A rising roster of manufacturers has begun to experiment with influencer advertising on LinkedIn, which is a small however fast-growing choice for corporations seeking to attain knowledgeable viewers.
One such model is workspace and undertaking administration device Notion, whose crew started incorporating LinkedIn into their influencer advertising technique practically three years in the past as a part of a push into B2B advertising. In January, Notion made an affect on LinkedIn with ‘Notion Faces’, a multi-platform influencer advertising marketing campaign that unfold consciousness and included light-hearted work-related humour – even that includes an look from Snoop Dogg within the model’s first celeb partnership.
We spoke to Notion about their advertising efforts on LinkedIn and the right way to convey enjoyable into B2B advertising; how different manufacturers can take their first steps on the platform; and the way Notion’s engagement with its wider fan neighborhood has influenced its advertising.
How LinkedIn helped Notion “make a splash” with Faces
As a productiveness platform, the brand new 12 months is historically an enormous time for Notion: the crew will typically launch a serious advertising marketing campaign in January. “Individuals are [often] on the lookout for new instruments or have new targets that they’re making an attempt to hit,” mentioned Danielle Ito, Influencer Advertising Lead at Notion..
“I believe social media can also be slightly bit extra quiet at the moment of the 12 months, so [a marketing campaign] can actually break by way of the noise.”
Launching their new Notion Faces characteristic in January – a device that lets customers create a customized portrait much like the hand-drawn avatars sported by Notion’s workers crew – the crew got down to “make a splash” on LinkedIn with 60 creators going stay on the similar time. Greater than 50 creators additionally went stay throughout YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, with influencers based mostly throughout Asia, Europe and North America, protecting a big selection of timezones.
Ito defined that Notion briefed every creator but additionally gave them leeway to resolve the right way to submit in regards to the device. “Everybody took it slightly in a different way – a few of the extra skilled creators had been giving gross sales tips about the right way to land new purchasers within the new 12 months; some had been turning their Notion Face right into a meme. There was a wide range of content material – which I believe helped us hit so many alternative areas of the web on LinkedIn.”
Famously, one of many influencers Notion labored with for the marketing campaign was musician and leisure business mogul Snoop Dogg, who wrote, “Shoutout to Notion for the clear new profile pic … [T]hey received me proper with all of the totally different customisations and options match for tha Dogg.”
“I believe [that] additionally actually helped add to the thrill – I had so many individuals say, ‘Did Snoop Dogg get on LinkedIn to submit about this?’” Ito laughed. “No, he had an current account!”
The marketing campaign efficiently dominated LinkedIn feeds and created what Ito known as a “FOMO impact” that made increasingly more customers need to take part, leading to UGC and free extra publicity for Notion Faces. Ito mirrored, “It was very enjoyable – one thing that was just a bit foolish and never one thing that most individuals would submit about on LinkedIn naturally.”
Storytelling and beginning a dialog on LinkedIn
As LinkedIn has grown as a social community, it has shaken off the inflexible associations with work updates and job listings (though these are nonetheless a staple a part of LinkedIn content material), and this additionally provides companies on LinkedIn extra room to be artistic and light-hearted with their advertising. However, many B2B entrepreneurs battle to think about how they’ll current their enterprise in an fascinating method.
“I all the time inform different B2B entrepreneurs – ‘Strive to not be so severe about it,’” mentioned Ito. “On the finish of the day, I don’t suppose numerous choice makers at any firm are flocking to LinkedIn for product suggestions. I believe it’s extra of the dialog across the merchandise that basically brings the worth.
“…I believe numerous B2B entrepreneurs really feel like they must be giving ‘these sure product options’ or ‘you’ll save X period of time in the event you use my product’ … However there’s a lot different worth round your product.
“What are your tales? [Draw from your] expertise on the way you’re truly utilizing a product and lead with that first. … On the finish of the day, on social media, [people] need to join with different folks.”
On the finish of the day, I don’t suppose numerous choice makers … are flocking to LinkedIn for product suggestions. I believe it’s extra of the dialog across the merchandise that basically brings the worth.
One other piece of recommendation Ito has for companies taking their first steps on LinkedIn is to grasp what conversations are happening round your product or model and cater to what persons are looking for. “Do some social listening,” she beneficial.
“See how persons are interacting with you on social – what are they commenting? What are they asking for? Ask individuals who work in your CX crew or your buyer success crew what persons are asking for – as a way to present content material round these areas of want.
“Folks will log on first to search for assist as an alternative of reaching out to somebody. So, I believe it’s actually essential to take heed to how persons are already speaking about your model and use that to assist information what the content material ought to appear like.”
Tapping into the Notion neighborhood
Notion’s influencer programme, the truth is, grew organically from content material that avid customers had been already posting to social media – displaying off their ‘Notion aesthetics’.
“We had been going viral on TikTok – and the crew on the time realised, ‘Oh, we should always strive working with a few of these folks in a paid capability to speak about Notion,’” mentioned Ito. “…So, I do suppose as a result of we had that baseline consciousness, we simply type of leaned into that – and that’s actually been on the root of our programme, as a result of we all know what folks prefer to eat by way of Notion.”
Notion affords formal assist to its lovers within the type of communities like Notion Ambassadors, who’re volunteers organising sources and occasions on the native degree; Champions, who use Notion inside enterprises; and its Campus Chief programme, which inspires using Notion at universities. Many of those Notion followers will make user-generated content material to unfold their love for the platform, and though Notion’s neighborhood outreach is separate to its influencer advertising programme, Ito shared that they do overlap in a complimentary method.
“We’re very lucky that now we have … numerous evangelists everywhere in the globe who love Notion. I supply numerous the influencers that I work with by way of these people who find themselves already speaking about us – I discover that there are much more creators that I didn’t even know use Notion that I simply meet by way of dialog.”
Conversations with Notion’s neighborhood members and creators have additionally helped form Notion’s advertising by providing an perception into what customers discover difficult and what they want.
“We need to be certain that we’re giving [people] worth and sources … truly educating them the right way to set [Notion] up,” mentioned Ito. “…That’s been nice suggestions that I’ve gotten from speaking to creators or simply Notion customers on the whole: they see all this wonderful influencer, creator content material, and it’s stunning, it’s aesthetic – however after they see Notion, it’s a clean web page after they begin, and so they get scared; and so they give up the app.
“So, a part of my programme is the back-to-basics stuff on the right way to truly construct inside Notion … so that you simply don’t get caught with that intimidation on the very starting.”
How Notion measures influencer advertising success
Broadly talking, influencer advertising is a top-of-funnel consciousness channel for Notion, though Ito famous that “over time, it does transfer down the funnel as properly”. Key metrics for fulfillment with influencer content material embrace impressions, attain, and engagement with the posts themselves in addition to monitoring how a lot internet site visitors outcomes from every one.
“What number of truly-engaged persons are interacting with the content material? I believe that’s an amazing indicator,” mentioned Ito. Lots of Notion’s campaigns particularly promote templates that may be downloaded to be used with Notion, and in these cases, template downloads are an essential success metric.
Generally the indicators of success don’t must be tied to a selected marketing campaign. When Notion goes stay with a bigger creator, Ito mentioned, “I’m a robust believer in how all ships are rising on the similar time … I’ll all the time join with our crew to take a look at how natural search is growing; if we received a lift in complete mentions on social media as properly. the whole lot holistically is essential.”
One other aim is harder to quantify, however key to broadening Notion’s enchantment: “My complete aim is to get as many use circumstances about Notion on the market as doable [with influencer marketing],” mentioned Ito.
“A variety of productiveness lovers already find out about Notion … I need to be certain that we’re placing these enjoyable, distinctive use circumstances on the market, since you may not have a necessity for Notion proper now, however in a while, you’ll.
“Proper now, I’m planning a bachelorette occasion in Notion … I work with creators who’re remodelling their properties, and that’s one other life expertise [where] persons are on the lookout for instruments to handle these initiatives.”
A few of these use circumstances problem typical concepts of how a undertaking administration device could be used: Ito revealed that she works with creators who use Notion to plan Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, and is worked up in regards to the thought of connecting with different passionate hobbyist communities, reminiscent of chess gamers.
“I actually need to faucet into the chess market – as a result of folks love chess, and the neighborhood is so robust and so massive. So, how are you going to monitor your chess strikes in Notion, for instance?” she mentioned.
Notion’s crew are persevering with their concentrate on connecting with skilled audiences, to which LinkedIn is essential: Ito shared that Notion’s LinkedIn finances has elevated year-over-year since their first assessments of the platform virtually three years in the past.
She sees parallels between the current state of LinkedIn and the early, explosive progress of TikTok in 2020. “The benefit of reaching new audiences is sort of achievable on LinkedIn proper now,” Ito noticed. “There’s new creators, and new audiences, which are popping up each single day.”
