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Dark social has significant implications for marketers, brands, and creators, as it represents a substantial portion of social traffic, often accounting for the most valuable interactions, such as product purchases and link clicks.  Here’s what you need to know about it.

2023 was a big year for LinkedIn and its top creators. The platform cracked 1 billion users, added and removed several key features (goodbye Carousels), and became a destination for many top creators.

The LinkedIn team must have come away with many lessons as they announced some key pivots within the first month of 2024, most notably making the “Creator Mode” feature the default for every user.

Similarly, many top creators on the platform have taken the time to reflect on their growth in 2023 and create new strategies for 2024. So, I asked them about their plans for LinkedIn in 2024 – and they delivered.

What these top creators did to grow in 2023

LinkedIn is slowly but surely breaking out of its reputation as a mere job-seeking tool, from Gen Z finding it more and more palatable as they age to some users even finding love on the platform. Its top creators have found new ways to blend professional networking and creative expression, leading to a new era for influencers and brands. 

This backdrop set the stage for LinkedIn creators, who, in 2023, leveraged the platform's dynamics – content demand versus supply and engagement strategies –to significantly grow their presence and influence.

Jay Clouse on embracing consistency and attention arbitrage

Even with its billion-user milestone, only about 1 percent of its user base actually creates content. And in 2023, Jay Clouse, founder of Creator Science with 35k+ LinkedIn followers, harnessed this unique dynamic, where the demand for content far outstrips supply.

His approach to filling this gap with high-quality content and top-performing formats like PDF carousels led to remarkable growth. Some of his key strategies:

• Daily engagement: Committed to posting every weekday, fostering regular interaction with his audience.
• Attention arbitrage: Exploited the lower competition for visibility on LinkedIn, ensuring his content reached a wider audience.
• Content repurposing: Efficiently leveraged material from YouTube and newsletters, enhancing audience growth without sacrificing content quality.

Jay’s strategy delivered a 68 percent increase in follower count, demonstrating the power of consistency and strategic content planning.

Qetsiyah Jacobson on fostering community through authentic engagement

Qetsiyah Jacobson, a social media manager at HeyOrca with nearly 6,000 LinkedIn followers and a Top Social Media Marketing Voice badge, was focused on honing in on what makes LinkedIn unique for creators: the opportunity for authentic engagement and the building of a dedicated community.

With a laser focus on sparking genuine conversations, her strategy was simple yet impactful:

• Engagement as a priority: She aimed for her posts to attract views and start conversations, believing the real value lies in the discussion.
• Authenticity in communication: Jacobson stripped back unnecessary filler, opting for directness in her content, which resonated more with her audience.
• Balanced content mix: By blending text posts with occasional visuals, she created a dynamic content strategy that encouraged more interaction.

The outcome of her approach was a stronger, more engaged community around her profile, underlining the effectiveness of prioritizing engagement and authenticity on LinkedIn.

Lindsey Gamble on building a consistent and diversified content strategy

Lindsey Gamble has over 7,000+ followers and is the writer of a creator economy-focused newsletter. His approach to LinkedIn in 2023 was a strategic blend of consistency, content diversification, and community engagement.

Here's a breakdown of his key strategies and outcomes:

• Consistent growth even without virality: Lindsey achieved a notable increase of over 4,900 followers, emphasizing the value of consistent content delivery over chasing viral hits. His posts averaged around 10,000 impressions, showcasing the cumulative power of regular engagement.

• Newsletter integration and repurposing: By introducing his newsletter to LinkedIn, Lindsey not only expanded his subscriber base to over 3,000 but also used the increased visibility to enhance follower engagement. Repurposing newsletter content into short-form posts proved an efficient strategy to maintain consistency, especially for topics of high interest.
• Brand partnerships and speaking opportunities: Lindsey’s strategic content distribution and active community engagement led to brand partnerships, sponsorships, and prestigious speaking engagements, such as at the MIT Platform Strategy Summit.
• Community engagement through comments: Lindsey's practice of engaging with comments on his posts and contributing meaningful insights on others' content helped foster a sense of community and further amplified his reach and influence.

Lara Acosta on prioritizing quality and impactful content

Lara Acosta, a LinkedIn powerhouse with 118,000+ followers, demonstrated the power of quality content on LinkedIn, achieving an impressive 13M impressions. 

Her strategy was simple yet effective: prioritize quality over quantity and deliver value-packed, well-written content. This approach led to significant growth and set a precedent for content creators aiming for substantial growth on the platform. She shared some key strategies for success:

• Consistency and quality: Lara emphasized the importance of consistency in posting, but not at the expense of quality. She posted five times weekly on LinkedIn, ensuring each post was high-quality and value-packed.
• Engagement: Lara also highlighted the importance of engaging with other posts and comments on LinkedIn. This strategy increased her visibility and fostered a sense of community and connection with her audience.
• Content pillars: Lara's content strategy was built around specific content pillars, which helped her maintain focus and consistency in her posts. This approach ensured her content was always relevant and valuable to her audience.
• AI tools: Lara incorporated AI tools into her work, which helped her create more impactful content with less effort. For instance, she used ChatGPT to develop unique content pillars and post ideas.

How these LinkedIn Creators are changing their strategies in 2024

As LinkedIn continues to evolve, positioning itself as a pivotal platform within the creator economy, it's clear that the landscape for professionals who create is expanding. 

With LinkedIn's introduction of enhanced tools for sponsored content, improved analytics, and a suite of features to boost content performance and facilitate brand partnerships, the platform is becoming an increasingly valuable asset for creators. 

These enhancements did not go unnoticed by the creator community, and they’ve developed plans to harness the platform for 2024.

Jay Clouse is doubling down on carousels

Jay Clouse has identified PDF carousels as a key content format and plans to double down on them. His strategy is to prioritize creating and sharing these high-impact visuals, aiming for at least one carousel upload per week. Alongside this, Jay is committed to maintaining a robust presence on the platform by publishing daily content, whether text posts or images.

Jay’s plan aligns with our discovery that PDF carousels are one of the best-performing content types on LinkedIn. The format comes second only to photo and video content, but not by a large margin. 

Qetsiyah Jacobson is enhancing her personal brand with visuals and case studies

In 2024, Qetsiyah plans to grow her personal brand on LinkedIn by incorporating more visuals into her content strategy. She plans to complement her educational posts with more personal and visually appealing elements. 

She also plans to share more case studies to provide tangible evidence of her expertise and the value she can offer to potential freelance clients. These posts are designed to convert inquiries by demonstrating her skills and results through hard numbers and success stories. 

With this strategic shift, she hopes to foster deeper connections with her community and show off her expertise to attract more freelance clients.

Lindsey Gamble is monetizing content

Lindsey is gearing up for an ambitious 2024. His primary focus is to monetize his following and content more effectively, with a keen eye on increasing his followers and newsletter subscribers.

Lindsey's strategy is multifaceted, involving a mix of content types, collaborations, and a strong focus on outbound opportunities.

• Increasing followers and subscribers: Lindsey aims to grow his LinkedIn following to 15,000 and his newsletter subscribers to 10,000. Achieving these numbers will not only expand his reach but also enhance his potential for monetization through sponsored content and newsletters.
• Optimizing for outbound opportunities: While Lindsey has successfully capitalized on inbound opportunities in the past, he plans to proactively create outbound opportunities in 2024. This could involve pitching for speaking engagements, advising roles, or brand partnerships, diversifying his revenue streams.
• Doubling revenue: Lindsey's ultimate goal for 2024 is to double the revenue he generated in 2023 from his LinkedIn presence. This ambitious target underscores his commitment to turning his LinkedIn activities into a significant income source.
• Creating and sharing more visual content: Recognizing the appeal and effectiveness of visual content, Lindsey plans to share more carousels (PDFs) and short-form videos. These formats are visually engaging and make content more digestible, potentially boosting his post impressions and engagement.

While LinkedIn remains a major platform for Lindsey, he is also exploring other platforms like Threads and YouTube. Threads offers a unique opportunity to connect with a different audience, especially creators. On YouTube, Lindsey plans to share clips from podcasts and speaking engagements, offering another avenue for his audience to consume his content.

Lara Acosta plans to diversify platforms

Lara, in a twist from the other creators on this list, is setting her sights on broadening her digital footprint in 2024. While LinkedIn remains her primary platform, Lara is keen to explore integrating newsletters and YouTube into her content strategy.

This move is not just about expansion but about creating a cohesive content ecosystem that leverages the strengths of each platform.

• Expansion into newsletters: Recognizing the value of direct communication with her audience, Lara plans to focus on her newsletter in 2024. This medium will allow for deeper dives into topics of interest, providing value beyond the constraints of LinkedIn's format. It's a strategic move to build a more intimate connection with her followers, offering exclusive insights and updates directly to their inboxes.
• Exploring YouTube for broader reach: YouTube presents an opportunity for Lara to tap into a different content consumption behavior. She can engage with her audience dynamically and personally by creating video content. Check out Lara's YouTube channel.

5 lessons anyone can apply on LinkedIn

The insights and strategies these creators share provide a roadmap for others looking to grow on LinkedIn in 2024. Here are some of the collective lessons from their experiences.

1. Foster community through authentic engagement: Qetsiyah Jacobson focused on sparking genuine conversations and prioritized engagement with her audience. She stripped back unnecessary filler, opting for directness in her content, which resonated more with her audience. Lara Acosta also highlighted the importance of engaging with other LinkedIn posts and comments, attributing her growth pace to this strategy.
2. Build a consistent and diversified content strategy: Jay Clouse’s growth demonstrated the power of consistency. He committed to posting every weekday and exploited the lower competition for visibility on LinkedIn, ensuring his content reached a wider audience. Lindsey Gamble achieved growth through a blend of consistency, content diversification, and community engagement. He integrated his newsletter into LinkedIn, repurposed content, and engaged with comments on his posts. 
3. Plan for platform diversification: Social media shouldn’t be your only platform as a creator. Lara plans to diversify their online presence across multiple platforms like newsletters and YouTube. This strategic diversification will broaden her digital footprint and allow her to engage with a wider audience across different formats.
4. Monetize content and followers: With features like sponsored content labels and improved analytics, there’s no better time to monetize your LinkedIn content. Lindsey Gamble is focusing on monetizing his following and content by increasing followers and subscribers, creating outbound opportunities, and setting ambitious revenue goals.
5. Experiment with content formats: LinkedIn has a variety of content formats, many of which creators still aren’t taking advantage of. Jay Clouse is doubling down on PDF carousels, while Lindsey Gamble plans to share more visual content and short-form videos.

Top LinkedIn creators are successful because they keep an eye on the ebbs and flows of platforms and their audiences. It's important to stay nimble and consistent and to be open to changing strategies as needed.

Bonus: Tamilore Oladipo plans on doubling her followership

I may not be in the LinkedIn big leagues just yet, but I experienced a lot of growth in 2024 and wanted to share my reflections and plans for 2024.

I find that LinkedIn is pretty equal opportunity and fair about who it pushes – the results from the past year on the platform are the biggest sign of this. Most notably, I finally passed 10,000 followers, and my content got over 400,000 impressions. This is despite an infrequent schedule and a fairly wide variety of content themes – including an experiment using AI to publish on LinkedIn for 7 days.

I attribute this pace of growth to one thing: the LinkedIn algorithm and its surprisingly straightforward ability to make a creator explode in follower and engagement volume. I followed many of the same strategies I’ve written about and saw moderate success.

In 2024, I plan to double my growth (a daunting task) by publishing consistently, experimenting with content formats, and engaging with my audience regularly. Keep up with my progress over on LinkedIn or join the Buffer community for updates.

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