For B2B Marketers, getting your brand’s content to stand out on LinkedIn is essential for success. But for most marketing teams, this is a lot easier said than done.
Sure, you can leverage paid media to amplify your content. But that’s not necessarily a “strategy.” And with marketing teams tightening their belts more and more, leaning on paid media simply isn’t practical.
Luckily, there is an organic method to getting your content to stand out on LinkedIn that is both sustainable and free: engagement pods.
In this post, we’ll cover what engagement pods are, how they appease LinkedIn's algorithm and how you can effectively incorporate them into your marketing strategy.
How Does the LinkedIn Algorithm Work?
Unlike the Google search algorithm, LinkedIn's algorithm is not a mysterious black box. In fact, its purpose is really simple: determine what content to show to each individual user in their feed based on their interests, behaviors, and network connections. To do this, LinkedIn relies on various signals, such as relevancy, timeliness, and most importantly, engagement (likes, shares, comments).
Engagement is important to the LinkedIn algorithm because it is a strong signal of the relevance and value of the content to the audience. When users engage with a post (by liking, commenting, sharing, or clicking on it), it indicates that they find the content interesting, informative, or useful. As a result, the algorithm is more likely to show that content to other users who may find it relevant as well.
LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes content that generates high levels of engagement because it wants to show users content that they are likely to engage with. The more engagement a post receives, the more likely it is to be seen by a wider audience and potentially go viral, further increasing its reach and impact.
💡 Tip: Hashtags and keywords are effective, but nothing moves the needle like authentic user engagement. |
What are Engagement Pods and How Do They Work?
An engagement pod is a group of people who organize together with the purpose of supporting and engaging with each other's content on platforms such as LinkedIn.
These groups can be made up of friends, colleagues and other general connections who share a common interest. Engagement pods let marketers alert pod members when new content has been published, that way members can promptly engage with said content and help boost its visibility via LinkedIn's algorithm.
Different Ways to Facilitate Engagement Pods
Marketing teams can create engagement pods using any interactive tool that connects groups of people in one place. However, you'll want to use a medium that is convenient, scalable, and measurable.
Let's explore some tried and true engagement pod strategies that we've found success with.
Employee Advocacy Programs
If you want to boost your brand's LinkedIn engagement, look no further than the people within your own organization. Enter: digital employee advocacy programs.
A digital employee advocacy program is a company initiative that encourages employees to promote your organization's content on their social media platforms. By doing this, employees become brand advocates and can help increase content visibility and engagement.
💡 Tip: A digital employee advocacy program is also a great way to improve trust and credibility for your brand. |
Additionally, employee advocacy programs can help build a strong employer brand, as employees who feel supported and engaged are more likely to stay with the company and recommend it to others.
This method can be extremely successful if you implement it in the right way. You can use tools like FirstUp to gamify the content-sharing experience for your employees/colleagues, using leaderboards, monthly goals, prizes, and more.
Group Chats
Our smartphones have become engrained into our daily routines. So, why not use them for something productive, like say...<drum roll>...engagement pods?
This one is pretty simple. Set up a group chat on your preferred messaging app (WhatsApp, Discord etc.) and establish expectations and guidelines for engagement/content-sharing. Whenever you publish new content, share the link(s) in your group's messaging thread and prompt them to share away on LinkedIn.
It's best practice to ask members to repost your brand's LinkedIn post with their own thoughts added, as this helps your original post (and your brand's page) get maximum engagement.
Private LinkedIn Groups
Since we're focusing on LinkedIn engagement, it’s a no-brainer to consider using LinkedIn groups for your engagement pods.
This method requires creating a private LinkedIn group dedicated to sharing and engaging with LinkedIn content. When inviting members, add a personal note that explains the purpose of the group and how it can be beneficial for all involved. In order to make the group beneficial to everyone involved, all members should be allowed to share their brand's content with the pod.
In order to keep your pod productive, you will want to set clear guidelines about content-sharing limits and expectations. This will prevent spamming and any other unwanted activity that could steer your pod off the rails.
I like this approach because it keeps all activities within LinkedIn, making the concept of sharing and engaging with content extremely convenient for all involved.
Newsletters
Newsletters are the "old faithful" of content promotion. Using email automation tools like Hubspot, MailChimp, or Constant Contact, you can build out lists to organize your email subscribers by their interests and send them relevant content to engage with.
You can include links to your LinkedIn content in your newsletters to drive traffic to your brand's LinkedIn page and increase engagement that way. Another simple (yet effective) tactic, is to share content that lives off of LinkedIn (blog posts, videos, etc.) and encourage subscribers to share it to their own LinkedIn pages, tagging your brand in their posts.
You can also use a section of your newsletters to highlight the value of your LinkedIn content, enticing subscribers to follow your page and stay up to date with your latest posts.
The Power of Human Engagement
With tools like ChatGPT streamlining content marketing operations, platforms like LinkedIn are only going to get more competitive. Consequently, marketers are being challenged to create content that offers more engaging and authentic human experiences. The best way to support this content and stand out from the pack is to have it backed with authentic human engagement. And one of the best ways to kickstart content engagement is the use of engagement pods.
Let’s say that you are served two LinkedIn posts, from two different brands, both regarding the same topic. Post #1 has no engagement, but post #2 has a bunch - shares, likes, comments etc. Which are you more likely to click?
Now, let's say we add a third post to this same scenario. This third post, post #3, has plenty of engagement too, but it's an ad (labeled "promoted). Which one would you choose to click then?
I'm willing to wager that in both scenarios, you chose post #2, the organic post that had plenty of engagement. That's because there is great power in authentic, human engagement. And you don't need ads for that.
Ready to Experiment With LinkedIn Engagement Pods?
As a B2B marketer, you can spend countless hours crafting LinkedIn content. But what's the point if no one is seeing it?
By leveraging engagement pods, you can give your brand's content a better chance to be seen by your audience. We've provided you with some frameworks to get started - but it's up to you to turn them into a full-fledged strategy that delivers on your marketing goals.
Don't let your hard work go to waste. Incorporate engagement pods into your marketing strategy and watch your brand's LinkedIn content takeoff!