Better #21

Kia ora,

Hope you’re doing brilliantly 😊

I’ve been busy putting my first-ever course together (eek!), and will launch the prototype version with eight lovely attendees on 23 August.

It’s a six-week live online course all about social media for the public sector, including sessions on strategy, content, moderation, data, reporting and more.

After I complete the first iteration, I’ll listen to feedback, refine, then launch officially in Term Four. If you’re interested in learning more, hit reply on this email and I’ll tell you when the webpage is up and running.

Today is all about LinkedIn, the loneliest of the major social platforms for a lot of council and government organisations. Lonely not in terms of audiences (which are large), but in terms of the effort and love given by many social media advisors and comms teams.

Because while I see a lot of effort spent on engaging small Instagram audiences, for example, I don’t see a lot spent engaging much larger LinkedIn audiences.

Which is something I’m hoping to change today, so read on to learn how you can give your LinkedIn a little bit of love 💞

I hope you enjoy it.

Cheers,
Seamus Boyer 👋

Chances are, your company LinkedIn page is a bit of an afterthought. 

There, I’ve said it.

But it doesn’t have to be the case, and today we’re going to discuss how to make the most of the platform, so that your organsiation can seize some of the growing opportunities LinkedIn offers.

So strap yourself in because I’m coming in hot… 😅

Why so bad?

I reckon the main reason for such lackluster LinkedIn is a genuine lack of interest in the platform among social media advisors.

Many incredible social experts I know (who are across every latest trend on TikTok and every update on Instagram) don’t really like or understand LinkedIn, and therefore treat it like it’s 2019. There is still this huge misconception that LinkedIn is primarily a recruitment or HR tool, a misconception similar in a way to the lazy stereotypes we still occasionally hear about TikTok being all dancing videos.

The result? Bland, uninspired content that can feel like the social media equivalent of stock imagery.

There’s little energy, innovation or creativity, but instead plenty of job ads and corporate planting pics. Which isn’t to say those posts can’t work on LinkedIn (they can), but they should be the content exception not the rule.

In general it feels like all the rules about being social on social media suddenly go out the window on LinkedIn. Instead of talking in human, conversational ways, the language gets all uber-professional and stilted.

It might well be a professional networking social media site, but for me LinkedIn is social media first, professional networking second.

Why it’s important (and special)

LinkedIn is big news these days.

It has transformed into a vibrant creator space, shedding its old skin of purely networking and recruitment. It’s now a platform where individuals and organisations can share ideas, showcase expertise, and build community in a professional context.

The introduction of the vertical video feed is changing how content is consumed, encouraging more engaging, quick-hitting posts that capture attention in ways that mimic the other platforms.

There is a lot more recommended content - the algorithm going the same way as the others in using AI to suggest posts you might like, rather than just delivering updates from your connections.

LinkedIn stands out because of its focus on people as the currency of the platform. This is particularly critical for government organisations, where LinkedIn’s audience includes influential people (insiders and outsiders) who can make things harder or easier for your organisation. This is a particular kind of strategic audience, so it’s vital to craft a story that speaks directly to those people.

There are also LinkedIn Newsletters. These have grown unbelievably over the past couple of years to the point where there are now upwards of 60,000 of them. I personally haven’t created one, but expert Andy Crestodina has written an amazing guide called How to Start Your Own LinkedIn Newsletter: 10 Best Practices. It’s well worth a read.

And finally, from a personal POV, your boss, your boss’s boss, and your boss’s boss’s boss are all likely active LinkedIn users.

They are watching. Show them how good you are.

The numbers don’t lie

First of all the big numbers. LinkedIn now has more than 1 billion members worldwide, including (according to owner Microsoft) more than 2 million in NZ, and 14 million in Australia. These numbers are a lot lower than Facebook and TikTok, but certainly nothing to sneeze at.

I collate a lot of social media data from local and central government in New Zealand, and the numbers around LinkedIn are pretty compelling. For councils, LinkedIn ranks second behind Facebook for average number of followers - ahead of both Instagram and Twitter/X.

For government departments, LinkedIn is again second, but set to surpass Facebook into first place in the next couple of years. For Crown Agents, LinkedIn is already the number one platform for average audience size. 

You wouldn’t know it, however, because some of those organisations don’t even post on the platform, and when they do it’s a job ad or annual Pink Shirt Day post.

For me, there’s a massive disconnect there.

Who is doing LinkedIn well

When judging LinkedIn success, there are two ways to look at it: accounts that achieve strong engagement, and those that adopt a LinkedIn-first strategy. There are lots of the former, very few of the latter.

Many government accounts manage to get decent engagement by repurposing content from other channels. This approach is effective to an extent - after all, recycling content can save time and resources while maintaining a consistent brand presence across platforms. 

A good example is the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which consistently delivers strong engagement on LinkedIn, even though their approach isn’t specifically tailored to the platform. Similarly, New Zealand Police achieves impressive numbers, but again their content is not uniquely designed for LinkedIn.

Think about that for a second. Organisations are getting good engagement on LinkedIn with content that was designed for different platforms and audiences.

It begs the question: what kind of results could government agencies achieve if they adopted a LinkedIn-first approach? Because it’s not just about getting content out there (or even likes or reach); surely it’s about maximising the platform’s potential to discover just how effective we could be.

What might LinkedIn-first content look like?

Well, for Australian Bureau of Statistics, it could be content which helps people get better at using statistics in their work. Posts that their employees could then add further examples. It could be posts about simple Excel hacks, or clever ways to make data more compelling through graphs and visual aids.

For Police, it might be content around making decisions under pressure, working effectively with partners, planning for important events, or communicating in a crisis.

In fact, it could almost be anything aligned with the core professional skills of the organisation in question - the key is to show up in a consistently helpful way.

How to see more opportunities

Want to get better at LinkedIn? First and foremost, you need to spend quality time on the platform. Immerse yourself in the environment to truly understand what content resonates and why. Follow industry leaders, engage with posts, and see what content drives conversations and why. This doesn’t just mean scrolling through the feed - it means actively participating. Comment on posts, join groups, and start discussions. See how it works.

Second, experiment with content that addresses one of the key reasons people are on LinkedIn: to learn.

Thought leadership is a bit of a cringe term, but sharing expertise really is a crucial element of the platform. And if the global McDonald’s CEO can do it, so can your people. Try highlighting experts in your organisation who have unique insights and knowledge to share. The goal is to provide genuine value to your audience, positioning your organisation as a trusted source of information - as well as a great place to work.

Councils and government departments have access to a wealth of expert knowledge on a wide range of topics. Share it. LinkedIn is a much safer space than Facebook and X, and colleagues of the featured person will be delighted to share and interact with the post.

Finally, think strategically about how you can leverage your people and their networks. Part of LinkedIn’s power lies in its network effect - the more your employees engage with content, the wider your reach. Your people are your most valuable asset on LinkedIn, and their connections can massively increase your content’s visibility.

Consider developing guidelines for employee LinkedIn use (including simple dos and don’ts) in order to encourage staff to share and engage with posts to amplify the organisation’s message.

It will take some work, but once you’ve developed the resource, you’ve got it forever. So consider it a solid investment of your time.

That’s it for this edition.

Thank you so much for reading (all the way to the bottom, too! What a champ!).

As always, please consider sharing this newsletter with someone you think might like it (particularly any LinkedIn skeptics 👀).

See you in two weeks for more tips on how to get a little bit Better 👋