A LinkedIn super user is someone who is very active and influential on the LinkedIn platform. They have large networks, are prolific content creators, and are thought leaders in their respective industries. Becoming a LinkedIn super user takes time, effort and strategy, but the payoff can be immense in terms of building your personal brand, establishing connections, and driving business opportunities.
What are the characteristics of a LinkedIn super user?
Here are some of the key characteristics and habits of LinkedIn super users:
Large network of connections
Super users tend to have networks of thousands of connections, rather than the few hundred connections most users have. This gives them access to a huge audience for their content and profile. Building up your connections takes work – sending personalized invites, participating in groups, and providing value to your network.
Active engagement
Super users are constantly active on LinkedIn. They comment on posts, like and share content, and post status updates. This keeps them top of mind in their network’s feeds. It also helps increase their visibility and spread their content further.
Frequent posting
Prolific posting is essential for super users. They may post long-form articles multiple times per week, as well as daily status updates. This constant stream of content helps them build authority and trust in their niche. Posting valuable insights also attracts more profile views and connections.
Thought leadership
Super users position themselves as thought leaders in their industry through insightful content. They share ideas, trends, tips, and opinions that provide unique value. This helps them build their personal brand and makes them stand out from the crowd.
Content optimization
To maximize the impact of their content, super users carefully craft attention-grabbing headlines and preview text. They also include relevant keywords to come up in more searches. Images, videos, and links are used to make posts more engaging and shareable.
Engagement with comments
When super users post content, they don’t just promote it and move on. They actively respond to any comments and questions, further driving up engagement. This also helps build relationships with their audience.
Use of apps
Super users typically use third-party apps to save time, automate tasks, and gain insights. Examples include content scheduling apps, influencer ranking tools, lead generation apps, and analytics services.
Promotion outside LinkedIn
The activity of super users isn’t limited to LinkedIn itself. They also promote their LinkedIn content and profile on other social platforms, websites, email newsletters, and real world interactions.
Participation in LinkedIn groups
Groups are an opportunity to connect with niche professional communities. Super users often join and actively participate in multiple relevant groups to extend their reach and provide value.
Leveraging LinkedIn ad tools
Many super users take advantage of LinkedIn’s advertising tools to further amplify content, target specific audiences beyond their network, and generate leads. Sponsored posts, Sponsored InMail, and other options help achieve specific goals.
Consistency over years
Becoming an influential super user doesn’t happen overnight. It takes consistent time and effort over months or years to build up a powerful presence and authority on the platform.
What are the benefits of being a LinkedIn super user?
If you put in the work to become a LinkedIn super user, what do you get out of it? Here are some of the top benefits:
Boosted personal brand
By actively sharing valuable insights and engaging with your network, you can establish yourself as an authority in your niche. This builds your reputation and visibility.
Increased lead generation
The expanded reach and audience a super user gains can drive more leads for their business compared to standard profiles. You have access to more potential customers.
Thought leadership platform
LinkedIn provides the perfect platform for showcasing thought leadership. As a super user, you can build your status as an industry expert.
Speeches and consulting opportunities
A powerful LinkedIn presence can lead to real world opportunities. Super users may be offered speaking engagements, consulting gigs, book deals and media appearances.
Business partnerships
The relationships and network strength super users gain on LinkedIn can lead to partnerships, affiliates, joint ventures, and other business connections.
Career advancement
For professionals, becoming a super user can boost their personal brand and network enough to unlock new job opportunities, promotions, and career shifts.
Spread of content
The viral nature of LinkedIn means a post can spread far beyond your direct connections when optimized right. This massively amplifies the reach of a super user’s content.
Influencer status
The most active super users may gain official LinkedIn influencer status, which provides a range of perks and further visibility boost.
Type of user | Connections | Posts per week | Profile views per post |
---|---|---|---|
Average user | 200 | 0 | 100 |
Moderately active user | 500 | 1 | 300 |
Super user | 5,000 | 5+ | 5,000+ |
How to become a LinkedIn super user
If you want to boost your LinkedIn presence and become a super user, here are some tips:
Craft an optimized profile
Your LinkedIn profile is your foundation. Make sure yours is complete, detailed, and optimized with strong keywords. Include media like video intros. Profiles with more info rank higher in searches.
Network continuously
Build your network out with relevant connections consistently over time. Aim to make new connections daily. Personalize invitation notes to improve acceptance rates.
Set a content posting schedule
Commit to consistently publishing blog-style posts, videos, and articles on LinkedIn. Schedule these over days and weeks to maintain a steady stream.
Always engage your audience
Don’t post and abandon your content. Respond to comments, like and share audience posts, and provide value to your connections.
Go beyond text content
Images, infographics, slide decks, videos, polls and other multimedia will make your posts stand out more in the feed.
Use relevant hashtags and tags
Strategically use hashtags and mention people/companies to extend your reach and tap into larger conversations.
Publish on other sites
Repurpose your LinkedIn posts on platforms like Medium and Reddit. Include a call to connect on LinkedIn to drive new connections.
Promote your content
Don’t just let your posts sit in the LinkedIn feed. Promote them actively on your other social channels, in email newsletters, etc.
Follow influencers
Connect and engage with existing LinkedIn authorities in your niche. Provide value by commenting on their posts and sharing their content.
Join active groups
Pick LinkedIn groups relevant to your industry. Participate regularly by answering questions and providing useful insights.
Utilize ads and apps
Consider LinkedIn advertising products and third-party apps to save time, gain data, and expand your reach.
Analyze and refine
Use LinkedIn’s analytics to see what types of posts and engagement work best. Double down on those.
Be patient and persistent
It can take months or years of consistent effort to build your presence and following. Persist and continue providing value.
Examples of LinkedIn super users
To understand super users in practice, let’s look at a few leading examples across different industries:
Sophia Amoruso (founder of Girlboss)
With over 780,000 followers, Sophia Amoruso has built a massive presence sharing career and lifestyle advice tailored to women. She posts motivational and empowering content multiple times per week.
Bernard Marr (tech author/keynote speaker)
Bernard Marr shares frequent posts on AI, analytics, management, and technology to over 700,000 followers. His posts highlight his expertise and promote his books/services.
Jeff Bullas (digital marketing influencer)
Jeff Bullas has over 1 million followers and a thriving consultancy thanks to his super user strategy focused on digital marketing and growth tips for entrepreneurs.
Wolfgang Digital (content marketing agency)
This company has leveraged employee networks and consistent B2B content to become a 360,000+ follower powerhouse brand on LinkedIn promoting their agency services.
Gary Vaynerchuk (entrepreneur/investor)
Gary Vee is one of LinkedIn’s top influencers with over 2 million followers. His posts with business and success advice consistently go viral, highlighting his personal brand and entrepreneurial prowess.
Vala Afshar (Salesforce Chief Digital Evangelist)
Vala Afshar utilizes short-form tips and motivational wisdom to engage over 1 million followers, while also highlighting his work and employer Salesforce.
Risks and downsides to be aware of
While being a super user has many advantages, there are some potential downsides to keep in mind as well:
Major time commitment
It takes a significant investment of time and effort to create consistent content, engage with your audience, and manage your presence. This can detract time from other priorities.
Difficult to automate
Unlike other social networks, it’s challenging to fake or automate engagement on LinkedIn to achieve super user status. The path relies on manual effort.
Hard to manage expectations
If you achieve influencer status, people may flood you with requests and expectations. This can be hard to manage alongside everyday work.
Overwhelming exposure
A large audience also opens you up to more criticism, trolling, and negative exposure if controversy arises. This level of visibility isn’t for everyone.
Risk of over-promoting
It’s possible to damage your brand by being seen as self-promotional or salesy rather than posting purely helpful content.
Difficulty switching off
The always-on nature of content creation and audience engagement can make it hard to ever disconnect from LinkedIn and relax.
Potential employer conflicts
If you work for a company, a powerful personal brand and following could occasionally clash with employer policies on social media.
Conclusion
Becoming a LinkedIn super user requires major dedication, but can massively boost your authority, visibility, and opportunities in your industry. Focus on growing your network, engaging consistently, and posting high-value content over a long period of time. Consider both the benefits and potential downsides before pursuing this path. With the right strategy and effort, LinkedIn super user status is an achievable goal for any professional. Just be ready to put in the hard work required to build an influential and thriving presence on the platform.