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There is something gratifying about seeing that notification pop up on your LinkedIn that says, “congrats, your post is trending”.
Knowing that your content is useful and getting followers talking is great. But it’s also an opportunity to improve your LinkedIn lead gen efforts and LinkedIn SSI.
That said, it’s not easy to get your content trending on LinkedIn. So is it a worthwhile content marketing strategy?
In this post, we’ll look at the value of trending on LinkedIn and how you can get your content on the LinkedIn trending feed.
If you’re looking for more ways to use LinkedIn to supercharge your lead gen efforts, check out our guide on how to use LinkedIn ads to get more leads.
The Value of Trending on LinkedIn
If you get a notification on LinkedIn letting you know one of your posts is trending, it’s because it’s receiving high levels of engagement under a certain hashtag #. This shows that you have a strong Linked SSI and that your post is able to connect and engage with the right people
Your goal should always be to get high engagement on your LinkedIn posts, but there are some significant benefits when a post trends on LinkedIn.
Reach a wider audience
When a LinkedIn post trends under a hashtag, it gets boosted to the top of search results for that hashtag. That means your regular post will not only reach more of your existing network but it will also be shown to more people who follow that hashtag, regardless of whether they follow you or not.
This is a great opportunity to reach a wider audience and get your amazing content in front of more people on the platform.
Establish yourself as a leader in your niche
LinkedIn users equate trending content to authority. If your content trends, you’ll be recognized as a leader in your niche which is great when establishing trust with your target audience.
If someone is searching LinkedIn for a particular service and finds your brand trending for that topic, they’re more likely to trust your brand, even if they haven’t come across you before.
Boost brand awareness
Trending on LinkedIn also boosts brand awareness. More people will see your trending post which means more people will visit your profile which means more people will become familiar with your brand.
If your aim is to become an influencer on LinkedIn, a trending post will get you there much faster.
How Do You See What’s Trending on LinkedIn?
On your LinkedIn newsfeed, you’ll see a box that says “What People Are Talking About”. This is where you’ll find trending posts and relevant hashtags.
In this dedicated feed, you’ll find posts with high engagement, trending hashtags, and breaking news stories that help people keep up to date with industry information.
Each person’s feed is personalized to them and will include trending topics that are relevant to their profile and interests.
How to Get On LinkedIn Trending
There is no set process for getting a post to trend on LinkedIn, it’s up to the algorithm to figure out what post is getting enough engagement.
But there are some steps you can take to help your posts get better engagement so you have a better chance of hitting the LinkedIn trending page.
Follow industry-relevant hashtags
It’s important to know which hashtags are currently trending so you can tailor your content to popular topics.
It will be difficult to trend under ultra-popular hashtags with millions of posts, but you can target less crowded ones with a few thousand followers and work your way up.
Either way, make sure to stay aware of the current trends so you have an idea of what tags to add to your content.
Use 2-3 hashtags in each post
When you post something on LinkedIn, it will show up on the news feeds of your connections. But if you add a popular hashtag that your connection also follows, it gets an added boost.
Don’t ram each LinkedIn post full of relevant hashtags, though. Instead, pick two or three that you’re trying to trend in for each post. LinkedIn actually recommends no more than three per post.
Encourage conversation and interact with comments
The more interaction a post gets, the more likely it is to start trending, so interact with all the comments and encourage conversation.
The quicker you can get engagement the better, so check back regularly and keep responding to other users. Your interaction with people boosts your LinkedIn SSI and improves your lead generation prospects.
Posting about new and interesting topics that encourage different points of view is great – people like interacting when they have an opinion on something new or newsworthy.
Avoid third-party scheduling apps
Third-party scheduling apps are allowed on LinkedIn and are welcomed by the platform. In fact, they’re great for saving time on your marketing calendar. But posts do tend to do better when they’re posted natively on the platform rather than through scheduling software.
There’s no official statement from LinkedIn on this point, but you might want to experiment with posting directly once or twice a month to see if your engagement numbers improve over your scheduling software.
Add a photo or video
LinkedIn officially states that it gives no preferential treatment to any particular content types. However, in a crowded newsfeed, it’s much easier to stand out and get engagement if your post has a picture or video attached.
In fact, users are twenty times more likely to share a piece of content if it has video, which will help boost your chances of getting on the LinkedIn Trending page.
Aim for engagement within an hour
The quicker you can ramp up engagement on your post, the better. So share it across channels, ask questions to encourage answers in the comments, and let your colleagues know you’ve posted so they can help that critical first hour count.
Having team members interacting with and liking posts from the brand shows they care about the brand and says a lot about the brand ethos.
How Many Likes Do You Need to Trend?
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There’s no set number of likes you need to trend, LinkedIn’s algorithm tracks the engagement of your post based on the category you’re trying to trend in. Aim for high engagement – the more the better.
You’ll see a “congrats, your post is trending” notification when you hit the milestone letting you know what hashtag you’re trending for.
Does Trending Drive Any Extra Traffic to My Posts?
Having a trending post for a certain hashtag means your post has now opened up to all the followers of that hashtag. If you’re trending for one with millions of followers, that’s potentially millions of new users driving traffic to your post.
It’s not a one-time thing either, once you’ve got that initial flood of extra traffic, the algorithm is going to start noticing that your post content is popular and boosting it more often.
How Can LinkedIn Trending Help You With Lead Gen?
Trending on LinkedIn isn’t a strategy you should depend on for lead generation since so much of it is out of your control. But if you do start trending on LinkedIn, it’ll help with lead gen in a couple of ways.
Boosts brand awareness
The more people who see your content on LinkedIn, the wider your client pool. Gaining brand awareness is crucial in the early stages of the buyer journey, so the bigger your presence on LinkedIn, the better.
Gives social proof
Having high engagement on your posts acts as social proof and helps solidify your brand as a leader in your industry. If someone comes across your brand when they’re searching for a product or service, seeing that you have high engagement on your content will help build that foundation of trust. How established your professional brand is also determines your LinkedIn SSI – a unique LinkedIn metric that determines your profile’s rank.
Shows you know your stuff
If you can establish yourself as a leader in your industry, you’re showing potential customers you know what you’re talking about. When they’re ready to make a purchase, your brand will immediately come to mind as the obvious choice.
Here’s How to Guarantee More Leads From LinkedIn
It’s easy to get caught up in trying to get your content to start trending on LinkedIn, but there’s no easy trick or hack. When you focus on posting valuable, relevant content, users will naturally flock to it and the LinkedIn algorithm will quickly notice.
That said, trying to get your content trending on LinkedIn isn’t a sustainable marketing tool for lead gen on the social media channel. In fact, it’s more of a happy byproduct if you do manage to get on the trending feed.
If you want a solid strategy for getting consistent leads from LinkedIn every single month, Zopto can help. We’re a LinkedIn automation tool to boost your lead generation efforts. We can also help you in CRM integration with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Schedule a free demo today and we’ll show you exactly how we find warm leads for businesses on LinkedIn.
