How Instagram, TikTok & YouTube Creators Can Leverage LinkedIn
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LinkedIn's value proposition to B2B marketers, thought leaders and industry analysts is clear. Many native LinkedIn creators are building audiences, driving sales, and developing their voices as leaders in their respective industries.
However, the value of LinkedIn for creators who primarily use traditional social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube is less discussed.
That changes today with a deep dive into how these creators can use LinkedIn with insights and examples from creators on leveraging the platform — from content creation to monetization to networking to learning.
Content Creation
Repurposing Content To Expand Reach and Visibility
Repurposing content from other channels is an easy way for creators to get started. By uploading this content, creators can expand their reach and visibility.
For instance, basketball/DIY creator Mylan Murphy, better known as Motivated by Mylan and boasting over 1.2 million followers, makes repurposing his short-form videos on LinkedIn a prominent part of his content strategy.
Creating Native LinkedIn Content to Reach Different Audiences
Like many platforms, success often comes from creating content specifically for it. With LinkedIn's core audience consisting of professionals, creators can share content that they typically don't post on other channels that cater to this type of audience. This may include behind-the-scenes looks into their life as a creator.
Murphy has recently explored this approach by sharing analytics for his posts that have gone viral.
"I wouldn't do this on any of my other platforms, but on LinkedIn, it provides people outside of the creator economy space with a look at what a viral video looks like," he explains.
Brianna Seaberg, a travel blogger with over 677K TikTok followers, creates new content tailored specifically for LinkedIn. Her approach is grounded in assisting people in learning and growing, whether within the creator economy or in finding their next career opportunity—a focus she has reverse-engineered.
“LinkedIn is very different from all the content across my different platforms, specifically YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. For LinkedIn, I’m creating entirely different content that I won’t create on my other platforms,” says Seaberg.
There's also a middle ground. For example, Gigi Robinson, a creator, speaker, and advocate whose biggest platforms are TikTok and Snapchat, with over 300K followers collectively, finds that content created for LinkedIn can also be shared on other platforms with a few tweaks.
She shared, “I might take one of these posts and repurpose it into a video for my short-form video platforms. I have found this to be extremely successful because more industry professionals find me and engage with my content on LinkedIn.”
Co-Creating with the LinkedIn Community Through Collaborative Articles
For creators who prefer not to repurpose existing content or create new material exclusively for LinkedIn, another valuable option is Collaborative Articles. These articles are powered by AI and developed in collaboration with the LinkedIn editorial team. They cover a wide range of skills and topics, allowing LinkedIn members to contribute their insights, examples, and experiences by responding to prompts.
These articles are equivalent to collaboration and co-creation tools like TikTok's Stitch and Instagram's Add Yours. Such tools help lower the barrier to content creation by eliminating the need for creators to come up with new ideas to post about
Collaborative Articles not only enable creators to share their expertise and knowledge on subjects related to their content with the rest of the LinkedIn community but also offer another touchpoint for getting in front of new audiences. Plus, they can earn a Top Community Voice Badge for their profile.
Monetization
Collaborating with Brands
Brand partnerships and collaborations present another compelling reason for creators to invest in LinkedIn. Robinson has partnered with a few brands, such as Dove and Adobe, but most influencer marketing campaigns on LinkedIn are focused on B2B creators.
LinkedIn's introduction of the Brand Partnership Label and Brand Partnership Search feature suggests that more brands will bring their influencer programs to LinkedIn in the future. As brands warm up to influencer marketing campaigns on LinkedIn and develop strategies for approaching them, repurposing sponsored content from other platforms on LinkedIn is a strategy creators can employ.
This not only provides value to their brand partners but also serves as an example of the potential impact of sponsored content on LinkedIn, which can attract potential brand partners.
Murphy, who regularly shares his sponsored content on LinkedIn, says, “If I do a brand deal, out of generosity, I'll automatically post it to LinkedIn. It shows the brand that you’re going above and beyond, and from a professional standpoint, it shows and highlights what I’m capable of doing."
Accessing New Opportunities
LinkedIn is also powerful for accessing opportunities, even if they materialize on other platforms.
Creators typically reach out to brands via direct messages on Instagram and TikTok, or they email them directly. However, these outreach attempts don't always yield the best success rates, as brands often receive a high volume of DMs, and the individuals managing social accounts may not be the decision-makers for influencer marketing budgets.
An alternative, more targeted approach involves creators reaching out to individuals within these companies on LinkedIn who hold titles related to influencer marketing or related roles. Seaberg has experienced significant success with this approach.
"This has allowed me way better conversions for myself. This has actually opened up opportunities for brand deals and creator events,” Seaberg shared.
Networking
Answering Requests from Journalists
Then, there are press opportunities. Most journalists are on LinkedIn, especially those covering the creator economy. In some cases, they will put out calls or requests for quotes or insights. By being active on LinkedIn, creators can answer these and be featured in their pieces, benefiting from earned media and the larger audiences these publications can reach.
Researching Potential Brand Partners
LinkedIn is also a valuable tool for research. Livestreaming creator Melody Johnson has found LinkedIn to be useful for researching brands that she wants to pitch to, such as understanding if they align with her values and identifying potential ways to strengthen her pitch to them.
Strengthening Social Proof with Recommendations
Once relationships are formed, LinkedIn Recommendations are another feature creators can leverage. Like other professionals, creators can obtain recommendations from companies they've partnered with. Many brands evaluate their creator partners not only based on their content and performance but also factors like collaboration ease and responsiveness; this feature provides an excellent way to capture these positive interactions.
These recommendations can have a significant impact, as they are visible to others when creators reach out to them or when individuals visit a creator's profile. They serve as valuable endorsements of a creator's professionalism and work ethic, helping to build credibility and trust within the industry and social proof.
Learning
Unlocking Learning Opportunities
Last but not least is the opportunity for creators to learn and broaden their knowledge. With a treasure trove of knowledge, information, and insights on various topics, LinkedIn is perhaps the best platform for creators to learn.
From industry experts to newsletters and courses to Collaborative Articles, there are abundant learning opportunities. What's even better is that it's incredibly user-friendly. Creators can discover content related to their interests and passions by searching for relevant hashtags and keywords and following Top Voices.
“Typically, I will learn from other people reposting different studies, articles, and insights from other industry leaders at conferences. This is where I often find out about new places that I’m interested in working with, speaking at, or new people I want to connect with,” Robinson notes.
Staying Up to Date With the Creator Economy
Staying current in the creator economy is an area where many creators find immense value. For instance, Seaberg devotes 20 minutes daily to perusing various LinkedIn posts to stay informed about the creator economy. Thanks to LinkedIn's algorithm, her feed is typically filled with posts related to this topic, making it effortless for her to conduct research both as a creator and in her current role as a Creator Growth Manager at Amaze.
There are also LinkedIn courses available to users who have LinkedIn Premium, which are useful for acquiring knowledge on specific topics in easily digestible formats.
“I love LinkedIn Premium for its courses! You can take small courses for as short as 5 minutes to learn and apply a new skill immediately,” Johnson shared.
Whether it's the creator economy or other subjects, staying informed about the latest trends and industry news can be a powerful asset for creators. It can help them expand and optimize their creator businesses by leveraging new tools and features on social media platforms, discovering innovative monetization strategies based on trends discussed by marketers, and more.
Five Actionable Steps for Creators to Build a Presence on LinkedIn
For creators who are looking to build a presence on LinkedIn, here are five steps to take to get started:
Enable Creator Mode, a profile setting that informs LinkedIn of your desire to increase your presence and influence on the platform. This feature will also change your 'Connect' button to 'Follow,' display a follower count on your profile, let you add relevant hashtags to the topics you post about, grant access to creator-focused tools, and boost your discoverability by making you eligible to be featured as a suggested creator.
Start creating content—whether you're repurposing, crafting something entirely new, or engaging in Collaborative Articles. Don't worry too much about having a specific strategy at the outset; instead, try sharing various content and experimenting with different formats. This will help you better understand what resonates with your audience and eventually out a specific content strategy.
Choose the type of content you want to prominently display in the Activity section of your profile. Whether it's posts, comments, videos, images, articles, newsletters, or more, select the content type that best represents the kind of content you frequently share. For instance, if you're primarily a video creator, opt for 'videos.' This choice will position your video posts at the forefront of your profile, creating a visually-focused feed similar to what you'd find on TikTok and Instagram.
Follow relevant hashtags, Top Voices, and newsletters within the industries that pique your interest the most. This will keep you well-informed about current happenings and offer the chance to contribute your insights to discussions and topics. Doing so can boost your visibility and connect you with individuals beyond your immediate network.
Connect with your brand and agency partners. This not only keeps you on their radar (especially when you're active in their feeds) for potential opportunities but also considers the ever-changing job landscape. In the current macroeconomic conditions, individuals might transition to different roles, making it harder to contact them through work emails. By connecting with them, you ensure that the lines of communication remain open when needed.
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