LinkedIn is having a golden moment, with interest from both bespoke agencies and creators. However, this transformation has quietly progressed over the years, establishing LinkedIn as a haven for content creators.
This momentum gained momentum in 2020 when the global pandemic accelerated the shift to remote working and digital connectivity virtually overnight.
As physical conferences and events are canceled around the world, professionals are turning to LinkedIn and other social channels to innovate new ways to stay relevant, build connections, and grow their audiences. I aimed it.
The more this happened, the more LinkedIn moved from a traditional professional network to a content recommendation engine.
It also helped that the platform itself was considerate of creators.
The company launched its own creator management program in 2021, providing selected creators with a dedicated manager to hear about upcoming LinkedIn news, discuss content strategy, and test new features and tools in beta. We offer you the opportunity to The program was relaunched a year later with a new name: LinkedIn Top Voices. This will remain an invitation-only program, run by his 250-person editorial team at LinkedIn, and will include a group of global experts covering a variety of topics.
This program, along with platform algorithm changes that prioritize engagement over likes and shares, increased video content, the rise of LinkedIn influencers, and the introduction of newsletters, are just some of the factors that have exacerbated this shift. .
Marketers, agencies, and creators realized this was happening and wanted to get in on the action. For example, the influencer's marketing agency, The Social Standard, currently runs two of his newsletters (The Social Brew and The Business Brew), which reach over 100,000 people each week.
These companies see LinkedIn changing to resemble its peers, but with a unique focus on professional networking, career growth, and industry-specific content.
And if there's one thing that screams “transforming LinkedIn,” it's the rise of specialized LinkedIn agencies.
Just as agencies pivoted to Snapchat-first or even TikTok-first as the current platform rose to prominence, some companies are now going all-in on LinkedIn and are on the upswing as the platform reaches new peaks. I'm thinking of riding it.
For those following this trend closely, Creator Authority should be at the top of your list. Co-founded by Brendan Gahan (CEO and member of his invitation-only LinkedIn Top Voice program) and Mandy Hopper, this LinkedIn specialist agency was founded in January of his We are positioning ourselves at the forefront of the conversation.
“We develop strategies specifically for LinkedIn and transform campaigns for the LinkedIn ecosystem,” said Gahan. “We work with the ideal creators to convey that message.”
And it's only a matter of time before other companies follow suit.
“Just like when TikTok took off, we expect to see more influencer marketing platforms and agencies, as well as more agencies that specialize in LinkedIn, start marketing services that specialize in LinkedIn influencer marketing.” added Lindsey Gamble, Associate Director of Influencer Innovation at Later. It is also part of the LinkedIn Top Voice program.
But new entrants will likely catch up with marketers who spotted trends early and took action.
Jess Phillips, founder and CEO of Social Standard, said the company saw LinkedIn take off last year in response to the personal branding trend, expanded its services and focused on LinkedIn. He said that he made the drastic decision to launch a B2B influencer division with . Our team strongly believes in this and are leading by example by becoming LinkedIn influencers. “Three of my top staff members are LinkedIn's Top His Influencers and His Marketing Voice,” said Phillips, who became the platform's Top His Influencer and His Marketing His Voice. . “My sales executive has about 30,000 followers, and in the last nine months he's doubled his followers. My engagement is comparable to that of people with five times as many followers. .”
This is how LinkedIn differentiates itself from other platforms. Creators and influencers shine through their professionalism, industry influence, and quality engagement. Similar phenomena may occur elsewhere, but LinkedIn's focus on professional networking and content sharing amplifies its impact.
This change should ideally mean fewer influencers aiming to appeal to the masses solely for profit. Instead, they target relevant audiences within their industry and provide valuable knowledge and expertise that is highly valued by their peers.
“They are [LinkedIn influencers] Julien Wettstein, Editorial Director, EMEA, LinkedIn:
Done correctly, it can mean the difference between an individual or company doing well or being successful.
Just ask Amelia Soder, a fellow LinkedIn top voice who founded personal branding agency Klowt in 2020. Soder didn't start posting elsewhere until she had about 50,000 followers on LinkedIn, she explained. In fact, even though she didn't even have a website, Klout made her nearly £400,000 in revenue in her first year of business. It was all thanks to her LinkedIn.
“I don’t get paid to promote other brands to my 160,000 followers on LinkedIn, but I make money by driving traffic to my business,” she added. “By posting content on the platform, I am 100% inbound to her, something that cannot be said for many other companies, especially service-based companies.”
The development of these profiles is a story that reflects the evolution of LinkedIn itself. What are the main differences with the Creator Program today? There's less tinkering than there was in the past.
“We still have creator managers, but we don't have to meet them one-on-one or on group calls like we used to. Instead, we receive updates and other marketing information via email,” Gamble said. “Top Voices still has faster access to new features and the ability to pitch posts to the LinkedIn editing tool. It's not the same support, but the team remains responsive and collaborative outside of the management program.”
This is an apt analogy for where LinkedIn stands in its evolution into a creator platform. So LinkedIn is up and running, but it's far from full-fledged. Nevertheless, the potential for a platform to be established in this area is clear. The challenge lies in creating an environment that is both spacious and engaging enough to retain creators and influencers.
