5,000 LinkedIn followers – what does this mean for the British Chamber?

26th January 2021
Chamber News

‘How do you think we should improve the British Chamber’s social media presence’?

I got asked this question during my job interview with the British Chamber of Commerce in China 27 months ago. I pointed out the lack of brand awareness on LinkedIn.

24 months into my role as Marketing Manager I witnessed the growth of our LinkedIn followers from 1,000 in August 2019; 2,000 in December 2019; 3,000 in April 2020; 4,000 in August 2020 and over the past weekend we have exceeded 5,000 followers. Each increase doesn’t just represent a new member in our UK-China business network, but also a new endorsement for the work that the British Chamber does.

When the Chamber went through a re-brand two years ago we considered LinkedIn as a good-to-have. Now it is a ‘must’. LinkedIn has been an integral part of our marcomms strategy since. Being one of the platforms that are easily accessible both in China and the rest of the world, we are able to engage and create conversations between businesses, thought leaders and decision-makers worldwide. LinkedIn has allowed us the opportunity to advocate for our members here in market, and strengthen our core mission as the voice of British business in China.

LinkedIn has widened our UK-China business network, this has only encouraged us to create better and more relevant content for our audience. In 2020, our average engagement rate was 14.99%. Through every carefully crafted thought-leadership piece, policy insights, event poster, forum infographic and personal reflection, we are driving increased engagement from the LinkedIn community and building up the British Chamber brand. A clear indication is the number of job applications we’ve received from top talents and young professionals from all over the world who later became a part of our team.

Here are a couple of personal takeaways from managing our Chamber LinkedIn:

Tagging helps (obvious but true!). Encourage the network around you to amplify your work and messaging.
Recognise your team. Every team member is your brand ambassador. Each milestone is a team effort.
Don’t be lazy, turn everything LinkedIn-friendly. Every slight adjustment in your infographic and photo pixels matter!
Utilise LinkedIn analytics. Find out what your audience like to see and share; compare your performance to other similar organisations and set your next goal.
Personalisation. As formal as your company news might be, your audience would often appreciate stories with some personal touch!

The Chamber’s 5,000 followers mark may not mean a lot to the other 30 million LinkedIn business accounts out there, but it is a true achievement for a small team of 6 working away in a small Beijing office. Thank you for all the 5,000 followers, for being a part of the British Chamber’s growth and achievements, and for motivating us to drive better and more creative content on the platform. Now hopefully it won’t take another 24 months until we celebrate the next ‘5,000’ milestone with you!