Playbook with best practices and advice on rebranding your company on Linkedin

1. Rebranding
on LinkedIn

2. Why brand matters
How to approach your rebrand
7 steps to rebranding
• Conduct a brand & content audit
• Construct your brand guidelines
• Create your brand content
• Plan your campaign strategy
• Re-launch your brand with LinkedIn products
• Elevate your rebrand impact with employee
activation
• Measure results & track ROI of your rebrand
01
02
03
What we’ll
cover…

3. Why brand
matters
01

4. A strong brand is valuable in more ways than one
Developing a strong brand
is playing the long game.
Brand takes time to develop
value so your company wins
in the long run
Brand equity has a direct
effect on sales volume
because consumers
gravitate toward products
with great reputations
A prestigious brand
attracts clients regularly
and has a higher sales
conversion percentage
Brand Equity The Long GameHigh Conversion

5. Clearly articulated brands command premium pricing
Business
Decision Makers
49%
C-Suite
Executives
47%
B2B
Marketers
10%
I am willing to pay a premium to work with an
organization with a clear vision for the future“ ”
Brand Equity
B2B Buyers
“allows us to charge more
than our competitors who
produce lower quality
thought leadership”
Source: 2017 Edelman/LinkedIn Study “How Thought Leadership Impacts B2B Demand Generation.”

6. A strong brand
builds customer
loyalty & retention According to a study conducted by Bain & Company, a
5%
25% to 95%
increase in customer retention
can increase profits from
Brand Equity
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ways-your-company-name-logo-can-help-sales-reps-sell-garrett-riley/

7. Brand is not just a problem for the marketing department.
It is the responsibility of the entire organization.
So, ask yourself: do you want to compete on price or brand?
Successful investments are often
companies that are low-cost producers
or that own powerful brands
Warren Buffett
Business Magnate, Investor, Speaker and Philanthropist
“ “

8. How to approach
a rebrand
02

9. How to know
when it’s time for
a rebrand
Customer research Business evolves International expansion
New CEO Outdated image Bad reputation
Mergers/acquisitions Changing
markets
Corporate identity
development

10. Analyze
the competitive
environment
Measure
topic ownership
and engagement
Quiet threats
These brands attract
engagement, but are
underrepresented in
the marketplace.
Thought leaders
With high engagement
and topic ownership,
brands in this category are
leading the conversation.
Laggards
Brands in this
quadrant are not
making an impact.
Noisemakers
These brands are
crowding the conversation,
but low quality content isn’t
generating engagement.
Engagement Index:
Calculated based on the
number of engagements
per article posted across
LinkedIn that mentions
the brand and topic in
question. 100 is the
maximum among
peer benchmark.
Ownership
of Topic Index:
Calculated based on
share of articles posted
across LinkedIn that
mention the brand and
topic in question. 100 is
the maximum among
peer benchmark.

11. Uncover whitespace
opportunities
Work with LinkedIn to understand where
you are compared to your competitors in
terms of content and what topics to focus on
for your target audience.
Engagementindex
Topic ownership index
0 50 100
50
100
i.e. Artificial
intelligence topic
ownership for Decision
Makers in Canada

12. Create a
consistent
brand story
through the full
buying journey
Awareness
Consideration
Acquisition
Helpful, enjoyable
(non-promotional) content
to generate engagement
and/or build awareness
High-value content that
helps to educate during
decision-making process
Brand/product/service
specific information to help
evaluate and affirm selection

13. 35K
Skills
30M
Companies
90K
Schools
109B
Updates viewed
630M
Members
20M
Open Jobs
Consider the span of LinkedIn’s Audience when you
determine your rebrand positioning
Make sure your brand is visible to key audiences engaging on LinkedIn

14. Seven steps
to rebranding
03

15. Seven steps
01 02 03 05 06 0704
Conduct
a brand &
content
audit
Construct
your
brand
guidelines
Create
your
brand
content
Re-launch
your brand
with LinkedIn
products
Elevate your
rebrand
impact with
employee
activation
Measure
results
and track
ROI of your
rebrand
Plan
your
campaign
strategy

16. Conduct
a brand &
content audit
01

17. A Brand Audit is a
process that helps
you to understand
your brand’s purpose,
where it stands currently and where
you want to take it in the future.

18. Start with your
values/mission/brand
statement
Generate a list
of all your content
Analysis of all brand
content that needs
to be changed –
focus first on big rock
content items
Conduct gap analysis
of new content that
needs to be created
Brand audit process

19. Construct your
brand guidelines
02

20. Internal documents for
your new brand guidelines
Brand story
Logo
Colors
Proposal templates
Letterhead
Email signatures
Imagery
Iconography
Typography
Marketing approaches
Brand guidelines define voice and visual identity
Promote consistency when representing your brand

21. Create your
brand content
03

22. So, why
create
content?
Press Release
Example
Give your brand a backstory
Why the audience should care
Reassurance to existing customers
Example
New year/new you
Example

23. Unaware
Interested
Active
Engaged
Aware
Create content for different points along the buyer’s journey
An always-on presence keeps your brand top-of-mind for potential customers at every stage of the journey
Reach
Nurture
Acquire
Nurture to
convince
& convert
Earn new leads
Drive traffic
for nurturing
Shape Perception
Establish Trust
Videos, Infographics, Blog Posts,
Industry Trends, Influencer Content,
and Exclusive Content
Videos, Best Practice Guides, Case
Studies, Product Reviews, Analyst Reports,
Webinars, Blog Posts
White Papers, Research Briefs, Product
Demos, Trials, Product Reviews And
Comparisons, Analyst Reports
Newsletters, Recommendations, Case
Studies, Product News, Tutorials

24. Plan your
campaign
strategy
04

25. Plan your campaign strategy
Factors to consider when campaign planning:
• Launch a Sponsored Update campaign to amplify your reach
• Launch a Follower campaign to develop long term relationships with your brand advocates
Reach
• Post more company updates
• Encourage employees to share and post more content
Frequency
• Create relevant content for your key target audience
• Have diverse pieces of content to increase unique engagement throughout the buying cycle
Engagement

26. 23%
Businesses maintaining
consistent brand identity
have an increased
revenue of
10 pieces of content are
consumed throughout the buyer journey
Build your brand
identity with consistent
messaging

27. If you want big returns,
you need to go big on
share of voice
Source: Les Binet and Peter Field, Media in Focus: Marketing Effectiveness in the Digital Era, IPA, (Figure 07)
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Share of Market
ShareofVoice
2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14%
Brand Equity
In planning a campaign strategy, focus
on reaching your entire target audience,
as well as expanding to new
audiences to ensure your brand is
saturating its potential share of market
Grow your brand by growing your audience
Increasing SOV increases SOM

28. How long does it take
for members to identify
a new brand?
1 2 3 4 5
3-4 ads live at all times
Replace under-performing ads
with new content about 1x/month
Example Content Calendar
Creating an ‘always on’
presence keeps your brand
top-of-mind for potential
customers at every stage
of the buyers’ journey.
16%
Mobile Only
56%
Cross
Device
29%
Desktop
Only
You need to reach audiences
across all platforms
Develop an ‘always on’
approach
The Long Game

29. Always-on Brand / Thought Leadership Content
Start broad, learn and then focus on the audiences more likely to engage via conversion tracking
Week 1 Brand content (wave 1) 4 distinct sponsored content posts with A/B testing of images/text/audiences
Week 2 Brand content (wave 2) 4 distinct sponsored content posts with A/B testing of images/text/audiences
Week 3 Brand content (wave 3) 4 distinct sponsored content posts with A/B testing of images/text/audiences
Week 4 Brand content (wave 4) 4 distinct sponsored content posts with A/B testing of images/text/audiences
Week 5 Brand content (wave 5) 4 of the best performing sponsored content posts from wave 1 to wave 4
Weeks 6-8 Lead Gen content with a harder hitting CTA that conveys more urgency
Weeks 9-11
Branding content leveraging data from LinkedIn matched audiences website re-targeting
To hit audiences with a secondary messaging to convince & convert
An ideal strategic
campaign structure
on LinkedIn
Each campaign should
fill the funnel with brand
content, A/B test lead
gen content, nurture with
secondary messaging
and then re-target to
convince & convert

30. Combining brand
and demand
efforts drive higher
conversion rates
Source: IPA Study, Marketing Effectiveness In The Digital Era
Demand gen
0.2%
Brand only
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
Brand & Demand
0.3%
1.2%
Conversion rate
High Conversion

31. But, this takes time. Brand-building and sales
activation work over different timescales
Source: Les Binet and Peter Field, Media in Focus: Marketing Effectiveness in the Digital Era, IPA, (Figure 02)
Sales uplift
over base
Sales activation / Short-term sales uplifts Brand-building / Long-term sales growth
TimeShort term effects dominate – 6 months
60%
Brand
40%
Leads
The Long Game

32. The conflict between long and short run metrics
%
Reporting very
large effects
eg. Sponsored
posts, InMail
and carousels
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 - 6 7 - 18 19 - 30 >30
Campaign duration in months
Market Share
Effects
Activation
Effects
The Long GameDirect Response wins in the short run,
but brand wins in the long run
Note from
BMD:
Waiting for
source

33. Re-launch
your brand with
LinkedIn products
05

34. How to utilize the full-funnel
to it’s greatest potential
Awareness
Consideration
Acquisition
Helpful, enjoyable (non-promotional)
content to generate engagement
and/or build awareness
High-value content that
helps to educate during
decision-making process
Brand/product/service
specific information to help
evaluate and affirm selection
Content Types
Text Ads
Sponsored InMail
Website Retargeting
LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms
LinkedIn Capabilities
Video Sponsored Content
Static Sponsored Content
Lookalike Targeting
Account-Based Marketing
Contact Targeting
Carousel Sponsored Content

35. Sponsored Content
Video
Achieve your full-funnel,
rebranding marketing objectives
with native video on LinkedIn

36. Build customer
relationships
at every stage of
the buyer’s journey
on mobile, desktop,
and tablet.
Sponsored Content
Static
Press release
Engage your
prospects with relevant
content in the world’s
only professional feed
and in premium
placements beyond

37. Better engage your
audience with a carousel
unit for Sponsored Content
Logo
Color palette
Illustration
Sponsored Content
Carousel
Call to Action

38. Drive engagement with
premium audiences using
dynamically generated ads,
powered by profile data,
customizable to meet your
campaign objectives.
Dynamic Ads
Personalize your creative
to resonate with buyers

39. InMail
Outreach with current clients
to ease fears of rebrand
Outreach to prospective clients
to inform them of reasons to be
excited about this rebrand
Opportunity to invite customers
to an event/webinar showcasing
or discussing the rebrand

40. Increase your
rebrand impact
with Employee
Activation
06

41. Employee Advocacy plays
a critical role in company
alignment during rebranding
Content shared by
employees has 2x higher
engagement versus when
shared by a company
2x
Recognize the power of your
employee’s collective networks
Incentivize social postings on LinkedIn
with hashtags and company culture elements
Ensure employees know where to get credible,
accurate and reliable information from and
how to ask questions
Elevate, a LinkedIn product, is a
great solution to increase employee
engagement. Find out more in
the appendix.

42. Measure results
and track ROI
of your rebrand
07

43. View your
rebrand results
via Campaign
Manager
Tabbed navigation bar
Pacing indicators
Pre-selected views
Compare creatives
across campaigns
Breakdowns

44. Track rebrand conversions
Track performance
Track conversion events tied to your campaigns
using LinkedIn’s Insight Tag and Campaign Manager
platform. Monitor specific conversion actions including
downloads, sign-ups, registrations, and more.
Understand ROI
Measure the value you’re getting from your content
marketing on LinkedIn, including return on ad spend
and cost per conversion.
Optimize your results
Leverage in-platform conversion data to improve
your campaigns and drive results for your business.

45. Understand your
rebrand converting
audiences
Measure leads and conversions
from specific audiences:
Company Industry
Company Size
Job Function
Job Seniority
Job Title
Country / Location
Company Name

46. Understand your rebrand
audiences on your website
Website Demographics is a free reporting tool
that lets you discover what kinds of professionals
are visiting your website.
Filter your
website traffic by 8
professional traits
Company Industry
Company Size
Job Function
Job Seniority
Job Title
Location
Company Name

47. Thank you