One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, what should I post on LinkedIn? Ultimately, it depends on your goals. This article will provide ideas on what to post for promoting your business or making a career move.
Below I will include what is a post, styles of posts and topics pillars to help you post from a strategic mindset that will align with your goals.
Key takeaways:
- What is a post and the goal of a post on LinkedIn®
- Follow a simple framework for the purpose of a post
- How to create a content marketing strategy for LinkedIn®
- What content styles to choose
What is a post on LinkedIn?
A post can be about anything you want to share with your network. It’s important to understand only a percentage of people who are in your network of connections will see your post.
From the Home page tab on LinkedIn®, you see a blank space that says ‘Start a post’ This is where you share your thoughts with text and you can include add media such as an image or video, document or even create a poll.
What is the goal of a post?
The goal of a post varies but should align with your business or professional goals first. Here are some goals for you to consider:
- Gain more visibility for your company, brand, or products
- Position yourself as an expert in your industry & build trust
- Be a thought-leader in your industry
- Gain exposure for a non-profit and cause
- Career advancement – position your knowledge and skills
- Attract new connections to build your network
Posting is a content marketing strategy
Content marketing along with appropriate engagement is the fastest way to position yourself as an authority and is essential to your LinkedIn success. You can become a reliable source of information within your community to position yourself as a thought leader or demonstrate expertise in your business.
Sharing content also shows people you are relevant, inspiring and genuine with your knowledge. That you care that you are willing to share your knowledge for “free”. It makes you more trustworthy and approachable.
Questions to ask yourself to discover content topics
- What are people in your industry talking & posting about
- What do they want to learn from you? Position your expertise, create posts on:
Interesting industry data – Did you know…
Client stories with pictures
Answer typical client questions in a post
Pictures with your team
Business milestones
For every post ask yourself if you are adding value to the visitor?
Follow a Simple Framework to Build Trust, Visibility & Connection
When choosing a goal and developing your posts, focus on speaking to your ideal audience with relevant content in your post and think about how to build an engaged network. Over time you will learn to develop content that gains visibility and people who will like and comment. The more people engage with your posts, the more your visibility grows.
Choose from these 7 types of content following the purpose of each as shown below.
- People & Personal Stories
Purpose: Build emotional trust and humanize the brand - Thought Leadership
Purpose: Establish credibility and demonstrate leadership - Industry & Financial Insights
Purpose: Educate and empower both individual and business clients - Products & Services (The CSB Way)
Purpose: Highlight the unique, responsive service experience - Community Involvement
Purpose: Show values in action and deepen local connection to your community - Employer Brand & Culture
Purpose: Attract talent, reflect a strong internal culture - Behind the Scenes
Purpose: Build transparency and authenticity
Content Styles for LinkedIn Posts
Create a mix of content styles and topics and measure what your audience responds to through the LinkedIn analytics you will find on your profile. You will be testing, so don’t give up. Consistency is key and will meet your goals if you keep up with it.
Here are the different content styles you can post on LinkedIn:
- Text & single image
- Text only
- Document or also referred to as a carousel post
- Native video (not a YouTube link)
- Polls
- Text & link to an article on another site
Example of post types on LinkedIn
Things to consider when posting:
- From your Personal Profile: Gaining comments in the first 60-90 minutes is KEY. Your post can gain 20% more reach in the feed. YOU want to respond to any comments within the first 8-12 hours – LinkedIn favors interaction in comments and shows your post to more people in the network.
- Include a ‘trigger’ or compelling statement in the first three lines, the goal is to capture the viewers attention immediately and encourage them to click see more… to read your entire post. This could be a in the form of a bold statement or question. See how experts are writing their posts and learn from them.
- You can @tag people in your post to increase engagement but ONLY if it’s in their interest.
- Ideal post/text length is 1200 – 1600 characters
- Consider adding some basic hashtags to the footer text of each post: #industrial #Manufacturing or whatever is key for your topic and industry.
What is long-form content on LinkedIn?
Long form content can be a longer article you write, this is typically used by those whose goal is to develop thought-leadership. This could be opinions on industry trends or observations on your industry.
You would choose the option from the Home page of ‘write an article.’ You can include image to enhance your article, and I also encourage you to include an authors bio at the bottom of the article.
Craft a newsletter on LinkedIn
In today’s competitive digital landscape, standing out on LinkedIn is more important than ever for businesses looking to connect with their audience and build authority. LinkedIn newsletters have emerged as a game-changing tool for achieving just that.
One of the big advantages of newsletters and articles especially those covering specific topics or niche industries, is their strong presence in external search engines.
When you publish a newsletter on LinkedIn, it benefits from three key distribution methods:
- Direct Email to Notify Subscribers: Each newsletter edition is sent to the notifications tab of anyone who has subscribed to your newsletter.
- LinkedIn Newsfeed Post: Every new edition is shared as a post on the LinkedIn newsfeed, broadening your content’s exposure to your network.
- Platform Notifications for Subscribers: Subscribers receive a notification on LinkedIn whenever you release a new edition, keeping them informed and encouraging engagement.
Before starting a newsletter. What is the goal of this newsletter?
- Can I truly add value with a newsletter? (this means it is not a self-promotion tool)
- Can I maintain a consistent schedule that my network can count on?
- How often can I realistically publish? (I recommend bi-monthly)
- Will I be able to maintain this long-term? (if not, best not to start)
- How will your newsletter stand out in your industry? (there is a lot of online noise)
- What will I title my newsletter? (can’t be boring or people won’t subscribe or read)
How often should you post on LinkedIn?
Conclusion
Content is how you get people in the door, build trust and with consistency and engagement overtime they convert to opportunities and sales. So how do you make your LinkedIn content work for you
FAQ's
A post can be about anything you want to share with your network. It’s important to understand only a percentage of people who are in your network of connections will see your post.
The goal of a post varies but should align with your business or professional goals first.
I recommend posting twice a week consistently. Quality is key over quantity.
