‘Minnow’ named as most influential Australian brand on LinkedIn, ahead of major blue chip companies

An Adelaide-based ‘minnow’ – Australian Institute of Business – has headed off a bevy of major blue chip companies to be named 2015’s most influential Australian brand on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn today listed the top 10 most influential brands among members in Australia:

1. Australian Institute of Business (AIB)
2. Telstra
3. Commonwealth Bank
4. ANZ
5. National Australia Bank
6. Deloitte Australia
7. CPA Australia
8. Qantas
9. Optus
10. Westpac

The LinkedIn ranking, which is based on the platform’s Content Marketing Score is calculated by measuring a brand’s unique engagement and dividing it by a brand’s audience.

AIB blog and social media

According to AIB’s LinkedIn Company Page, the institute employs between 51-200 people and is a “global business higher education group offering business undergraduate, postgraduate and research qualifications”.

AIB updates its blog on average two to three times per day, although many of the posts are curated and link to original articles on the likes of Fast Company, Entrepreneur and Forbes.

Original content (plus a sprinkling of curated content) is distributed via the institute’s LinkedIn page, testament to the fact useful/interesting/relevant content fuels engagement on the LinkedIn platform.

AIB also has an active Facebook page boasting over 100,000 likes, while its Twitter account, with 489 followers at time of writing, is mainly a broadcast channel with little interaction. By comparison, its LinkedIn Page has a healthy 20,000+ followers.

Microsoft tops global list

Globally, the top brands on LinkedIn include Microsoft, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, IBM, Inc. Magazine, HP, Google, Salesforce, business management platform, Domo and EY, the professional services organisation (see infographic below).

The global list, you’d have to say, is a real mixed bag dominated by tech and media brands, while the Australian list – apart from AIB – is dominated by the banks and telcos, an indication they are acting more like publishers these days, using content to engage with their audiences.

According to a LinkedIn press release, the company has used its data to identify the behaviours and activity that boost content engagement.

“The most effective brands use a mix of reach, frequency and engagement to boost engagement on LinkedIn. In addition, they are encouraging their employees to act like influencers and boost the reach and engagement of their content by sharing it with their contacts,” the press release reads.

• 99% of the top global brands have employees sharing their content to their networks
• 97% of the top global brands have employee posts contributing to their content efforts
• 99% of top brands regularly share updates on their LinkedIn Company Page
• 73% of top brands are utilising Sponsored Updates
• All of these top brands post an average of 12.6 updates per week

LinkedIn also provided insight into the content topics that resonated most with audiences on the platform: 

• Current affairs and financial news top the list, with professional development, leadership and productivity in second.
• Company and industry trends meanwhile are placed third.
• Analysing the industry in question and creating an engaging content calendar is key to creating material that will be effective in catching the attention of audiences.

Commenting on the top ten list, Matt Tindale, Director, Marketing Solutions, LinkedIn ANZ, said, “Today’s professionals are consuming diverse forms of content. The brands achieving cut-through are developing high-quality content that is personalised to their audience’s interest areas and are humanising it by getting their employees to amplify it through their networks. Brands that get content, context and relevance right at scale are winning.”