Why LinkedIn Deserves a More Prominent Place in Your Social Media Strategy

Mecklenburg County’s smart approach to engaging audiences and attracting talent through LinkedIn

Lately, I’ve been wondering about Facebook’s utility for local government communications. Yes, it’s still valuable, but it doesn’t seem as impactful as it once was. My FB feed is now a mishmash of ads posing as posts, random videos of animals fighting, and viral golf shots. What’s missing? Consistent updates from the City of Round Rock, Texas — the page I’ve followed, liked, commented on, and shared regularly since I launched it in 2008.

As Facebook continues to evolve, Mecklenburg County, NC, has taken an approach that I think is super smart: they’re making LinkedIn work for them in a way that complements their Facebook content. While LinkedIn is known as a professional networking platform, Mecklenburg County is showing it can also be a powerful tool for local governments to connect with audiences in a meaningful way. Even more, by creating valuable content that showcases their mission and workplace culture, they’re tackling one of the biggest challenges in local government today: attracting and recruiting quality employees.

In this issue, we’ll explore how Mecklenburg County is leveraging its LinkedIn account to tell its story, and why this strategy might just be more effective than Facebook for certain kinds of content.

I referenced the LinkedIn session from Mecklenburg County’s Jameil Weldon in my recap of 3CMA’s annual conference last month. Her session was, in a word, fantastic. Today’s newsletter will share all the LinkedIn goodness and insights that Jameil shared in Arlington. Here’s Jameil and little bit of her professional history that she shared at the conference.

Aligning LinkedIn content with organizational values

LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity for local governments to showcase their organizational values in a professional setting, and Mecklenburg County has mastered this approach. For Mecklenburg, it’s not just about promoting job listings or sharing updates — it’s about reinforcing its mission, vision, and core values in every post. In fact, Jameil said they only post one job listing per month on LinkedIn!

Instead, they focus LinkedIn content to highlight the principles that guide their work, like integrity, accountability, and respect for the community. As Jameil shared, this focus on values doesn’t just shape their internal culture; it also shapes how they communicate externally, helping residents see not only what Mecklenburg County does but also why they do it.

“This is really what guides our work,” she said. “It doesn’t just guide our work as the county and the people who work in the county, it also guides our work on social media.”