Many of us recognise that good writing is an art in itself. And how you write will depend on the medium and the audience. So, whilst most of us may not aspire to be an award-winning novelist, being able to write a good LinkedIn post would be useful for lots of us. This blog will cover why it matters, and how to create an attention-grabbing short form post on LinkedIn.
Why getting your LinkedIn content right matters
As with most of social media and the internet, LinkedIn uses algorithms with a number of criteria to decide which posts should be given more prominence in your audience’s feeds. Therefore, it is essential to craft your content correctly to ensure it to reaches the people you want it to.
Get your LinkedIn content seen
1. Don’t make it too short
You need to write more than five lines in a post so that the “see more” option appears. This is a hard click that tells the LinkedIn algorithm that people find your post interesting even if they don’t like or comment on it. This means LinkedIn will give it greater prominence in other people’s feeds.
As these five lines are all that you see before you click “see more” you need to make these attention-grabbing, so people click.
Plenty of spacing makes your post easier to read on mobile devices.
2. Be authentic
“Be yourself, because everybody else is already taken”
Let your personality shine through in your content. In the modern world of fake advertising and manufactured personalities, people value authenticity. This helps people feel that they can trust you.
You can’t be all things to all people, so just be you.
3. Think about your audience
Generally, people are using LinkedIn to build their reputation and gain new business so ensure your content is focused on what your audience (potential clients) would be interested in and gives you credibility. Try to establish yourself as a thought leader within your own industry. You can still add your personal perspectives by writing from your own experience.
Subjects should be topics that you are interested and therefore can be enthusiastic as well as knowledgeable.
Try to find the sweet spot between what you want to talk about and what your potential clients want to read.
4. Don’t do the “hard sell”
Whilst the purpose of your LinkedIn posts is to get business, be sure to avoid the hard sell. You can include the occasional promotion, but the rest of your content should offer value and interest to you audience. Then, when they are ready to buy, they already trust your and your brand. Nothing turns people off faster than constant selling and nothing else useful.
5. Link to further content
Link to other content, such as your website, so that people can get more information if you have piqued their interest
6. Use hashtags
Hashtags can help people when they are searching for relevant content. When you are deciding on hashtags think of it like keywords and research the types of phrases your potential customers will be searching for or what is currently trending.
7. Include images
Images are good for attracting attention when people are scrolling through their feed, so if you have a relevant image be sure to include in your post.
8. Don’t post for the sake of it or if you have nothing to say
It is important to post regularly, but don’t sacrifice quality over quantity. There’s no point posting every day if you don’t have anything interesting to say. Remember that you are trying to offer something of value to your readers.
9. Encourage a conversation
Ask questions in your posts as this encourages people to interact with the post and respond with comments. If your post receives a lot of interaction, LinkedIn will give it greater prominence and you will get better exposure.
Tag other companies or individuals you mention in your post, as well as ensuring they see it, they will probably like and comment on the post.
Don’t forget that if you don’t have the time or resources to create or manage your LinkedIn Business page we can do this for you so get in contact.
