LinkedIn engagement is at an all-time high. In fact, the average LinkedIn session has increased by 22% and they’ve experienced a 34% YoY increase in revenue, reaching $3.44 billion. LinkedIn is an important platform to include in your finance brand’s content marketing strategy – what you post shouldn’t be an afterthought. But what performs best on LinkedIn and how can your finance brand leverage the current record-high engagement rates?
The importance of LinkedIn for finance brands
There’s no denying the value LinkedIn has for finance brands wanting to build trust, brand awareness, and lead generation. In fact, LinkedIn is the most trusted platform with members being 2x more likely to seek advice on the platform and 1.7x more receptive to brand messages. In addition to this, 62% of marketers said LinkedIn generates leads at 2x the rate of the next-highest channel.
Owing to these high levels of trust, LinkedIn is the perfect platform for asset managers, as well as commercial and mortgage lenders, as LinkedIn members are not only willing to trust these finance brands but are demanding informational content from them.
“ LinkedIn is the most trusted platform with members being 2x more likely to seek advice on the platform and 1.7x more receptive to brand messages. ”
As Meredith Olmstead, CEO and Founder at FI GROW Solutions, asserts “LinkedIn is becoming more of a place for trusted advice.” She explains, “Many people default to LinkedIn when they are looking for help because it is still seen as professional and serious.”
The importance of LinkedIn marketing can’t be denied, but what content performs best?
Video content is booming
Video content on every platform is currently having its heyday, and LinkedIn is no exception. Video content on LinkedIn has experienced a 31% uptick globally, highlighting the rising demand for visual storytelling.
It can be hard to know how to create the perfect LinkedIn video. With financial services being such a stressful and often complex area for consumers, your video content should always focus on two key areas; education and emotion.
Creating an emotional connection through storytelling can not only improve brand awareness and trust but can help build meaningful long-term relationships. Showcase consumers’ financial stories and encourage empathy. While this does build loyalty it also can help your finance brands’ bottom line, with companies that provide an emotional connection for customers outperforming the sales growth of competitors by 85%.
There’s no better content finance brands can produce over educational content. Consumers want educational content in every format. LinkedIn is the perfect platform to share educational, video content as it has the trust factor to support it. With social media enabling poor financial advice to run rampant, consumers are looking to turn to authorities to supply them with key, factual information. Video content is a great format for educational content, with 94% of marketers agreeing that videos have helped increase user understanding of their product or service.
Build trust and authority with thought leadership
Thought leadership can have a big impact on the customer journey and LinkedIn is a great platform to share this content. In fact, 56% of professionals state a business executive’s presence on social media positively influences their purchase decision, and 66% of professionals say they would be more likely to recommend a brand if they followed a company executive on social media.
Here are four tips for how your finance brand can nail thought leadership. You should always ensure your content is:
- Thoroughly researched and led by an expert
- Paired with an engaging image or video to grab users’ attention
- Brave and takes a clear position on an issue
- Unique and takes an interesting angle on a common topic or idea
Overall, delivering value-driven content is a must when it comes to your finance brand’s content marketing strategy. Having a plan and strategically thinking about the content you produce will ensure your finance brand doesn’t get lost in the milieu of financial content. Thought leadership and video content are where it’s at, so ensure these styles of content are in your plan.
