Creating a Winning Content Strategy for Sponsored Content

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Introductions

Amanda Green Content Campaign Strategist LinkedIn

Caitlin Morrison Senior Ad Strategist LinkedIn

Nicholas MaaloufAccount Manager LinkedIn

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Agenda

• Building Your Content Calendar

• Advertising with a Purpose

• Developing Messaging that Resonates

• Creating Best-in-Class Content

The three key phases of content marketing

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2. Distribute

3. Optimiz

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1. Develo

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2. Distribute

3. Optimiz

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Develop your content strategy

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Building Your Content Calendar

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• Plan your content resources

• Provide visibility for internal teams

• Prevent a lapse in conversation with your audience

• Measure trends in engagement and performance

Why build a content calendar?

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Sample calendar

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2. Distribute

3. Optimiz

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Distribute content through proper channels

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Advertising with a Purpose

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Marketing Goals

Brand Awareness

Lead Generation

Does your advertising match your goals?

Who is this for?

Where are they in the buyer’s journey?

How does this make them more productive and successful?

How will we measure success?

Map every piece of content to your mission statement by asking four key questions

Thought Leadership

Blog Post Rich Media/ Infographic

Examples of content for branding

Webinar Whitepaper Form Fill

Examples of content for lead generation

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2. Distribute

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Optimize program for effectiveness

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Developing Messaging that Resonates

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Types of Sponsored Content

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Anatomy of an effective post

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• Image - Select a compelling visual that’s descriptive and accurately reflects your content.

• Headline - Include a call to action, a snackable stat, or a thought-provoking message.

• Teaser Text - Pique interest with an intriguing message to draw your audience in. Provide transparency and context.

• Messaging - Use language that is relatable to your target demographic.

Strongest elements of Sponsored Content

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Creating Best-in-Class Content

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Write copy that creates a “curiosity gap”

Too vague, and nobody cares. Too

specific, and nobody needs to

click. - Peter Koechley, Cofounder, Upworthy

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Optimize for mobile

149 characters (150 cutoff)Link in the body

Large Image Format

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Use concise, interactive copy to drive interest

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Best practices for content frequency

• LinkedIn members can see up to 4 unique posts from an advertiser in a 48-hour period

• It is important to run 4 creative variations in any live campaign to take full advantage of the distribution settings

• Fresh content should be rotated into the campaigns 1-2 times a month

• Sponsored Content generates more followers to your Company Page. Continue to post organic content as well to engage with those members.

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Effective A/B testing

• Ad variations can be represented through minor changes in copy or images

• It’s important to focus on one ad element when creating a set of ad variations

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Standard format Sponsored Content

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Rich media/large image Sponsored Content

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Relevancy Score

• Relevancy Score = Bid x Engagement (CTR)

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LinkedIn performance benchmarks

• CTR: .30%

• Engagement Rate: .40%

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Presentation recap

• Build a content calendar to plan resources, provide visibility and measure trends

• Align advertising with the proper distribution method and target audience

• Leverage creative best practices to drive results

Q&A

Thank You