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Creating Sponsored Content Posts
That Earn Engagement
Tips from LinkedIn’s top performing posts in NAMER
July – September 2016

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“What are the best practices for
promoting content on LinkedIn?”
A search for “LinkedIn content best practices” returns over 40 million results on Google.
Promoting content on a social platform does not have to be that complicated. These 5
examples of top-performing sponsored content posts provide tips you can use to earn
engagement in the news feed of a busy (and aspirational) audience.

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Methodology
The following sponsored content posts:
• Targeted an audience in the NAMER region
• Served at least 25K impressions
• Achieved a top engagement rate (NOTE: engagement rate includes clicks +
social actions)
The top posts are broken out across the following categories:
• Overall
• Education
• Technology
• Medical/Healthcare

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5 Key Takeaways
1. Video is becoming a popular content
format, including on LinkedIn. YouTube,
Vimeo, and SlideShare videos all play
natively within the LinkedIn newsfeed,
which allows you to tell your story and
engage your audience.
2. Case studies or third party reports are a
great way to establish your company as
a leader in your space. Highlight the
positive impact your service has had on
your clients’ business.
3. Interactive content, like quizzes, are a
fun way to engage your audience.
Leverage this type of content to drive
awareness and engagement.
4. Show and tell. Leverage photo or video
posts to show your audience your
product, in addition to highlighting key
features.
5. Leveraging stats in your posts is a
great way to grab the attention of your
audience.

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Tip #1: Leverage video to engage your audience
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Video is a great way to tell your story, showcase your product, and highlight success stories.
Because Vimeo, YouTube, and SlideShare videos all play natively within the LinkedIn feed, the
user experience is seamless. Here, Boeing uses video to showcase their new Dreamliner and
AIG shows how to use new technology to survey locations for insurance purposes.

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Tip #2: If you have third-party support, use it
If content is being created about your company (and not necessarily by your
company), use it. Here, GiveCampus sponsors an article from the Washington Post
that highlights how universities have leveraged GiveCampus to raise money while
Autotask leverages a Gartner report to support their product.

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Tip #3: B2B content doesn’t have to be boring
Incorporating interactive and fun content, like quizzes, can be a great starting
point for your audience to engage with your content. It’s also a nice compliment to
your repertoire of e-books and white papers.

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Tip #4: Show and tell
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Leveraging the larger format photo posts will allow you to show your audience
what your product offers. Highlight key features in the copy.

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Tip #5: Stats get attention
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Consider using powerful statistics in your posts to gain attention and engagement
with your posts

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Education

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Tip #1: Discuss what matters to your audience
Approach your content as a reader – what would you find valuable, what sparks
your interest, what do you enjoy reading? Kellogg School of Management does a
great job addressing leadership. Here, they discuss key ways to lead a high-
impact team

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Tip #2: Address Change
The way people learn has changed over time and is continuing to evolve. How
does your school/business address this changing ecosystem? Here, Pluralsight
offers their expertise through a downloadable guide.
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Tip #3: Use real people
Showcasing your alumni and their successes is a great way to inspire
new/potential candidates. Be sure to use pictures of real alumni to emphasize the
authenticity of the story.
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Technology

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Asking a question is a great option to engage your audience – it implies the start
of a conversation. Here, Aha! Labs poses a broad question, which encourages
the reader to move farther down the post.
Tip #1: Ask a question

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Tip #2: Show what your product/service can do
Leveraging video allows the viewer to see the benefit of using your product or
service. Here, TaskEasy understands the busy lives of professionals and shows
how an unruly front yard can transform into a groomed lawn through their service.

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Tip #3: Leverage third party validation
Leveraging third party research reports, such as Gartner, is a great way to
showcase your company as a leader in your space. Just be sure to use reports
that are as recent as possible.

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Medical/Healthcare

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Tip #1: Show the product
Showing your product isn’t just a good idea for tech companies. The complex
medical field also benefits from showing what your product does. Highlight the
technical advances of your company through visuals.

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Just because you’re in the medical/scientific field doesn’t mean everything
published has to be chock-full of jargon. Leveraging lighter-weight content like
quizzes will bring a human element to your content.
Tip #2: Relate to your audience

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Your content doesn’t always have to be about you. Here, Healthgrades shares an
Atlantic article about a budding relationship between ride-hailing services and
hospitals. The article doesn’t mention Healthgrades, but as a company that
provides information to consumers on healthcare providers, this is a great article
to share in order to build trust and reliability.
Tip #3: Be helpful

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