AFJ Digital

When business is good, it’s easy to fall into the trap of slacking on your digital marketing. Eventually, this strategy catches up to you when business slows down and you’re having a hard time getting visibility, especially in a competitive industry. You have to rely on algorithms and a dedicated audience to get noticed and remembered, and many business leaders find that the best place to do that on a consistent basis is LinkedIn.

While some find that posting on LinkedIn won’t amount to anything, it’s hard to argue that LinkedIn isn’t valuable when there are over a billion members on the platform with over a quarter of them being Americans. If anything, I’d say that it’s the business equivalent of a watering hole, where leaders gather to share their expertise, promote their business, and build credibility.

Why Post on LinkedIn?

As a business owner that has been on LinkedIn consistently for years, I know how vital it is to post on LinkedIn for myself and my business. Social media is meant for generating awareness and engagement, so it’s not a quick fix to get noticed or generate revenue. But, when you are consistent about posting for the right audience, it can do wonders for you and your business over time. I have seen work for myself and my clients over the years and yet, people still brush off how important it is.

But LinkedIn shared that in the last five years, c-suite professionals have increased on the platform by 35% and CEOs see a 39% increase, on average, in followers when they start posting more frequently. Considering 96% of B2B content marketers use the platform to share content, having a regular presence on LinkedIn has become a necessity for any business to thrive. That requires being active on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Posting Tips and Tricks

Posting on LinkedIn seems intimidating because it feels like everyone is successful and knows what they’re doing, but there are plenty of people out there who are new to trying it, whether it’s just for their personal page or their business page.

It actually doesn’t take much to get started when following these guidelines and best practices.

Write for Your Audience

Think about who you want to write for and write for those people. For me, I write for an audience that likes following my career and wants to learn more about my business. I know most of these people, but not everyone who sees your posts knows you, so always keep that in mind. I also like to give people a glimpse of my life and my interests because it gives them something to connect with me on and it keeps my posts interesting.

For more tips on this topic, check out my previous blog.

Post Frequently and Consistently

You’re probably wondering how often to post on LinkedIn and what’s a good post frequency. Based on my experience and what other industry leaders suggest, aim for 2-3 posts per week. As always, adjust your frequency based on engagement, but this should be the minimum of what you do if you want to see better results. And while timing varies, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays mid to late morning are the optimal post times.

If you think you can post more and stay consistent with it, aim for 3-5 posts per week. This can be a hard amount to keep up with, but if you really want to commit to it, scheduling posts natively on LinkedIn is a lifesaver. To do this, start a draft of a post and instead of clicking the post button, click on the clock icon next to it to schedule it. I use this for my business page and sometimes my personal page, but it’s a great way to save time and avoid paying for a scheduling service.

Vary the Content and Format

Keep things interesting by varying the type of content you post and how you format it.

For posts, aim for personal news, industry news, company news, thought leadership (which gets three times more shares), and sharing posts from others. I also like to add some inspiration to people’s day with quotes every once in a while. And sometimes, you want to have fun with it and join in on a relevant topic like a big astrological event or a vital city bridge reopening after being closed for months. Embrace showcasing your personality and expertise.

When it comes to formatting posts, text posts are great, but you can do more by writing your own article, sharing a video (they get five times more engagement), posting photos, and sharing a poll. There’s a good chance these posts will get more attention because they generate more interaction and make things interesting.

Despite what you might think is true, it’s ok to have fun with what you post and adjust what you put out there based on what appeals to you and drives engagement.

Include a Call to Action

LinkedIn is all about connecting with professionals and businesses, but not every post needs to promote something. If anything, you should avoid doing this too often or you’ll quickly lose engagement, followers, and sometimes connections. This is why post consistency and variety matter. But if you want your post to highlight something, stick to one call to action that’s preferably a link to your website, your business, or the company you work for. 

Tag Strategically

Is tagging a thing on LinkedIn? Yes!

When it’s relevant, tag people and businesses in your posts, especially if your post includes images that they’re in. Their followers will see your post in their feed, expanding your reach and potentially engagement. I’ll admit it’s probably one of the easiest ways to get post engagement and this works well for posts that promote or recap events. Some of the best performing posts are ones where people and businesses are tagged in them, so if you have the opportunity to do it, I highly recommend it.

Aim for Readability

Structure posts so that they are easy to read and keep it to an eighth grade reading level. My favorite way to do this is to write like I talk and then format it to draw more attention through selective use of emojis, new lines between sentences, and a short, yet enticing, initial hook that encourages people to expand the post.

Engage with Posts

Another way to step up your LinkedIn presence is to get in more people’s feeds by engaging with posts through likes, shares, and comments. You get more interaction and interest in your own posts, plus you pop up in people’s feeds more frequently. And while half of LinkedIn users are active monthly, roughly 16% are active daily, so it’s easier to stand out the more frequently you’re on the platform.

What if I don’t like LinkedIn?

If you are one of those people that can’t be bothered by LinkedIn, but feel the need to be on it to help your business, I recommend hiring someone to manage your LinkedIn posts or serve as a ghostwriter. I’ve done this for people in the past and for some, you can do as little as share company blog posts or take it a step further and have someone write an in-depth post that shows your thought leadership.

I do suggest trying to post regularly before hiring out because it’s time well spent if you are in a leadership role at your organization. But if you still want to hire a content marketer, contact me.

All of this sounds tedious, but once you get the hang of it you’ll see how LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for your business development, sales, and marketing efforts.