How to use the free features of LinkedIn to market your business

Why LinkedIn matters more than ever in 2025

LinkedIn has transformed dramatically since 2024, becoming far more than just a professional networking platform. With over 900 million members worldwide and video content increasing by 600% between July and October 2024, LinkedIn now rivals traditional social media platforms for business marketing effectiveness.

The chances are you already know about LinkedIn and have a personal profile for networking and career development. However, most small business owners significantly underutilise LinkedIn's powerful marketing capabilities. LinkedIn data shows that posting weekly leads to a two-times lift in engagement, making it an essential tool for consistent business growth.

This comprehensive guide focuses exclusively on LinkedIn's free features – no paid advertising required. Whether you're a solopreneur, small business owner, or part of a marketing team working with limited budgets, these strategies will help you generate leads, build brand awareness, and establish thought leadership without spending a penny.

Build both your personal and professional brand

Your LinkedIn presence needs two foundations: a compelling personal profile and a professional company page. Think of your personal profile as your professional shop window, whilst your company page represents your business brand.

Creating your LinkedIn company page

Even if you're a freelancer or one-person business, having a separate company page is crucial. LinkedIn company pages often appear alongside your website in Google search results, making them vital for SEO and professional credibility.

Essential elements for your company page:

Professional, high-resolution logo and banner image
Complete company description using relevant keywords
Accurate contact details and website links
Industry classification and company size
Employee connections to the correct company page

Optimising your personal profile

Your headline is arguably the most critical element for LinkedIn SEO. Instead of just your job title, use keywords that highlight your skills and value. For example, rather than "Marketing Manager," try "Digital Marketing Manager | Social Media Strategy | Content SEO | Driving Brand Growth for Small Businesses."

Master video content for maximum engagement

Video content on LinkedIn generates 1.4 times more engagement than other content formats, with weekly video views increasing sixfold in 2024. This represents the biggest shift in LinkedIn's content strategy, making video essential for business success.

Types of video content that work

LinkedIn now favours short-form, engaging video content similar to other social platforms. Focus on:

Behind-the-scenes glimpses of your business
Quick tips and tutorials (30-60 seconds)
Client testimonials and success stories
Industry insights and trend commentary
Team introductions and company culture

Video best practices for 2025

LinkedIn recommends keeping video content concise and engaging, with captions for accessibility. Remember that many users watch videos without sound, so visual storytelling and text overlays are crucial.

Use your LinkedIn page to showcase expertise

LinkedIn's 2025 algorithm prioritises content that demonstrates genuine expertise and provides value to your target audience. The algorithm rewards relevant and meaningful engagement, with posts that encourage thoughtful discussion receiving wider reach.

Content strategy for thought leadership

Start by identifying the most pressing concerns amongst your target market, then create content that offers practical solutions. Your content mix should include:

Original insights based on your experience
Industry trend analysis and predictions
Case studies and success stories
Curated content with your commentary
Interactive polls and questions

Using LinkedIn's enhanced content features

Interactive content like polls performs exceptionally well, allowing businesses to conduct market research whilst building engagement. LinkedIn polls require minimal effort from users, increasing participation rates and algorithm visibility.

LinkedIn has also introduced the ability to sponsor articles, amplifying your long-form content reach with early adopters seeing a 3x higher click-through rate compared to traditional image ads.

Leverage LinkedIn's messaging features

LinkedIn accelerated the rollout of company page messaging in 2024, allowing users to contact brands directly through their company profiles with a blue "Message" button. This creates new opportunities for direct customer engagement.

Company page messaging

The messaging feature transforms your company page into a customer service touchpoint. Page administrators can now view company messages alongside personal inboxes, streamlining communication management.

Personalised connection requests

When sending connection requests, you have 300 characters to make an impression. Always personalise your message and clearly state why you want to connect. Research the person's recent activity or company news to create relevant, engaging opening lines.

Best practices for connection requests:

Reference mutual connections or shared interests
Mention specific content they've shared
Offer something valuable (insights, resources, introductions)
Keep your message concise but personal
Include a clear call-to-action

Strategic networking and lead generation

LinkedIn's advanced search capabilities remain one of its most powerful free features for business development. The platform excels at showing connection paths, making warm introductions possible even in cold outreach scenarios.

Using LinkedIn search for prospecting

LinkedIn's search function allows you to find potential clients by job title, company, industry, and location. Use these filters strategically to identify decision-makers in your target market.

Warm introduction strategies

Before approaching someone directly, check if you have mutual connections who could provide an introduction. LinkedIn clearly shows these relationship paths, making it easier to request introductions from trusted contacts.

When requesting introductions:

Explain why you want to connect with the person
Provide context about your business and value proposition
Offer something valuable to the introduction target
Make it easy for your contact to say yes or no
Follow up appropriately after the introduction

Building your network consistently

Always connect with people immediately after meeting them at events, calls, or conferences. This keeps the interaction fresh and builds your network systematically over time.

Join and engage with LinkedIn groups

LinkedIn groups remain a valuable but underutilised feature for business networking and content distribution. Groups provide access to targeted audiences within your industry or geographic area.

Finding relevant groups

Use LinkedIn's search function to find groups by industry keywords, location, or specific interests. Look for active groups with regular discussions and engaged members.

Group engagement best practices

Success in LinkedIn groups requires genuine participation rather than promotional posting. Focus on:

Sharing valuable insights and answering questions
Commenting thoughtfully on others' posts
Sharing relevant content from your company page
Building relationships with active group members
Following group rules and etiquette

You can share posts from your company page directly into groups, which drives traffic back to your business profile rather than your personal account.

Optimise your content for LinkedIn's 2025 algorithm

LinkedIn's algorithm follows a three-step process: quality filtering, engagement testing, and network relevance ranking. Understanding this process helps you create content that gains maximum visibility.

Algorithm factors for 2025

The LinkedIn algorithm prioritises:

Content that generates meaningful engagement within the first hour
Posts from connections you regularly interact with
Content relevant to your industry and interests
Video content and visual storytelling
Posts that encourage genuine conversation

Content timing and frequency

Generally, the best times to post on LinkedIn are Tuesday morning before 10 am or Thursday evening after 6 pm, though every audience is unique. LinkedIn data shows that posting weekly leads to a two-times lift in engagement.

Hashtag strategy for 2025

LinkedIn's algorithm surfaces posts to hashtag followers, making strategic hashtag use important for discoverability. Use a mix of:

Industry-specific hashtags (#DigitalMarketing, #SmallBusiness)
Branded hashtags for your company
Trending hashtags relevant to your content
Location-based hashtags for local businesses

Track performance with LinkedIn analytics

LinkedIn expanded analytics capabilities in 2024, providing enhanced insights for both individual users and businesses to better measure professional impact. These tools help you understand what content resonates with your audience.

Company page analytics

LinkedIn's free analytics provide insights into:

Page views and visitor demographics
Post performance and engagement rates
Follower growth and audience characteristics
Content reach and impression data
Website clicks and lead generation metrics

Personal profile analytics

Post analytics show impressions, clicks, reactions, comments, and shares, with new metrics in 2025 including profile activity and link engagement providing deeper insights.

Using analytics for content strategy

Review your analytics monthly to identify:

Top-performing content types and topics
Optimal posting times for your audience
Audience demographics and interests
Engagement patterns and trends
Conversion opportunities and lead sources

LinkedIn SEO optimisation for better visibility

LinkedIn functions as a search engine, with LinkedIn pages frequently appearing in Google search results due to the platform's high domain authority. Optimising your LinkedIn presence improves visibility both on LinkedIn and Google.

Profile SEO fundamentals

Key areas for LinkedIn SEO optimisation:

Customise your LinkedIn URL for professional appearance and improved SEO
Include relevant keywords in your headline and summary
Complete all profile sections with keyword-rich descriptions
Use industry-specific terminology naturally throughout
Add skills and endorsements relevant to your business

Company page SEO

Add keywords to the beginning of your company tagline and keyword-optimise your 'About' section to reflect your organisation's values, mission and goals. Google displays up to 156 characters of your page text in search results, so include relevant keywords at the very beginning.

Content SEO strategies

When creating LinkedIn articles, add SEO titles, descriptions, and tags to help other users find your original content. Focus on topics your target audience searches for, using natural keyword integration.

Employee advocacy and team involvement

Employee-shared content gets twice the click-throughs of company posts, making employee advocacy crucial for content amplification. Even small businesses can leverage this strategy effectively.

Encouraging employee participation

LinkedIn allows you to notify employees about new posts to encourage engagement, and you can track employee activity through the activity feed with an "Employee activity" tag.

Employee advocacy best practices

Encourage employees to complete their LinkedIn profiles
Provide guidelines for sharing company content
Create content employees feel proud to share
Recognise and appreciate employee advocacy efforts
Train team members on professional LinkedIn use

Advanced features now free for everyone

LinkedIn removed Creator Mode in March 2024, making all creator tools available to everyone by default. This democratisation of features means all users now have access to advanced content creation and analytics tools.

Newsletter feature

LinkedIn Newsletter allows you to create, share and send newsletters to subscribers regularly, reinforcing your expert positioning. This feature is particularly valuable for thought leadership and maintaining regular contact with your network.

LinkedIn Live streaming

LinkedIn Live enables you to broadcast events, webinars, and conferences live or schedule them in advance, allowing real-time audience engagement. This tool helps establish authority and build deeper connections with your audience.

Follow vs Connect button

The Follow button remains available after Creator Mode's removal, allowing users to build an audience without private connections. This is particularly useful for public-facing profiles that post regularly.

Enhanced analytics access

Analytics tools previously available only to Creator Mode users are now accessible to everyone, allowing all users to track publication performance, audience demographics, and engagement metrics.

Key takeaways for 2025

LinkedIn's evolution in 2024-2025 has created unprecedented opportunities for small businesses to compete effectively with larger organisations. The platform's focus on video content, enhanced messaging capabilities, and democratised creator tools levels the playing field.

Success on LinkedIn requires consistency, authenticity, and value-driven content. Remember that engagement is key in the 2025 LinkedIn landscape – regularly post relevant content, participate in industry discussions, and actively engage with your network.

The strategies outlined in this guide provide a comprehensive foundation for LinkedIn marketing success without requiring paid advertising. Focus on building genuine relationships, providing valuable content, and leveraging LinkedIn's powerful free tools to grow your business presence and generate leads consistently.