We’ve written several posts about LinkedIn marketing tips, ranging from how to build your LinkedIn influence to refreshers on LinkedIn analytics and advertising. But what better way to get the inside scoop on how to maximize one’s marketing efforts on LinkedIn than by speaking with one of LinkedIn’s own marketers?

We connected with Jason Miller, Senior Manager of Content and Social at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, for a meta-marketing discussion about how to expand your reach on the world’s largest professional network.

Read on for Jason’s LinkedIn tips — plus a few great book recommendations!

• What’s your best advice for a content marketer looking to expand their reach on LinkedIn?

Jason Miller: My best advice is this: if you are looking to reach the world’s professionals with your content then LinkedIn should definitely be part of your overall strategy. Start by establishing your presence with a Company Page then start posting updates. It’s going to take some time and effort to build a following and start seeing engagement, but if your content is relevant then you should start to see some momentum.

Then step it up by using Sponsored Updates on some of your top posts. Sponsored Updates allow you to target beyond your initial following and greatly expand the reach of your content while tracking and measuring results.

And don’t forget about SlideShare as well. That can be a very powerful way to share your content or repurpose existing content into interactive visual presentations. I have seen companies repurpose white papers into custom SlideShare decks and get immediate results in terms of views and leads.

• What are some strategies for effective LinkedIn company updates?

Jason Miller: There are only 5 ways you can post an update on LinkedIn: text updates, posting an image, links, videos, and SlideShare. I recommend 3-5 updates a day, with a mix of different types of updates, and try not to talk about your own brand all the time.

Some B2B marketers think that social media is all about lead generation. But when it comes to striking the right marketing mix for the success, it’s critical to combine brand awareness with lead generation.

As a general rule of thumb, I suggest following the 4-1-1 Rule, coined by Tippingpoint Labs and Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute. While it was originally a rule for Twitter, it can be applied to your company’s content marketing strategy using LinkedIn.

Essentially the rule says that for every one self-serving tweet, you should retweet one relevant tweet and most importantly share four pieces of relevant content written by others.

Our mantra at LinkedIn is “relationships matter,” and using Company Pages and Sponsored Updates together with great content is a fantastic way to build relationships with your prospects and customers. Many content curators are getting smart about this and making use of LinkedIn Influencers’ content.

Sharing an update from Richard Branson, for example, is a way to not push your own content all day. It’s all about curating content, taking content and saying, “this is something we think is of value to our audience.”

• What are some underutilized marketing tactics on LinkedIn?

Jason Miller: I think that SlideShare is an underutilized platform, especially in the B2B space. People think about it as a content repository, but it’s much more of an opportunity for visual content thought leadership and lead gen.

As I mentioned previously, marketers who are creating content specifically for SlideShare are driving tremendous engagement. Repurposing content into a self-guided interactive visual experience is easy to do and I believe it should be a part of every content marketer’s strategy.

Groups are another great opportunity. With groups, you get out of them what you put into them.

HubSpot’s Inbound Marketers group is a great example of a successful group that serves as a community for marketers. It’s a place where marketers can get answers to questions and discuss trends and topics in the space.The fact that HubSpot manages the group so well; it can be a tremendous asset for crowdsourcing content and getting quick feedback around ideas and new products.

Kapost’s Content Marketing Academy group is another great example – it was founded less than a year ago, but they’ve already built it into one of the biggest content marketing groups on LinkedIn, averaging 13 comments per discussion.

The key to a well-run group is to have set rules that you enforce, and have someone who moderates the discussions. Groups are a great way to build a dedicated community and foster conversations with your target audience. It’s a very powerful strategy when you can manage a group and curate the conversation.

From a personal standpoint, participating in groups can help build your personal brand and expand your network. I recommend finding 3 quality groups and participating in a meaningful way by adding value to the conversations that are taking place.

• Do LinkedIn’s new analytics tools signify a focus on helping companies produce data-driven content?

Jason Miller: It’s a focus on creating a better content experience through relevance. The Content Marketing Score and Trending Content are two solutions that together help marketers quantify their content marketing efforts on LinkedIn while providing the topics that resonate most with specific audiences on LinkedIn so that marketers can tailor their content for maximum relevance.

We are providing answers to some of the biggest questions that content marketers have such as what type of content should I create, who should I target, and ultimately how well is my content engaging professionals, and how can I improve?

• What’s your favorite marketing book?

Jason Miller: If I had to pick one, I’d say Content Rules by Ann Handley, that’s the one that really got me started. I consider it the bible for content marketers. I also really enjoyed What’s The Future of Business by Brian Solis as it’s a fantastic look at the future of marketing. Jay Baer’s YouTility is also one I recommend as one of the most practical recent marketing books.

BUT, my all-time favorite book and the one that got me to think about content marketing in a completely different way is, Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod. It’s absolutely brilliant and I think every marketer should read and celebrate this one.

If you liked this post, you might like 10 Influencers on the Future of Content Marketing or The Marketing Maven’s Guide to Facebook for more content strategy insights.