I can’t tell you how many times I am asked the question – how much content should I post on LinkedIn? And how often should I post?
Let me just say that just because you want to post 3 or 4 times a day doesn’t mean you should.
Simply put: post what you feel passionate about and what you enjoy writing about. If you care about it, others will, too.
And remember the golden rule - quality over quantity.
If you are posting content just to post something, you’re better off holding off until it's something good because it can potentially backfire on you and turn people off. Not to mention, if you're producing content yourself and you don't have a team running your content, you can very easily burn yourself out trying to keep up with the content Joneses.
Now, not everything you post, even if you believe it’s tremendously valuable, is going to resonate with your viewers. There is no magic formula to what gets more views than another. But what you want to remember is that what you post reflects you and your brand or your employer.
So a good rule of thumb is - don’t post if it’s crap! Wait until you’ve got something you care about and want to share with your audience because it matters to you.
And when I say don’t post crap, what I mean is - don’t post things like:
“Just another day at the office”
or...
“Hey, what’s everyone working on today?”
Those are just posts to post something. They have no strategy or provide value to anyone.
And having a content strategy in place is key, because you want to be consistent but not overbearing, and you don’t want to go weeks or months without posting. So having a plan in place for the types of content you will create along with a timeline for posting is always beneficial.
LinkedIn has helped content creators with the release of Creator Mode.
Creator Mode gives content creators the ability to grow their audience by extending the reach for discoverability. When people view your profile, they no longer have to feel the "pressure" of having to connect with you, but can choose to follow you instead. And adding #hashtags to your profile will help grow your audience in a more targeted way because they represent the key topics they can expect from your content.
Now, I’m going to share my favorite go-to’s for posting content on LinkedIn. But before I do, let me just share this with you - the best content you can put out there is content your audience will want to engage with and share. It is the stuff that will help them, not you. So, here we go …
Conversation is King on LinkedIn
Put yourself out there and have a conversation with your audience. By doing that you open the gate for them to ask questions and make comments. When they do that, it gives you even more content ideas because they are giving you what’s important to them. You can then create relevant content that they are interested in or that addresses their problems or needs.
Here's an example from my personal experience:
I recently did this in a trending post from a hashtag I follow where they were talking about what you’re looking for when you look at the “headline” of a LinkedIn profile. And it just so happened that I had published an entire podcast episode on writing headlines that grab attention - so I shared it as a way for people who followed that post to get the info they were looking for.
That served two purposes – for one, it addressed their need or problem – and it also drove traffic to my podcast. The key is to keep it relevant and offer opinions or solutions that address the topic.
Share Industry Specific Content
And make sure you give your opinion on it. Don’t just share it, talk about it. Explain what you thought about it, ask your audience questions. Again, turn a shared post into a conversation. When you share industry specific content, it helps to establish you as a leader in your field, or even an expert. It shows that you keep up with current trends and information and that you are able to apply it.
Tell Stories
Put on your storytelling hat. You can do this with just text, or you create images to go with the text. You can also create short video, which can help with brand storytelling, video testimonials, business announcements or events, behind the scenes of how things are made, case studies, intros … all sorts of cool things can happen with video. But the key here is that you want to be relatable.
Show your human side.
People trust people, not businesses.
Storytelling is so powerful.
Think about major events throughout history - The right story can inspire an entire nations to take action. People cannot ignore a compelling story. Our brains are literally hard-wired for it. So tell great stories that people can empathize with or relate to. They can be stories of triumph or failure, or you can open up and get personal about something related to your business or your journey to get where you are today.
I love Shark Tank, I’m a huge fan. And if you notice, every entrepreneur out there has a story. And sometimes its their story that lands them a deal because a story can create instant connection between two people.
I’ll just say this and then I’ll move on - Don’t underestimate how storytelling can help you connect with people on LinkedIn.
Conduct Polls
LinkedIn Polls seemingly do very well with views and engagement. They are a great way to engage with your audience and gain specific insights that can help you better understand their motivations, desires, challenges, and personality traits. Polls can really help you measure and plan your next move.
I highly recommend polls but strongly suggest that you make them worth your while. Meaning, DO something with the information you acquire.
For instance - you can create content or offer a solution based on the info you gather from the results. I had used a poll to find out what holds people back from producing video content and put together a workshop based on the results. I identified their problem, and worked on providing a solution.
In a way, polls give you great insights into your audience's need and the ability to react to it.
LinkedIn Articles (aka newsletters)
Newsletters keep audiences engaged when they focus on a specific topic and are published on a consistent basis. LinkedIn has made that effort easier for content creators who have turned on Creator Mode by giving members the option to subscribe. When subscribed, members receive a notification when a new piece has been published.
My suggestion: keep them informative and on-brand so that you can grow your audience with value.
Three of my favorite things about this tool on LinkedIn:
Newsletters are sharable
They build an accessible content library
They can be recycled into smaller pieces of bite-sized content or status updates
Statistical Content
You can create some really cool branded infographics that give statistics a really interesting visual edge to information they can read quickly. Just make sure you have an engaging headline to go with it because headlines give people a reason to engage.
How To's and Tips
That’s essentially what the internet is for - its a research tool to find and learn things. People are constantly seeking knowledge that can help them. You can create articles on this premise.
Engage in Groups
Groups are a great way to niche down your audience and create content that is specific for each group you are part of. When you are a member of a group you can easily start conversations with like-minded people, which will lead to connections. Or, you can find groups that are specific of your ideal client and post content that would attract them to your service or product.
Now, before you go crazy making a list of all the things you’re going to post on LinkedIn, I want you to think about something first. There is an ecosystem to social media. It’s what keeps platforms growing. And it’s made up of three groups. I want you to identify which of these groups you fall into:
You have Lurkers, who lurk through the platform, scrolling the feed without really doing much.
There are Contributors, who actively contribute in one way or another. They may like and share content and occasionally comment on posts.
And then there are the Creators. Creators are actively creating and writing new content. They tend to have a large number of followers and are recognized as industry leaders.
I’m pretty sure majority of you will fall into either the Lurkers or the Contributors. But in order to stand out, you need to be a creator. With some testing and strategy, you will be able to determine what forms of content resonate best with your unique audience.
To your success,
Janine Hogan
Struggling with writing your content or optimizing your LinkedIn profile? Book a consultation to get help.
