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The Water Cooler: What Professionals Are Reading on LinkedIn, and What Marketers Can Learn from It

In our new monthly feature, The Water Cooler, we’re sharing what professionals are reading on LinkedIn. Read on, and you’ll find the top 10 articles that LinkedIn members were engaging with on the platform in February, which can give you insight into how you can interact with your target audience on LinkedIn. (You can see the two previous editions of The Water Cooler here and there).

LinkedIn is becoming the digital water cooler of global business, and our more than 610 million members are reading an increasing number of articles on LinkedIn. Sessions on LinkedIn increased by more than 30% year-over-year, and this growth was fueled by record engagement in the feed and content shared across the platform.

In February, the articles attracting the attention of LinkedIn members ran the gamut and showed the broad array of topics that professionals are discussing on LinkedIn. Nabbing a first-class seat is a goal business travelers always have in the back of their minds, so it’s no surprise that “How to Fly First Class for (Almost) Free” held the top spot last month.

As usual, leadership and culture attracted the interest of our members: Articles such as 10 Things Great Leaders Say That Creates Engaged Teams and Employees Are a Company’s Greatest Asset! which discuss taking care of employees are always winners on the platform.

Diversity also tends to engage readers on LinkedIn. For instance, one article in the top 10 explore the power of women in business (This Indore Girl Started Up With Just Rs 3.5 Lakh in 2014. This Year She Will Rake in Rs 100 CR in Revenue)and another alludes women scientists (We’re Not “Women in Science” — We’re Scientists).

Lessons for Marketers: While certain topics tend to perform well — travel advice, diversity, and advice on leadership — it sometimes can be difficult to predict what will perform well on LinkedIn. Case in point, the final post in the Top 10 this month, which sounds a little like a story from The Weekly World News but tells the true tale of a Harvard astrophysicist who believes we recently found strong evidence of intelligent life outside of the planet earth. The story is provocative and worth the read.

Two additional stories meet at the intersection of business and popular culture: Nike is Facing Backlash After Zion Williamson’s Shoe Exploded and Why Burger King Showed Andy Warhol Eating a Burger in Its Super Bowl Commercial. If you as a marketer can link your business to a trend or news in popular culture, you can generate excellent engagement on LinkedIn.

Top 10 Articles LinkedIn Members Engaged With on the Platform in February

  1. How to Fly First Class for (Almost) Free By Christopher Elliott
  2. 10 Things Great Leaders Say That Creates Engaged Teams By Gordon Tredgold
  3. Nike is Facing Backlash After Zion Williamson’s Shoe Exploded By Kate Taylor, Business Insider
  4. Amazon is Reportedly Taking Over One of America’s Most Infamous Dead Shopping Malls By Hayley Peterson, Business Insider
  5. This Indore Girl Started Up With Just Rs 3.5 Lakh in 2014. This Year She Will Rake in Rs 100 CR in Revenue By Athira Nair, YourStory.com
  6. Employees Are a Company’s Greatest Asset! By Brigette Hyacinth
  7. We’re Not “Women in Science” — We’re Scientists By Helen Mets
  8. Why Burger King Showed Andy Warhol Eating a Burger in Its Super Bowl Commercial By Jessica Wohl, AdAge
  9. A Former Google Exec Has Used a Simple Framework Every Time She’s Decided to Switch Jobs for the Last 20 Years By Shana Lebowitz, Business Insider
  10. Harvard’s Top Astronomer Says an Alien Ship May Be Among Us — and He Doesn’t Care What His Colleagues Think (From The Calgary Herald)

For a deeper dive into what content resonates on the LinkedIn platform, look for this blog's regular feature: "Content Insights Quarterly." And to keep pace with the latest trends in digital marketing, subscribe today to the LinkedIn Marketing Blog.