LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 722 million users worldwide. It’s an incredibly valuable tool for establishing connections, building your personal brand, finding job opportunities, and driving business leads. However, simply having a LinkedIn profile isn’t enough – you need to actively engage with your network and share relevant, high-quality content in order to maximize the benefits. But with so many users and so much noise, simply posting on LinkedIn isn’t a guarantee that your content will be seen or effective. So what are the most effective ways to post on LinkedIn to ensure your content stands out?
Why Post on LinkedIn?
Here are some of the key reasons you should be actively posting on LinkedIn:
- Build your personal brand – Regularly sharing insightful content allows you to establish yourself as a thought leader and subject matter expert.
- Reach your target audience – LinkedIn’s detailed user demographic data allows you to laser target your posts.
- Increase engagement – Posting valuable content will organically grow your follower base who engage with your posts.
- Stand out in the feed – With an optimized posting strategy, you can make your posts more visible.
- Generate leads – Quality content attracts your ideal prospects and drives lead generation.
- Demonstrate expertise – Position yourself as knowledgeable on key topics and pain points for your audience.
- Build relationships – Posts allow you to engage directly with connections and build rapport.
- Boost company awareness – Promote your brand, products, services, content, and events.
- Advertise job openings – Attract qualified candidates for open positions.
Regularly posting engaging, relevant content on LinkedIn can pay dividends for your personal brand and your business. But just posting randomly won’t cut it. You need a strategic approach to optimize your LinkedIn posting for maximum impact.
Types of Content to Post
To engage your audience and get noticed, you need to share a variety of compelling content types on LinkedIn. Here are some of the top content formats to incorporate into your posting strategy:
Industry News and Articles
Commentary on the latest developments, trends, and stories related to your industry is an effective way to demonstrate your subject matter expertise. You can write your own insightful articles or share articles from reputable business and industry publications.
Case Studies
In-depth case studies focused on client success stories are great for demonstrating the value you provide. Make sure to highlight key challenges, solutions, and measurable results.
How-to Guides
Educational how-to posts with actionable tips help position you as an invaluable resource for your audience. From step-by-step instructions to quick tips, how-tos are very shareable.
List Posts
Posts structured as lists or roundups are very engaging. For example, “10 Tips for Writing a Great LinkedIn Post” or “The Top 5 Accounting Software Programs.” Lists are scannable and digestible.
Infographics
Infographics condense complex information into a visually compelling format. They’re an impactful way to present data, stats, timelines, comparisons, and more.
Videos
Videos liven up your feed and provide a more personal touch. Live videos, animated explainers, interview highlights, conference recordings, and more all work well.
Images
Relevant, eye-catching images make your posts stand out and easier to digest. Use stock photos, original graphics, screenshots, pictures from events, etc. Just make sure they’re high-quality.
Surveys & Polls
Engage your audience by asking questions and surveying opinions. LinkedIn lets you add customizable polls to your posts to boost interactivity.
Quotes
Impactful quotes from business leaders, authors, or historical figures help reinforce key messages and give posts a more profound statement.
Statistics & Data
Backing up your posts with credible data gives them more authority. Relevant stats and figures reinforce your thought leadership.
Best Practices for Posting
Now that you know what types of content to share, here are some best practices to implement for optimizing when and how you post on LinkedIn:
Post Consistently
Sporadic, infrequent posting results in low engagement and impact. Posting consistently – whether daily, multiple times per week, or weekly – helps keep you top of mind.
Vary Your Post Types
Posting the same types of content repetitively causes audience disengagement. Mix up posts between articles, videos, images, quotes, Q&As, lists, etc.
Post at Optimal Times
When you post affects visibility. On LinkedIn, early mornings on weekdays tend to have highest engagement. Tools like Buffer can help you schedule optimal posting times.
Keep Your Audience in Mind
Tailor content specifically to your target audience’s pain points, interests, and goals. Your posts should educate and provide value.
Use Multimedia
Posts with video, images, slides, infographics, etc. perform significantly better than plain text-only posts. Make your content visually appealing.
Craft Catchy Headlines
Your post headlines are often the determining factor in whether or not someone engages. Use compelling headlines that draw readers in.
Write Snackable Content
On social media, shorter posts tend to outperform longer posts. Break up lengthy posts into smaller paragraphs and bullet points.
Leverage Hashtags Strategically
Relevant hashtags expand your reach, but avoid going overboard. Stick to 1-2 topical hashtags per post for best results.
Engage and Interact
Don’t just self-promote. Actively like, comment, and respond to others’ content to build community.
Make it Mobile Friendly
Ensure your posts render well on mobile. Limit text density, and make images and videos responsive for small screens.
Promote Your Posts
To maximize reach, promote top performing posts through paid LinkedIn ads and share posts across your other social channels.
Analyze and Refine
Review post analytics regularly to see what content types, topics, timing, etc. resonate best and what you can improve on. Continuously refine your approach.
Tools to Manage LinkedIn Posting
Posting consistently takes time. Making it manageable requires having the right tools:
Content Calendars
Content calendars allow you to plan and organize your posts in advance so you always have content ready to go.
Social Media Management Tools
Tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social make it easy to schedule and publish your queued up posts.
Post Creation Tools
Design assets like Canva, create videos with Animoto, or develop infographics using Venngage to make visually compelling posts.
Automation Tools
Automation tools like Drift and ManyChat allow you to auto-reply to common comments and messages to save time.
Post Analytics Tools
Analytics tools such as Iconosquare provide data on your top performing posts so you can refine your strategy.
Post Boosting Services
If you want greater reach for important posts, services like Socialbooster can amplify your content through their follower base.
Leveraging tools like these makes consistently posting high-quality content scalable and sustainable.
LinkedIn Post Examples
Here are some examples of stellar LinkedIn posts to inspire your content:
Educational How-To
This informative how-to post provides actionable tips on an engaging topic – perfect for LinkedIn.
Industry Commentary
Timely commentary on the latest industry news helps build subject matter authority.
Motivational Quote
An inspirational quote paired with on brand imagery delivers motivation.
Behind the Scenes Video
Candid videos give a behind the scenes look at company culture.
Event Promotion
Creative graphics grab attention for your upcoming events and webinars.
Job Opening
Job posts attract qualified candidates when shared on LinkedIn.
Key Takeaways
Here are the most effective strategies for optimizing your LinkedIn posting:
- Post a variety of engaging content like articles, images, videos, stats, and more.
- Post consistently – at least once per week, ideally more.
- Craft eye-catching headlines to draw readers in.
- Schedule posts during high engagement windows like Tuesday-Thursday mornings.
- Actively engage with other posts through likes, comments, and shares.
- Use multimedia like photos, slides, or infographics to create more visually compelling posts.
- Promote top performing posts through paid ads and social cross-posting.
- Use analytics to identify what content resonates best with your audience.
- Leverage tools like content calendars, post schedulers, and automation to streamline posting.
Following these best practices for frequent, high-quality, audience-focused posting will help you get the most out of LinkedIn and elevate your personal brand or company presence. With a strategic approach, LinkedIn can become a invaluable channel for engaging your professional network.
Conclusion
LinkedIn is a powerful platform, but simply having a profile is not enough. You need to be actively sharing valuable, relevant content with your network consistently to maximize LinkedIn’s benefits.
The most effective way to post on LinkedIn is to use a variety of engaging content formats like articles, images, videos, stats, and quotes that provide value to your audience. Ensure your posts are optimized for the LinkedIn feed with catchy headlines, concise copy, effective hashtags, and strong calls to action.
Schedule posts during peak engagement windows early in the week and interact meaningfully with your audience. Promote top posts through paid amplification and social sharing. Finally, use analytics tools to continuously refine your posting strategy based on performance data.
By following these best practices for posting high-quality, audience-focused content regularly, you can establish thought leadership, generate leads, and give your personal brand or company a boost on the world’s largest professional network.