimise your page

Step 1

Log in to LinkedIn. Click the work icon on the top right corner of the page. Then click create a company page.

Step 2 

Select small business from the list of options.

Step 3

Fill out your company’s name, a public LinkedIn URL, your business’ website and your business’ industry.

Step 4

Check the verification box to confirm you are authorised to represent your company, then click create a page. If you don’t have enough connections, you may not be able to create a community page. If this happens, build your network then try again. 

Step 5

To really unlock your business page’s potential, you need to optimize your page – according to LinkedIn, completed pages get 30% more weekly views. Start by identifying keywords and using them throughout your page.

Include relevant keywords at the very beginning of your company tagline as well as in your headline, overview, specialisms and life section. Keyword research will help you understand the actual search terms that people enter into search engines. Use tools such as Moz Keyword Explorer or SEMRush to help you. 

Step 6

Using those keywords, write a strong ‘About’ section. Work up an engaging overview of your business, that answer the following questions:

  • Origin Story: Where did our idea and passion come from?
  • Vision: What future do you want to help create?
  • Values: What core values support our vision and decision making processes?
  • Positioning: Who are our customers and where do we fit?
  • Products/Services: What are our core product & service offerings?

Step 7

Creating backlinks to your company page will help boost your SEO ranking. A good way to do this is to ask your employees to update their LinkedIn profiles so that their page’s a link back to your business.

Step 8

The best way to improve your company’s ranking is to regularly share relevant content. Read on to discover the best type of content to share.

What posts to share

Social media content is all about who you want to reach and if it will drive viewers down your marketing funnel. Here are a few types of content that work especially well on LinkedIn, including a deep-dive into video, our top-tip for 2020.

Publishing 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.

Sharing Industry-Adjacent Content

The key to LinkedIn articles is to consistently share information that interests your clients. This content gives you the opportunity to showcase other topics you’re familiar with that could be helpful to clients. Customers remember smart people who offer up reliable advice, so sharing industry-adjacent content helps keep you top of their mind in the long run.

PowerPoints and PDFS

LinkedIn owns the service SlideShare, which offers tools to help you make your own presentations. Take advantage of their tools and courses and share original slideshows on your LinkedIn page. 

Make Predictions

Prediction posts at the start of the year are a winning tool for boosting your LinkedIn engagement. Making predictions about your industry positions you as a sector leader and encourages people to share their opinions with you.

LinkedIn Video

Video is 5 times more likely than other types of content to start a conversation amongst LinkedIn members, so it’s a great tool for increasing brand awareness, offering a more human side to your company. 

According to Wyzowl’s 2019 State of Video Marketing…

  • 79% of people say a brand’s video has convinced them to make a purchase
  • 87% of people would like to see more videos from brands.
  • What’s more, 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.

Despite this, video is still a relatively untapped marketing channel. Don’t be put off by a lack of budget of technical know-how, you can create this content affordably in – house your video content doesn’t necessarily have to be professionally produced to be effective. Here are a few ideas for creating that captivating video content.

Create screencast tutorials and presentations. 

A screencast is simply a video recording of your computer screen accompanied by audio narration. 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. 

Show behind the scenes of your business


Giving your followers a backstage pass offers a unique insight into your business – why not highlight your best employees, or flaunt your office culture and brand values?

Try DIY animated videos

Hiring professionals to make animated videos will set you back a fair bit, so why not try giving it a go yourself? Animated videos are a great tool for simply explaining concepts, whilst enchanting your viewers. Try cloud-based animated video creation platforms such as Sparkol or Vyond. These platforms are not free but are more affordable than employing a professional, and many of them offer free trials. 

Share video testimonials from happy customers

User-generated videos take the pressure off your company to produce content while offering social proof – something you can never get enough of as a business. Customers product reviews, social media shout outs and testimonials are invaluable tools to grow your business, and if they are video testimonials, even better! To cultivate your customers, why not consider offering them discount codes in exchange for video testimonials of your product. 

Interview experts and thought leaders

Associating your business with influential thought leaders in your field will help you become recognized as an industry leader. Interviewing experienced leaders in your industry is a tried-and-tested way to build trust and authority with your target audience.

Pro tip: Add subtitles to your video content – studies have found 39% of people are more likely to finish a video with subtitles.

How to grow your followers

You’d think out of 645 million users, it wouldn’t be that difficult to quickly build your connections, but after you’ve exhausted your own contacts list it can be a challenge, especially when you want to make sure those connections are relevant and add value to your network. Here are some simple steps to help grow your followers:

Add a page link in your 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.

Ask your employees to add your page to their current work experience

This will help you get more backlinks and gives you the opportunity to share your employees’ best posts on LinkedIn, profiling your top talent as well as leveraging their networks.

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 strong 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 3 pieces of industry-related content, 2 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.

Make LinkedIn work for your small business this year

There are endless opportunities to make your small business LinkedIn Page work wonders for your company. Of course, running a small business can be challenging, but with a good plan in place and the right tools, LinkedIn can be a fantastic tool for helping your company grow. We hope you’ve found this guide helpful, and are inspired to make LinkedIn work hard for you in 2020!