“Live video is essential when growing on LinkedIn,” Caroline Mignaux, social media marketing expert

I write, therefore I… and I sell! Today, many entrepreneurs claim that they find more than three-quarters of their customers on LinkedIn or Instagram. Whether it’s influencer marketing or narrative advertising, there are many formats that can be adapted to your products today, but are they all right for your audience? Decryption with Caroline Mignaux, influencer, entrepreneur and creator of the Marketing Square podcast.

Big media: LinkedIn is considered “the social network for entrepreneurs”. What are the new features that the platform is developing to determine this status?

Caroline Minnaux : In 2020, LinkedIn invested $25 million to create a fund dedicated to creators. In France, this was characterized by the opening of a “creative manager” department, where teams promote the creation of businesses on the platform. If “creator mode” was a bit of a broken promise at launch, in 2023 the platform intends to encourage and support creators by offering more visibility, both in the news feed and through the search bar. .

Thus, all those who have activated creator mode (people who regularly publish content on specific topics) will see their posts directly suggested to users who share the same interests. This is a huge evolution because you literally get subscribers while you sleep! This is important because it increases your audience base, not for social proof.

BM: For you, what are the key tools to take away when you want to grow on LinkedIn?

CM: A tool like live video that is extremely viral and allows you to get more engagement than an uploaded video is essential today when you want to grow on this platform. There are also facilities that allow entrepreneurs to hold live Q&A sessions to meet and engage their audience. LinkedIn also lets you create your own newsletter. This social network is extremely effective in promoting long content such as articles, which are always poorly formatted.
Articles previously had very little reach (a media analytics metric that refers to the number of users who encounter specific content on a social platform), which is paradoxical in terms of platform positioning.

“You should avoid talking too much about your product on LinkedIn. Followers want to follow people »

BM: What advice would you give to an entrepreneur starting out on a social network like LinkedIn?

SM: Not shying away from nation-building, that is, building directly with people and sharing their daily lives.
Currently, I accompany Marina Lemer, an entrepreneur who created a vinegar brand. When we met, he explained to me that he couldn’t be seen on LinkedIn, he thought he was in a very niche sector. This is nonsense to me. When you’re an entrepreneur, you often get the impression that you’ve boxed yourself into a niche sector and it’s not going to work. But on LinkedIn, remember that this misconception has no effect, quite the opposite! The more specific the better.

So together we envisioned a slightly different communication based on its history rather than its products. And she actually gained visibility on LinkedIn thanks to a post in which she said she and her dog were re-educating professionally.

BM: What mistakes do you think should be avoided?

SM: Talking excessively about the product! On LinkedIn, people want to follow people. If they wanted information about a product, they would follow a company page. Typically, if I just put my podcast online without telling a story, a little piece of myself, no one would care and it would be considered advertising. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid posts that are too promotional or too “corporate”.

BM: Are there more vibrant formats on LinkedIn than others?

SM: Those who manage to tell their story more spontaneously and sensitively in front of the screen will be hits. The video format has been working extremely well on social networks, especially on LinkedIn, for more than four years, and today it gives more visibility to companies that position themselves in niche sectors. For example, artistry attracts a lot on LinkedIn, simply because it is not necessarily in the sector’s DNA to communicate, so the few people who dare to show up and reveal their daily lives immediately gain a strong reputation.

One asbestos removal entrepreneur in my network finds 90% of his clients on LinkedIn through his posts! Simply because he shares his life, explains the underside of his profession and everyday life, and people love it!

“Unlike Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn use segmented algorithms that don’t calculate the virality of content based on the number of followers the creator has.”

BM: For example, if we take it in parallel with other social networks like TikTok?

SM: For some time now, TikTok has clearly set an example for other platforms and shows which side of the fence you need to be on to continue engaging people.
By encouraging creators to monetize and giving them access to many tools to design or manage their networks, the platform has completely changed the cards. And LinkedIn measured it well and now intends to follow the same path. Of course, more daring, because we must not forget that this remains the Microsoft universe, but nevertheless, they put a lot in order for creators to have access to more special tools.

BM: TikTok is often presented as the new El Dorado for entrepreneurs looking for visibility. Is this your opinion?

SM: There are very few leads on TikTok around me, especially in BtoB (a marketing term that defines the process of generating and managing leads). The real power of this network is to sell cheap attention time. So it will be great to bring back views, but very few Internet users will click on the video and leave the platform. It’s also a great way to test the virality of content or a new format. We publish a video on TikTok and if it works well, we post it on LinkedIn or Instagram to gain audience quality.

BM: What about Instagram?

SM: Over the past year, Instagram has really struggled to bring more virality to the tool thanks to Reels. For a long time the algorithm prevented the creation of accounts without a good follower base, so far the only solution is to use advertising. This is where Tik Tok and LinkedIn come into play! Unlike Instagram, they have developed segmented algorithms that do not calculate the virality of content based on the number of subscribers of its publisher. So if you open a LinkedIn account tomorrow and write a great post, you can get a million views very easily.