LinkedIn has made several interesting changes to its algorithm that favour content with substance. In other words, content based on knowledge, insight and advice.

One opportunity is Thought Leader advertising, where companies can sponsor posts from their employees. Thought Leader advertising is a strong match for companies with qualified specialists. It is also a way of creating sales, without selling directly. It is a trend that LinkedIn is actively supporting. With Thought Leader advertising, both LinkedIn and Thought Leaders have gained a new opportunity:

Thought Leaders want to share their specialist knowledge and build their personal brand as the expert in the room.
LinkedIn wants to make the platform’s content more relevant and informative for users.

A quiet break with clickbait

Perhaps we are seeing a quiet break with clickbait and digital narcissism. About time, too. Where it ends is still too early to say. That is up to the users. The question is: to what extent will companies understand how to use the Thought Leader approach properly, and deliver content that truly helps their audience address the challenges they are facing?Expertise needs to move to the front. Here, LinkedIn and Thought Leaders have a shared cause.

Thought Leader advertising

Thought Leader Ads can be a strong supplement to a standard advertising strategy on LinkedIn. Instead of running traditional ads, companies sponsor content from their own Thought Leaders, key people with insight and expertise. It is an opportunity to use the company’s capabilities to build visibility, engagement and credibility around the brand.

What is new?

In short, companies can benefit from employees’ authenticity to engage and build relationships in an effective way, like what they may already know from LinkedIn Campaign Manager. Companies can sponsor employees’ content and work systematically with different audiences based on the customer journey. At the same time, the company reaches a wider audience by also activating employees’ personal networks.

It all comes down to credibility

The sender is often the most important part of the message, because we interpret content through context. That is why, in many cases, we attribute more credibility to messages from people than to messages from a company’s LinkedIn page. Thought Leader Ads combine personal credibility with paid advertising. For the employee, there is more at stake than branding if they are recognised as a specialist in their field: their professional career, the respect of colleagues, perhaps even a future job. That is also why it is important to understand that the marketing department is not in control here. Expertise is. The specialists get the floor. The Thought Leader approach is about building trust.

At Public, we have developed a model for working with Thought Leader communication, where we build brands on three levels: 

Expertise - Authenticity
Engagement - Agenda
Empathy - Relationship 

Level 1
This is the familiar level, where companies share their knowledge through expert articles, webinars, white papers, guides and similar formats. 

Level 2
This requires more. First and foremost, it requires having something to contribute to a wider context, whether in society, in the industry or in the local community.  Other words for Thought Leadership are opinion-led communication or point-of-view communication. The most effective way to work at this level is to choose a cause, preferably together with others.The Thought Leader approach is well suited to building platforms with partners. The platform is then used to put your cause on the public agenda, and to use agenda-setting communication to create visibility and engagement around the brand. 

Level 3
This is about doing what you say. Being present where your target audience is. Listening, understanding and offering solutions, preferably new solutions to familiar problems.  It is about communicating at eye level and being present and empathetic in relation to customers, employees and other stakeholders. Hard, persistent work that pays off in the long run.  

Thought Leader advertising in practice

In practical terms, Thought Leader advertising works by adding budget to employees’ personal posts. In this way, companies can get the best of both worlds: reach through the commercial layer, and credibility through the personal sender. Read more here.