LinkedIn is Free Advertising. Binder #017 - Marketing

Do you remember Facebook in 2009?

These days, Facebook has around 3 billion monthly active users. In 2009, however, it was about 10% of that. The behavior of people on Facebook reflected the smaller user base.

If you don't remember Facebook in 2009, it was basically what the platform X is now, except with a much younger demographic.

"Status updates" on your "wall" were the rage. People would write very short status updates about their lives - what they were doing, eating, watching, or other mundane activities.

So, what changed?

Your parents, your grandparents, your aunts, and uncles changed.

Nowadays, all of your family members have a Facebook account. They all share photos, videos, longer stories, and other content.

This means that in 2009, you could easily "keep track" of your real-life friends because they were the only ones posting on the platform.

That ALSO means that when businesses started advertising, it wasn't hard to get inexpensive organic reach to potential customers. After all, if your competition to get on someone's news feed was someone saying, "I'm eating ramen today,"... you're going to get exposure.

Nowadays, it is a lot different.

Have you noticed that the Facebook posts on your business page don't get much engagement?

The reason is pretty simple - Facebook wants you to buy ads, not get free reach. And so, the updates from your parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles get featured on the news feed - not your epic business.

What does all this have to do with LinkedIn? Everything.

How LinkedIn is Different

As of 2024, LinkedIn has around 300 million monthly active users - or basically, 10% of what Facebook has.

Around 135 million of them are active every single day.

The opportunity with LinkedIn lies in the fact that of those 135 million daily users, very few of them post anything.

Don't believe me?

Go hop on LinkedIn and start scrolling your news feed. You'll likely see content right away from "1st" connections - people you are directly connected to.

However, if you don't have many "1st" connections posting content - even if you have many of them - LinkedIn has to show you something to keep you engaged.

What do they show?

• Content from "2nd" or even "3rd" connections - AKA, people you are not directly connected to.

• Engagement highlights from your 1st connections - AKA, "Billy Bob, your 1st Connection, liked this post."

• A smattering of other content that LinkedIn guesses you might be interested in to keep your engagement.

The opportunity on LinkedIn, then, is obvious - your organic content (AKA, $0 posts) can reach hundreds or even thousands of people in your market that you don't even know.

Considering that 3 out of 4 people who use LinkedIn drive business decisions… I'd say that is a good deal.

I see a lot of small businesses on the pavement trying to push engagement on Facebook. While this isn't a bad thing to do, it almost assuredly is going to get "drowned out" in the sea of information that Facebook has to showcase, including what your grandparents did on the weekend.

LinkedIn? Different story. They are dying for organic content from actual human beings who sell stuff.

How to use LinkedIn:

• Optimize Your Profile – Make sure your profile is professional and includes your business name, services, and a strong profile picture.

• Post About Completed Projects – Share before-and-after photos, customer testimonials, or lessons learned from jobs.

• Engage With Others – Comment on and like posts from local property managers, general contractors, and potential clients. Be a giver, not just a taker.

• Write About Industry Insights – Share quick thoughts on trends in pavement maintenance. Bring value to your network.

• Use Video and Images – Like any social platform, they want this in their posts.

• Make Connections Weekly – Send connection requests to property managers, commercial real estate agents, and city planners. Aim to connect with 5 a week.

• Post Consistently – Aim small to start - even just 1 post per week so you stay top of mind without overwhelming your network.

• Ask Engaging Questions – Post simple questions that encourage engagement, like "What's the worst pothole you've seen this year?"

• Share Customer Wins – If a client is happy with your work, showcase it with a short post and tag them.

Statistics in this newsletter are mostly from this source: https://thesocialshepherd.com/blog/linkedin-statistics