Month: October 2018

We all try to keep our LinkedIn feeds up to date don’t we? We try to log in frequently to check-in to the oldest ‘big’ social network out there but let’s face it, for many of us it’s never our most used app or website. Well, this blog might change all that.

In October, LinkedIn announced BIG changes to their feed algorithm meaning not only will we be seeing some fairly different content when we log in, but we’ll notice our personal content getting a lot more attention.

What’s the update?

Let’s set the scene: LinkedIn has over 567m members who post more than a million posts, videos and articles each day. The thing is, it was the content from a select few (the most followed 1%) that dominated the LinkedIn feed meaning that lowly users like me (and probably you) didn’t get much of a chance of our posts appearing on feeds, let alone get engagement.

LinkedIn followed the common rule in social networks – the more engagement a post gets, the more likely it will appear in feeds, which means that key influencers like Bill Gates and Richard Branson, who have a lot of followers, get more engagement, and therefore appear in more feeds – which gives them more engagement, which gets them in more feeds and…well, you get the picture.

What those clever folk behind LinkedIn have decided to do is look at who is posting that content and evaluate how much a like, comment or share would mean to the author.

Following me so far? Ok – to use the examples that the social network have used themselves:

Source: LinkedIn

Why does this matter?

LinkedIn started as, and remains to be, a social network focused on individuals (professionals) connecting with each other; rather than organisations talking to their audience. Indeed, here at DTW, we champion individuals using LinkedIn over organisations – as seen in the employee advocacy work we do with our clients. It is this personal level that LinkedIn are bringing with this new change.

Therefore, if you are looking to spread your organisation’s message on LinkedIn, now is the time to do it from your personal profile, rather than your company’s.

What should communicators do?

1. When you’re posting content on social media, what is the main objective? It’s for your audience to read it, and engage with it. From DTW’s perspective, it doesn’t matter if that reach comes in the form of a company post, or an employee’s post, as long as that content is being read and engaged with.
2. Therefore, if you use LinkedIn as a platform for your communications, now is the time to think about enabling your employees to share that content in their own feeds and networks, as well as sharing it on your company page too.
3. It’s important to encourage employees to share your organisation’s updates and content on their own channels. This might be in the form of internal communications like an intranet or companywide email – either way, let them know the content is there. As part of this, encourage engagement on other posts that they see in their feed too.
4. This personal-level of sharing might be trickier to monitor as engagement on personal posts won’t appear in your company’s LinkedIn analytics. For us, it’s not too important (we all chat to each other about our posts), but if tracking ROI is a key objective for your organisation, there are employee advocacy tools out there that can help; like Smarp or Sprout Social’s Bambu.
5. We’ve helped clients build confidence amongst their employees to post on their company’s behalf, and using an employee advocacy tool, it can be easier for everyone to share content. With this new algorithm update, it’s a great opportunity to get engagement and recognition for it.

We’re really excited about this LinkedIn update – it’s a step forward to bringing social media back to being social.

Thanks for reading!

Jess

What are the golden rules for managing social media in a crisis? Our MD Chris Taylor takes a look at how the UK public sector is leading the way and picks out his five top tips for using social media in a crisis.  This article first appeared in ESPO’s Spotlight magazine. 

If you work in the public sector, one thing you can guarantee is that ‘stuff happens’ (other words are available).

Another certainty is that when it happens, there’ll be a whole load of people queueing up only too ready to put the boot in and give the local council, NHS trust or emergency services a good kicking and a heavy dollop of blame.

It was ever thus, and always will be. Today though, we have the added joy and immediacy of social media. So where do you start when it comes to managing social media in a crisis?

Five golden rules

Here’s our five golden rules for engaging with your communities on social media when that ‘stuff’ hits the fan.

• Plan in advance– if you’re stepping blinking into the sunlight without a pre-prepared and tested plan of what to do in a crisis then you’ve already lost. Think about involving your stakeholders and building and solidifying your key partnerships offline so you can all respond effectively and consistently online. You should also think about the channels that you will be publishing information on and who your audience is on each of these – carrying out an audit of your social media and keeping a handle on analytics on an ongoing basis is a good way of doing this.
• Be accurate– when it comes to reputation, being right is more important than being fast (though that helps too). Rushing to publish before you are sure of the facts or guidance won’t just make you look foolish – it can actually make a real crisis situation much worse if you give out the wrong information or guidance. A steady hand is needed on the ‘publish’ button. It’s also critical to be proactive in identifying sources of inaccurate information and responding appropriately to avoid miscommunication and confusion.
• Take ownership– if it’s your crisis, then you need to position your organisation as the key source of information – please follow us and share latest updates as we have them – the police in particular do a great job at this – but it’s a lesson we can all learn. It doesn’t mean you have to respond to every question – you can say we’re posting updates as and when we can confirm new information– it is a crisis after all. But do make sure the person heading up your communications is at the top table and informed at all times so the updates you do give out are accurate and consistent, and whoever is publishing that information follows an approvals protocol.
• Be authentic– don’t just live in a social media echo chamber. What you do and say on social media needs to link with your actions in the real world – it’s no good just saying you care for example – you need to do something that shows you care (and video and share it so the world can see you mean it).
• Be practical– think about what you’d like people to do and ask them (politely) to do it – people love to share and if your messages are simple and succinct (which they will be) you’ll find your online communities will be a massive help in spreading the word.

Remember, there is a silver lining. If you’re dealing with a major crisis or a challenging situation then you can guarantee your audience and community will have grown, which will give you greater reach and potentially greater influence when the smoother waters return.

DTW is an ESPO accredited supplier under Lot 9b of the 664 Consultancy Services Framework.

Chris is a Chartered PR Practitioner and a member of the national Council of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). He has provided community engagement and PR support to transport projects like Mersey Gateway, Northern Spire and numerous energy-from-waste and other treatment facilities.