Category: Branding

How To Become A LinkedIn Thought Leader

If you’ve been on Linkedin, even for a brief moment, you’ve probably seen a lot of your network sharing many of the same posts, written by the same individuals. Every industry represented on Linkedin has its own list of “top voices” or a LinkedIn thought leader. They are the thought leaders with a highly engaged audience who use their experiences and ideas to educate their followers. 

Whether you’re a CEO, entrepreneur, or professional, improving your online presence is beneficial to your growth and success. Joining the ranks of those “thought leaders” gives you more eyeballs within your industry. If you’re trying to increase your online presence, becoming a Linkedin thought leader can do that for you. 

What Is A LinkedIn Thought Leader Anyway?

Dictionary.com defines the term ‘thought leader’ as: noun whose views on a subject are taken to be authoritative and influential. 

Thought leaders and influencers are all across the internet, on every platform. This article will focus on LinkedIn thought leadership. That term, in reference to Linkedin, is similar to the dictionary definition. A Linkedin thought leader establishes him or herself as an authority or expert in their field. This is done by presenting information in a way that is easily understood by their audience. 

Who Are You?

The industry you’re a professional in does not necessarily define your entire area of expertise. Maybe your knowledge in early science fiction and cooking rank equally with that of your profession. You could brand yourself where those intersections meet. Finding a niche will set you apart from other industry thought leaders. 

Who Are You Talking To?

Once you have a grasp on who your audience is, structure your thought leadership pieces to resonate with that group. Your target audience is dependent on what you’re planning to achieve through building your thought leadership platform. Are you selling a service or looking for speaking engagements? Once you determine what you’re doing on Linkedin, you’ll be able to narrow down your audience. 

What Do You Mean?

What is your brand headline or tagline? To determine that, you must first understand what your message is going to be and who it is you want to share that message with. When you have refined your headline, use it in your Linkedin profile along with other brand marketing assets. Once this step has been completed, it will be much simpler to complete the rest of your Linkedin profile, and you’ll have consistent messaging. 

What Are You Saying?

It’s not just about what you’re saying over on Linkedin, but also HOW you’re saying it. Video is huge right now, and Linkedin’s algorithm will boost video before text. Your video doesn’t even need to be shot by a professional, the camera on your phone will suffice. 

Topics to write about can be your professional achievements, industry news, or whatever you find interesting. 

Using the Linkedin Publisher platform:

  • Your article titles should be 40 – 49 characters
  • You need to include up to 8 images depending on the article length
  • Use subheadings (H1, H2, H3, etc) to make your article easily digestible
  • The sweet-spot for article length is 1900-2000 words 
  • Shorter articles are ok, too
  • Thursdays are allegedly the best day for posting on Linkedin Publisher
  • Publish something at least once a day, whether it’s content you’ve written or simply sharing another author’s work.

What Are You Doing To Become A LinkedIn Thought Leader?

The point of any social networking platform is to be social. You can’t just assume people will engage with you just because you’re creating some kickass content. You’re going to need to put in the work to nurture relationships, just like real life. Comment on other people’s posts, respond to comments left on your posts, and return private messages (as long as they’re not spam). 

Be social.

To position yourself as a thought leader, you don’t even have to write your own articles, which is nice for those who don’t particularly enjoy writing. Being a curator of other thought leader pieces and sharing your thoughts on the topic can open up a conversation just as easily. 

Bottom line: Establish yourself as an authority on a topic, assert your opinion, and encourage discourse within that posts comment section. Tag other subject matter experts and have them weigh in on the subject. 

Becoming a thought leader on Linkedin doesn’t happen overnight. You will need to put in the work and stay consistent. 

To learn more about using Linkedin, check out our article here:

Our Adapt Studios experts can help you take your brand to the next level. Contact us today to learn how. 

How To Use LinkedIn To Effectively Market Your Brand

Linkedin has over 570 million accounts.

260 million are actively using the platform on a monthly basis.

Even more impressive, is 40% of those active accounts are used on a daily basis.

This makes Linkedin one of the most widely used professional social platforms. But, are you harnessing the power of Linkedin correctly?

In this article we will give you tips on how to network, grow, and market your brand using Linkedin. 

The Benefits of Linkedin

Despite the fact there are so many active Linkedin accounts, many aren’t using it to its full potential.

The site went live in 2003 and was created specifically for professional people and brands to create connections, increase brand awareness, and drive website traffic through content sharing. 

Whether you’re on Linkedin for business or personal, it has a plethora of benefits.

Some of the top reasons for using Linkedin in your marketing strategy are:

  • Increases your visibility 
  • Connects you to like-minded people
  • Generates leads for your business or for personal
  • Opens potential business opportunities
  • HR and recruiters are both plentiful which can help in job hunts or filling open positions
  • Position your brand as a thought leader
  • Research potential connections or brands

Building Your Brand On LinkedIn

Whether you’re building your personal or company brand, there are quite a few ways to leverage Linkedin effectively.

  • Customize your URL: When you begin using Linkedin, you get a personal URL, which directs traffic to your profile. When it is assigned to you, there is a string of numbers attached to your name. By customizing your URL, you will be able to eliminate those numbers and you’ll be left with your name. You will be able to do this right from your Edit Public Profile in the View Profile section of your page.
  • Optimize your Linkedin headline: Mention the industry you’re in or targeting. Your headline is searchable, and a fully optimized one will reach the right people. 
  • Use the banner image space: That’s a great piece of real estate to enhance your profile, company, and industry. You could include your logo, website address, or a few explanation bullet points.
  • Make your profile searchable: Adding industry keywords to your summary, and work experience adds SEO to your profile. This will increase the likelihood of being found when someone is searching for related keywords. 
  • Humanize your brand: People connect more with other people. Even if your brand is computer software, put a human element behind it. Images of the faces behind the software can make it more relatable. 
  • Use the “About” section: This is the perfect space to add tidbits of context to your brand. There is a 250-word character count, but you are able to edit it as often as you’d like. 
  • Use those hashtags: To make your posts more discoverable, use the generated hashtags that appear at the bottom of the post. There is no hashtag limit, but don’t go over five or your post will be clunky and look like spam. 
  • Turn profile views into connections: You will receive notifications when your profile has been viewed. If that viewer doesn’t reach out to connect and is someone potentially relevant, make the first move. Send a connection request. 
  • Build your brand: Create thought leadership articles, comment on or like shared posts, and interact. Actively participating on Linkedin is free advertising. Besides, you never know who you’ll ‘meet’. 
  • Join Linkedin groups: If you can think of it, there’s a group created for it on Linkedin. Some are full of very self-promoting people, but there are many groups that offer ample opportunity to connect and learn with like-minded individuals. 
  • Create your own Linkedin group: Set yourself up as a thought leader by creating an industry-related group. Doing this will allow you to connect and interact more closely with others in your industry. 
  • Use Linkedin’s publishing platform: Linkedin now lets anyone publish articles to the platform. You could syndicate old blog posts or write new ones and share them with your connections. This is an important step if you are trying to become an industry thought leader.

Picked for you: Becoming a Linkedin Thought Leader 

Marketing on Linkedin

Once your Linkedin page and profile are set up, you are ready to begin your marketing campaign.

Plan on spending a total of an hour throughout the day networking on Linkedin for optimal effectiveness.

Some people spend a lot longer there, but you have to do what works for your schedule. 

To reach more people, try experimenting with sponsored content and native ads.

Linkedin allows you to target based on job titles, functions, industries, and more. This makes reaching people most beneficial to you much easier. 

As with any other type of marketing campaign, you will need to pay attention to your Linkedin insights and refine what you’re doing based on those results.

With the insights, you will know what type of reach your posts have, how much interaction they are receiving. The benefit is, you will know what type of content resonates with your connections and you’ll be able to tailor your messaging more effectively. 

There is no such thing as an overnight success. It’s normal to have ups and downs; traffic and interactions will vary depending on the day and time. 

Linkedin is getting noisier as more people are discovering how truly effective it is for business.

Patience and perseverance will be needed.

But, with the right strategy in place, you’ll find Linkedin to be the perfect platform for you. 

What Is TikTok And How Can Brands Use It?

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve probably heard of TikTok. You need to check out the app. And, while you’re there, claim your user name because TikTok isn’t going away anytime soon! While there, you’ll probably want to learn about and create a TikTok marketing strategy for your brand. So, while TikTok is downloading, please read on.

What Is TikTok?

TikTok has rapidly become one of the most popular social networking apps in existence. The original iteration was created in 2012 and comes out of Beijing by way of an app company called ByteDance. In 2017, ByteDance was bought by Music.ly, which then merged into TikTok in August of 2018. 

Users create short-form videos and upload them to the app. Similar to other social networks there are hashtags, music, challenges, and other interactions. 

Like all other social networks, there are ways for users to comment on and “like,” these uploaded videos. Videos run between 15-60 seconds if recorded within the app. For videos recorded outside of the app’s interface, videos can be a bit longer. 

The TikTok app is available in over 150 countries and is gaining in popularity. Right now, in 2020, there are over 1 billion TikTok users across the globe. In the US alone, there are approximately 60 million active TikTok users, the most massive demographic falling in the 16-24-year-old age group. 

Why Is It Popular?

It’s all about visual, and TikTok is just that. In the same vein as ill-fated Vine, TikTok calls themselves the destination for short-form mobile videos. It plays on and embraces meme culture, and holds a strong appeal across its broad spectrum of users. Viral dance routines, makeup challenges, comedic sketches, and more allow users to watch or participate with access to a variety of filters, time effects, split screens, and so much more. 

Tik Tok, like so many other social platforms, prey on the users “FOMO” or fear of missing out. However, Tik Tok got so big that it caused a ripple effect throughout social and non-social media users, prompting them to download and use the app.

Tik Toks educable algorithm dictates the “For You” feed, allowing the users to pretty much tell Tik Tok what they want to see. And shockingly, Tik Tok obliges by showing you videos you may enjoy. 

TL;DR: Tik Tok is popular because it operates how social platforms should–using an algorithm that bases the user’s feed on content the user engages with. Viral trends tend to move quickly, so don’t blink!

What’s The Deal With The For You Page?

TikTok’s “For You” page is a personalization recommendation feed curated by the app for you, the user. The more interaction with videos, the more personalized the feed becomes. The algorithm is TikTok’s guarded secret, and no one outside of the company truly knows how it works. It’s the goal of many TikTok influencers to get onto that enviable For You page, and hashtags such as #fyp, #foryou, and #foryoupage are used in hopes of landing there. 

How Are Brands Using TikTok

Many big brands are incorporating Tik Tok into their digital marketing strategy. Companies like Nike, Chipotle, NBA, and The Washington Post (who is doing a fantastic job) are early adopters reaching new audiences and doing exceptionally well on the platform. 

Any brand, no matter the size, should be paying close attention to TikTok. With the majority of the audience in the GenZ demographic, TikTok is the perfect place to humanize your brand and introduce it to a previously unattainable audience that could give it massive amounts of traction. 

How To Develop A TikTok Marketing Strategy

There are a few different ways to optimize Tik Tok into your marketing strategy. The commercial platform at the time of this article was still in beta mode, allowing only certain brands to gain access. But, that’s good news for the rest of us because it gives us a few minutes to see what brands are doing, and to use those lessons in their TikTok marketing strategy. 

Tik Tok advertising options for brands include:

  • Brand Takeover: A 3-5 second full-screen ad displayed when a user opens TikTok. One brand per day is allowed.
  • Hashtag Challenge: A brand-sponsored video and hashtag that challenges users to record and use the hashtag.
  • In-feed native video: A 15 second branded music-related video that pops up when the user explores the content.
  • Influencer outreach: Partnering with a TikTok influencer who creates content paid for by your brand. Similar to any other branded partnership. 
  • Branded lens/effects (similar to a branded Snapchat filter): Brands can use AR, 2D, or 3D filters allowing the user to experience your product before purchase. 

TikTok is supposed to be fun; brands who take themselves too seriously most likely won’t find success. Because the demographics are so concentrated in the GenZ and younger millennials, content needs to be geared toward them. That will change as more GenX and Boomers begin to find their place within the TikTok community. 

At the moment, TikTok is still relatively uncluttered by brands but it’s not the perfect place for all. But, that will quickly change, and it’s a good idea to be ready to strike. 

Whether you need help with a marketing strategy, execution, or both, give Adapt Studios a shout!

Branding Basics For Small To Midsize Businesses

Whether it’s profound or simple, your company has a story. The ability to take that story and disseminate it, translate it, and share it isn’t always the easiest action to take. Sometimes there isn’t room in the budget to hire a branding agency, and it needs to be a DIY effort. But, no one in the room is a branding expert. And, that’s ok.

Keep reading to learn how to brand your small to midsize business without using a branding agency. 

What Is A Brand?

Your ‘brand’ is what identifies you. It sets you apart from other brands competing in the same space or industry. Your brand is represented through:  

  • Company name and tagline 
  • Logo
  • Mascot
  • Product or service 

Brand identifiers are distinguishing ‘features’ that evoke emotions making you recognizable. 

Just like a moral compass that helps people navigate life, a brand compass helps to navigate your growth. It defines who you are. Let’s take a meatier look at those.  

  • Company culture: This is based on the core values of your brand. It goes beyond Nerf guns and wine on tap. Employees feel the dynamics, and they understand it. So, they are your brand ambassadors. Positive company culture creates an environment where the employees can thrive, which only benefits the company itself.
  • Voice and messaging: Your voice and messaging are the ways you interact with your users or customers whether it’s online, in person, or over the phone. 
  • Name and Tagline: Your name and tagline are the first points your potential customers are introduced to. The tagline should embody your value propositions in a few short words. Think Nike. Just do it. Campbell’s soup is ‘mmm, ‘mmm good. A good tagline sticks in the minds of consumers. 
  • Identity: The identity of your brand is a culmination of your logo, messaging, and other visual elements. It is also the mark you make on the universe. 
  • Brand architecture: Brand architecture is the road map of your company, the organizational system that guides your users toward an opinion. Consider those visual assets: logos, font, web design. These are just a few pieces of your architecture allowing your brand to be easily understood. All the different pieces that make up your brand need to make sense, eliminating any confusion for the user.

What Is Branding?

Branding is created by all the facets of the brand compass in order to forge external perception. Branding gives your product meaning. In turn, it helps to entice consumers to choose your brand over the competition. 

Design and messaging are two of many components within branding. When those are working harmoniously, your brand becomes human; a trusted confidante, a BFF. 

Good branding evokes emotion and drives action. 

Branding Basics 101 In 6 Steps

Starting a brand from scratch, or even re-branding your old product takes a series of steps. In order to tell your brand’s story, you will need to look at the following.

  1. Target audience: Who are you trying to talk to? What groups of people will need your product? To shape your brand identity, you must establish your target audience.
  2. Competitive research: Who are your biggest competitors? What sort of marketing are they doing? Where are they online? Who are they talking to? What makes your product better than the rest?
  3. Defining your brand: What makes you unique? What is your brand story? How are you going to translate this throughout all your marketing efforts?
  4. Value props: What is your main selling point or points? How are you going to differentiate your brand from your competition? How are you unique?
  5. Style guides: Your messaging, tone, voice, customer persona, colors, logo all live in your style guide. This will help your employees with consistency, and help create brand recognition. 
  6. Consistency: Once you have the above components ironed out, it’s important to establish consistency. Consumers are savvy, and they know when there are hiccups. Which then leads to an issue with your online reputation and other problems. Consistency is key to maintaining a positive brand experience for your audience. 

Too Much, Send Help

Aside from having a killer product, branding is the most important part of your company’s success. But, sometimes you don’t have the employee bandwidth, or branding and marketing isn’t something you even want to get involved with on a daily basis. Bottom line, if you have absolutely no desire to do any of it in-house.

This is where a branding agency comes in. 

They help to identify and strategize your branding and marketing, and they can complete all the steps to guide you toward your goals.

Adapt Studios specializes in branding and marketing your small to mid-sized business. We can help you take your brand to the next level.