If the 69 million company pages on LinkedIn are any indication, marketers must assume the professional networking platform is worth their time.
Yet, I see individuals, not companies, dominating my feed. And when the occasional brand account pops up, the content seems more promotional than insightful or more robotic than human.
So, are 69 million brands wasting their time?
I took to LinkedIn to ask that question. One comment came from a brand handle and read like an AI tool had generated it. Then, it gave a generic company address where I could send questions. Even when I asked for the person’s name for attribution purposes, the reply included only a first name. Surely, even though this company page interacted on the platform, it didn’t see LinkedIn as a valuable channel.
Fortunately, I found marketers who are the humans behind some of the 69 million company pages. They were willing to share not only their first and last names, but also some great, practical insight, examples, and advice.
LinkedIn isn’t easy for companies; that’s no reason to give up
Tracy Graziani, executive officer of Graziani Multimedia, sees little traction with company pages.
“It's harder for companies to build a following on LinkedIn because the platform is more people-focused than brand-focused,” she explains.
Followers of company pages aren’t necessarily the brand’s target market. They’re employees, job seekers, colleagues, and competitors. Tracy says, “Your content isn’t getting in front of the ‘right people.’”
Even though it’s hard, brands shouldn’t forgo investing in the platform if their target market is there.
“LinkedIn is a wasteland, boring check-the-box marketing that is a total snoozefest. If you have a modicum of creativity, your brand can clean up on LinkedIn by adding something fun and fresh to the conversation,” Tracy says.
“LinkedIn's own research indicates that things like video and humor perform best, yet most LinkedIn brand posts are dry graphics with cheesy stock photos, text, and statistics.”
Tracy’s right. Video viewership on LinkedIn increased 36% year over year for the period between Oct. 30, 2024, and Jan. 25, 2025. LinkedIn also reports that funny content in ads on the platform drives 65% higher engagement.
An analysis of over 1 million LinkedIn posts in 2024 by Socialinsider found the average engagement rate with video content grew 40% (5.6% in 2024 compared to 4% in 2023). Only multi-image posts (6.6%) and native documents (6.1%) saw more average engagement rates in 2024. Text posts had a 4% engagement rate last year.
Tracy points to Supered, a digital adoption platform for CRMs, as a brand that forgoes boring run-of-the-mill content to successfully differentiate itself on LinkedIn. Its page has almost 5,000 followers. In this promo post, for example, Supered transforms the webinar host with three superhero looks — one for each day of its ask-me-anything sessions.
Tracy is also a big advocate for brands using another of the platform's publishing features. "My clients who have LinkedIn newsletters often find that those are outperforming their email newsletter,” she says.
Newsletters can also act as a natural bridge between the company and personal brands, which is important because connecting the brand to the people behind the brand is where the real value happens on LinkedIn.
“A strong point of view that is unique and clearly articulated is more valuable than ever,” Tracy says. "We're working with our clients to build a strong brand voice as well as a unique concept that they can truly own online and that becomes the foundation of all their content and the connecting thread across channels.”
Making a LinkedIn impact
Impact, a managed service provider with over two dozen locations in the United States, strikes a balance between the company’s presence and its executives’ activity on LinkedIn. It has over 18,000 followers on its company page.
“Because our services can be complex and involve a lot of client trust, we post a decent amount of informational content on our brand profile, along with some analysis and insight into what the data means,” says Emma Lieberman, director of content marketing.
Impact’s social media coordinator, Ava Smith, simplifies the in-depth content on the company website, often creating carousel posts or videos for the company page. Content with some fresh data and analysis presented in a fun way usually performs best.
For example, this carousel-format post talks about data analytics in manufacturing using comic book imagery. The post also includes text highlighting the key findings with a link to the full-length article, interspersed with a few relevant emojis, including a gear symbol instead of traditional bullets.
In this video post, an Impact executive explains the six steps in responding to a cyberattack. The text and script reflect the same messaging, making it easy for readers and viewers to follow and enticing them to learn more by reading the in-depth article on the Impact website.
“Our goal is to ensure they never regret pressing the ‘follow’ button by always providing true value in every post, even if that value is just a good giggle,” Emma explains. The latter of which can be seen in this point-of-view video post.
The opening text — “Psst, we have a secret to tell you” — serves as a fun hook to the scrolling LinkedIn users. The secret, though, is more serious: “Your outdated technology systems are more than likely what’s causing stress and annoyance from employees. When technology hits a roadblock, businesses are susceptible to the pitfalls of disparate systems ...”
But the video adds an element of fun to the serious message. It carries a POV message: “You wanted a sign from the universe and finally found one,” as the camera goes up the elevator to an office. Viewers end up at a desk with an employee holding the very relatable sign, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”
Executives play a crucial LinkedIn role
The balance Impact strives to achieve on LinkedIn also requires its executives to post their opinions and experiences regularly.
“A prospect or client needs to believe all the way down in their gut that we know what we’re talking about and can make their business dreams a reality,” Emma says.
Impact executives decide what they publish on their profiles. The marketing team sometimes provides assistance with editing, topic refinement, and video recording. The team also suggests external content that the executives could share on LinkedIn.
Recently, the marketing team has begun working with some executives to develop a documented strategy for their LinkedIn presence. The team analyzes the data to see which posts have been successful, which haven’t, and what’s easiest for the executive to actually do. The findings are compiled into a unique content strategy, including goals and topics, for each person.
All employees are encouraged to engage
Impact doesn’t stop with a LinkedIn strategy for executives — all employees get support for engaging on the platform.
The company’s onboarding packet includes social media guidance on how to update the new employee’s job title, post about the new position, and change the header image. To make it easy, Impact provides a link to custom headers designed by its in-house team.
In orientation, digital campaign manager Marina Lamberti leads a workshop introducing new employees to all kinds of content — Impact's and third parties — they can share on LinkedIn. She shows them why it’s in their best interest and the company's best interest to do so.
Every month, sales employees receive a sales digest from the corporate marketing team. It includes new content, upcoming events, and sample posts.
"Employee content can only go so far without the brand backing up what they have to say, but most folks don't come on social media to be advertised to. Brand and employee accounts should work in tandem to most effectively get our message across,” Emma says.
Bring humanity to your company page
Emma and Tracy’s advice makes sense. Even though it doesn’t have a “face,” a company’s presence on LinkedIn must have a recognizable voice that people want to see and listen to. Though not a person, that voice brings the vital element of humanity to your LinkedIn presence.
By connecting that company voice to the real people — the executives and other employees at the brand — your brand will truly stand out among the millions of companies with robotic-like (or actual robotic) presences.
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