Welcome! Thank you for signing up for the paid tier of the newsletter! I’m excited to share the first bonus newsletter with you, which is a deep dive into LinkedIn influencer marketing.

As a reminder, Q&A access is exclusive to this tier. You can submit any questions you may have for me via this form—whether it’s a follow-up to something I’ve written, other industry news, or something related to your work. You can expect a response within 48 hours.

If you have any questions, feedback or specific topics you'd like me to cover in these bonus editions, feel free to reply to this email.

A Guide to LinkedIn Influencer Marketing

Over the past few years, LinkedIn has transformed from a platform primarily for job seekers and networking to a thriving destination for creators. The content filling up LinkedIn feeds today resembles what you’d expect to see on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, but with a professional tone.

How LinkedIn Became a Creator Hub

LinkedIn deserves a lot of credit for fostering this environment. Since the pandemic, it has made strong efforts to attract creators through three main areas:

Creator Programs

LinkedIn has launched several creator-focused programs. Notably, it introduced the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program, an incubator-style initiative where creators gained access to coaching, networking opportunities, and funding to support their content creation on the platform. LinkedIn also built a Creator Management Team to support creators with best practices, early access to new features and tools, and more.

Tools & Features

Since the launch of Creator Mode in 2021—a suite of tools for creators—LinkedIn has consistently rolled out new features to help creators share content, build their audience, and track their growth. Some standout additions include newsletters and short-form video, post scheduling, and deeper analytics.

Marketing & Editorial

Through efforts like the LinkedIn Guide for Creating, the Build Your Voice Hub, various live programming, and Top Voices lists, LinkedIn has invested in dedicated marketing and editorial efforts for creators. These initiatives not only target creators as a key audience on the platform but also spotlight their work, encouraging them to lean into LinkedIn as a platform for creation.

Who Are LinkedIn Creators?

LinkedIn creators represent a broad and varied group. They include native LinkedIn users whose primary platform is LinkedIn, as well as influencers from Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube looking to expand their audience.

Entrepreneurs, executives, thought leaders, and small business owners use LinkedIn to share insights and boost visibility for their businesses. Industry professionals and college students also leverage LinkedIn to promote their work, network, and advance their careers.

While not everyone identifies as a creator, what unites them is the drive to produce content that fuels economic opportunity.

Why LinkedIn for Influencer Marketing?

As more creators emerge on the platform and B2B influencer marketing expands, LinkedIn is becoming an increasingly prominent hub for influencer marketing.

Brands like Hubspot, Adobe, Notion, Intel, Semrush, Teal, and many others are leveraging creators for influencer campaigns and achieving impressive results.

Here's why:

Massive, Global User Base

LinkedIn boasts over 1 billion members across 200 countries, providing both scale and global reach. Interestingly, LinkedIn’s fastest-growing demographic is Gen Z, who are using the platform to grow their personal brands.

Trust & Safety

Unlike other platforms where people can hide behind handles, LinkedIn ties users to their real identities and workplaces, fostering a natural sense of trust and safety. Additionally, its prohibition of political advertising makes it a haven for brands seeking a brand-safe environment, away from today’s polarized political landscape.

Affluent & Educated Audiences

LinkedIn users are often highly educated and affluent. In the U.S., 53% of users earn $100,000 or more annually, and individuals with higher levels of formal education are more likely to use the platform. For brands that want to reach people with spending dollars, especially B2B decision-makers, LinkedIn offers unparalleled opportunities.

How to Find LinkedIn Creators

Finding creators on LinkedIn isn’t as simple as it is on other platforms, which offer creator marketplaces and third-party integrations. Still, there are several effective methods to discover LinkedIn creators for partnerships:

• Manual Search: LinkedIn’s search functionality is comprehensive. Use relevant keywords and filter by “People” or “Posts” to find creators or content aligned with your brand, product, or service.

• Top Voices: LinkedIn’s Top Voices, an invite-only group of experts, are easily identifiable by a blue badge that appears in search results and on their profiles. LinkedIn has also curated lists of these creators for certain industries such as the creator economy, next gen, and, sports, providing a pre-vetted list of credible creators.

• Brand Partnerships: The LinkedIn Ad Library includes a searchable database for posts with the Brand Partnership label. Use keywords to discover creators who are already working with brands.

• Creator Recommendations: Once you’ve partnered with creators, ask them for referrals. Creators often have networks of peers who could also be a good fit for your brand.

• Influencer Marketing Platforms & Agencies: Many influencer marketing platforms and agencies are now expanding their services to include LinkedIn. Companies like Creator Match and Creator Authority, specialize in LinkedIn influencer marketing, offering services for creator discovery and recruitment. The former also has a free Chrome extension that can help identify creators, among other features.

Selecting the Right Creators

Once you’ve identified potential creators, how do you know if they’re the right fit? Choosing the right creators depends on several key factors:

• Goals: This is the most important factor. What are you trying to achieve through creator partnerships—brand awareness, lead engagement, or something else? Clearly defining your goals will guide you in selecting the right type of creators.

• Alignment: How well does the creator align with your brand? Do they share similar values, or does their mission complement what your brand represents?

• Content Quality: Assess the quality of their content. Does it spark meaningful conversations or offer a unique perspective or insights? Engaging content is key to resonating with LinkedIn’s professional audience.

• Reach: While follower count is worth noting, it’s less important on LinkedIn. Similar to TikTok and Instagram, the platform works on an interest-based graph that enables creators to reach an audience well beyond their follower count.

• Audience: Analyze the demographics of the creator’s audience. Does their audience align with your target market? Consider job roles, industries, company sizes, and geographic locations.

• Past Performance: Review the creator’s track record with both organic and sponsored content. This will give you insight into what they may be able to deliver.

• Rates: Since LinkedIn influencer marketing is still relatively new, pricing can vary significantly. Some creators may be more cost-effective, especially if it's their first deal, while others may charge premium rates. Fees typically range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on the creator and the scope of the work.

How to Collaborate with Creators

LinkedIn offers a variety of content formats, providing numerous ways to bring sponsored content to life. Here are some top formats to consider:

• Short-Form Posts: These are the standard posts most users share on the platform, whether text-only or with visuals like photos or carousels. Visuals are highly recommended, as they help posts stand out in the feed.

• Short-Form Videos: As the fastest-growing format on LinkedIn, short-form video offers multiple ways to be discovered and engaged with, making it a top choice. This format works well for talking-head videos, testimonials, reviews, and demos. It also drives action as 80% of B2B buyers say video content influences their purchasing decisions, with influencer video content being one of the most trusted.

• Live Events: Brands can sponsor recurring creator-led live events or co-host new events with creators. These events are great for driving real-time engagement and tapping into a creator’s community.

• Articles & Newsletters: These long-form formats are ideal for thought leadership, and it's what many industry experts are leveraging. Partners can do deep dives into your industry, integrate your brand, and provide the audience with valuable insights.

• Thought Leader Ads: LinkedIn’s version of Meta’s Partnership Ads and TikTok Spark Ads allows brands to give sponsored content a boost through paid promotion, reaching a wider audience, and optimizing for certain objectives.

How to Measure the Performance of Creator Partnerships

Depending on your goals, some metrics will be more relevant than others. You can gather these metrics in different ways, such as requesting screenshots of post analytics from creators, utilizing performance tracking through influencer marketing platforms or using other measurement tools.

Top of Funnel: Brand Awareness

For campaigns aimed at increasing brand visibility, focus on post metrics like Impressions and Members Reached to see how many times content was seen and how many unique individuals saw it.

When it comes to videos and long-form content, Video Views and Article Views specifically should be looked at. These help gauge how widely your content is being distributed and how many potential customers have been exposed to it.

Middle of Funnel: Consideration

When consideration is a focus, engagement metrics such as reactions, comments, and shares are the core. Reactions help indicate whether people are finding the creator’s content valuable and interesting. Comments can uncover even more, helping to understand how people are resonating with the brand, product, or service, especially when sentiment analysis is done.

Shares are also important, as reposts are like an exponential boost in reach and a signal that not only do people find the content valuable, but they also want to share it with their community as a form of social proof.

Bottom of the Funnel: Conversion

For campaigns focused on driving conversions, it’ll require a bit more technical work. Provide UTM links and promo codes to creators to share with their audiences to track clicks, sign-ups, sales, and more.

You can also keep an eye on website traffic to see if any spikes in traffic align with your campaign timeline. Additionally, post-purchase surveys can ask customers how they found you and if an influencer played a role.

Best Practices

From planning and execution to innovation, here are key considerations and best practices to optimize successful creator partnerships on LinkedIn, both in the short term and long term:

• Clear Goals: Establish clear goals for your campaigns and have a strategy. This will help guide the campaign, from selecting creators to crafting briefs and reporting. Make sure creators are aware of what you want to accomplish too.

• Creative Freedom: Let creators be creators. Don’t stifle them. They’re experts. They know their audience best. Give them the freedom to bring your brand messaging to life in a way that is similar to the content they are sharing, while still providing key messaging, guidelines, and dos and don’ts.

• Proper Disclosure: Transparency is key. Make sure creators are disclosing their content and using the Brand Partnership label and a clear disclosure like #ad or #sponsored. Be mindful of regional advertising regulations, as non-compliance can harm both the creator and your brand’s from reputation to fines.

• Long-Term Partnerships: Invest in long-term partnerships with creators. Collaborating with creators on multiple campaigns helps strengthen relationships and makes it easier to integrate the brand effectively. It also opens doors for collaboration beyond sponsored content, such as R&D.

• Test and Learn: Be open to experimentation. Don’t be afraid to try new things—whether types of creators, formats, or messages—and adapt as you go.

THANK YOU

Thanks for reading! Enjoyed this edition? Share it with a friend or colleague!

• Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here to receive the next edition directly in your inbox.

• Support the Newsletter: If you’d like to support my work, consider upgrading to the paid tier or contributing via Buy Me a Coffee.

• Stay Connected: For more content and updates, visit my website or follow me on LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, Flipboard, and Bluesky.

• Interested in partnering: I’m available for consulting and advising, brand partnerships, speaking, and more. Let’s connect here.