TED is on a mission to discover and spread ideas that spark imagination, embrace possibility and catalyze impact. We aim to provide people from around the world with new perspectives and opportunities to grow into the best version of themselves and to bring real change to their workplace, homes and communities. TED’s LinkedIn channel has become a major catalyst for this work, growing into a highly engaged international community focused on professional and personal self-improvement, learning and curiosity. On LinkedIn, our 3 main goals are to:
TED utilizes multiple, distinct strategies to maximize engagement and foster communication in pursuit of these goals. We aim to help our audience dig deeper into the topics that matter most to them — leadership, productivity, health and wellness — and take a broader look at topical conversations, from sustainability to generative AI. Since hiring, applying to jobs and networking can sometimes get exhausting, we also invite our audience to take a “brain break”, whether that means spending some time in awe at the wonders of nature or being surprised and delighted by an innovative new artist.
TED’s LinkedIn channel aspires to encourage people to learn and grow — no matter where they are in their career journey. We curate the best in TED ideas and translate them into formats designed to meet our audience where they are, focusing on real-world advice that they can apply to their lives, share with their colleagues and inspire action in their companies — no matter where they work.
For the past few years, TED has been one of the most followed pages on LinkedIn and is consistently the number one most engaged channel site-wide. The robust conversations in the comments and thoughtful shares to wider professional networks shows us that our audience finds immense value in our content. We often see users not just share to their own LinkedIn profiles, but “tap-in” their colleagues in the comments to discuss how ideas could be implemented in their own place of business.
By engaging with our followers and embracing trending topics on the platform, we craft audience-first programming such as social-optimized cuts of TED Talks. These include more than just business and workplace ideas, but also topics designed to offer busy people a chance to take a break from work and embrace their curiosity. We feature original series like TED’s The Way We Work; curated selections from our award winning TED-Ed animations; interactive polls where our audience can jump-start conversations on topics they care about; unique graphics like quotecards, onesheets and memes that highlight ideas in bite-size snackable formats; and content inspired by our TED Audio Collective podcasts, like Fixable with Anne Morriss and Francis Frei, WorkLife with Adam Grant, After Hours and TED Business.
All of this has created a vibrant community that has inspired partners like Kellogg School of Management and UKG to invest in our channel through our sponsored LinkedIn Live program. Launched in 2021, our LinkedIn Lives bring together experts from across the TED sphere for in-depth conversations on topics such as leadership, creativity, mentorship and more. Our most recent LinkedIn Lives pair experts like former Waze CEO Neha Parikh, Emmy-Award winning designer Marie Schley and Ellevest CEO Sallie Krawcheck with TED hosts like business curator Corey Hajim and organizational psychologist Adam Grant to discuss workplace issues and offer practical, actionable tips to our audience. These conversations were not just well-attended — with participants kicking off each event by shouting out where they’re from, from Tehran to Nairobi to London — but they’re incredibly well-received, with many participants thanking TED, our guests and partners for the wellspring of valuable information and many more asking when they can rewatch these events on-demand. This fall we expect to explore more topics with this format, including women leaders in STEM and the rise of generative AI in business.
TED’s LinkedIn channel offers inspiration and advice to millions of people around the world. In the period of August 2022 - July 2023, 52 videos exceeded 1 million views and countless others kickstarted genuine conversations on diverse topics in business, health, tech and more. We see these conversations ripple out into the real world, with many users taking ideas back to their workplaces, joining our TEDWomen LinkedIn community and in-person events, submitting to share their ideas on the TED stage and participating in climate action.
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We are continuing to invest heavily in LinkedIn because this is an important community that cares deeply about making a difference. By interacting with this community, we see these positive ripples, connections and perspective-shifting conversations happening in real time. TED’s LinkedIn channel is a catalyst for change, offering a safe, encouraging platform where people can discuss how to turn new ideas into action, whether that means becoming a better coworker or being inspired to make a structural change at work, like starting a sustainability initiative.
