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LinkedIn's New Scoring Tool Puts Real Numbers On Engagement

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With more than 300 million users, LinkedIn is one of the fastest-growing social networks. Yet for many people, LinkedIn functions mainly as a digital résumé. The platform has the numbers, but now it’s turning its focus toward user engagement.

Simultaneously, content marketing teams are looking for better methods to track engagement on social media.

The Content Marketing Institute reports that 93% of B2B marketers are using content marketing, but only 42% believe they’re effective at it.  Brands are often unclear about who their audience is, what’s valuable to them, and how to deliver that value consistently.

They’re also tracking data that isn’t actually relevant. “Likes,” clicks, and favorites aren’t indicators of genuine engagement — especially for B2B brands.

The bottom line is that brands still have no idea how to maximize in the content marketing space, but LinkedIn’s new scoring tool can help point them in the right direction.

LinkedIn’s Secret Weapon: Real Engagement Tracking

The new Content Marketing Score is where LinkedIn’s need for user engagement meets content marketers’ need for better metrics. LinkedIn is in a unique position to provide fresh content marketing tools to brands that go deeper than “likes” and followers and offer a more complete picture of potential customers.

Here are just a few things LinkedIn’s new tool will provide to improve brands’ content marketing:

1. A Resource for Tracking Engagement Instead of Impressions

LinkedIn’s content scoring, which measures unique and engaged members, can provide a baseline for trying out different types of content to see what works. Unlike other social networks,  LinkedIn also provides professional demographic data, which allows marketers to hyper-target relevant companies and people.

2. Multiple Ways to Connect on the Same Platform

LinkedIn gives brands a variety of ways to approach users. Content can be published through LinkedIn Groups, company updates, employee posts, Sponsored Updates, and writers’ posts. Content creators now have the ability to test a variety of methods to see which is most effective for them. Having a tool to accurately compare these different approaches is the difference between guessing what works and knowing what works.

3. An Emphasis on Content That Resonates

Content marketers have been moving away from short-term campaigns toward becoming a long-term resource for some time now. LinkedIn’s new tools will only push this trend further. Brand managers will be able to see what types of content their audience finds valuable, instead of only what they’re clicking on. That’s a win for both consumers and brands.

4. Greater Accountability for Publishing

Effective content marketing requires time and focus. Unfortunately, internal publishing schedules never last very long because there always seems to be something more pressing. A tool that measures engagement might be what pushes publishing higher on companies’ priority lists.

5. The Ability to Compare Content to the Competition’s

Having real engagement numbers means brands will be able to compare their content efforts to similar brands’ content. To lead their industry on LinkedIn, brands will have to supply users with meaningful, intentional, and goal-focused content.

Most brands are already aware of LinkedIn’s potential, but the platform is rapidly changing. It’s positioning itself as an essential professional resource — much more than a living résumé. As brands add valuable content, professionals will spend more time on the site, and as LinkedIn’s scoring tool improves, it’s going to continue to push content publishers for genuine engagement.

This data takes the guesswork out of content marketing. When engagement can be measured, content will require a long-term strategy to reach its targeted demographics — and the content provided must be something those audiences find valuable.

John Hall is the CEO of Influence & Co., a company that helps brands build their influence.