6 types of content you must share on LinkedIn to help your business
19th, May 2021
When you join a networking group, you know you have to go to meetings regularly and talk to people. LinkedIn is another form of networking with the same rules. You have to show up consistently and communicate with others. The primary way to do that is to post content. But what type of content should you post that will be interesting to your audience and help your business?
1. Blog posts. The key to successful blogging is to consider what types of questions or concerns your audience has and answer them in your posts. This allows you to share your expertise, increase your visibility and enhance your credibility. It helps you stay top of mind with existing contacts as well as reach new people, all of which increases your chances of generating business.
On LinkedIn, you can share blog posts in 2 ways from your home page:
- Click “Start a post,” draft some teaser/introductory text from your blog post and then share a link to your post on your website; or
- Click “Write article” to use the LinkedIn publishing platform to write and share your post.
For tips on what to write about in your blog, see 5 Tips To Help You Develop Great Blog Post Topics.
If you don’t have a blog, check out How To Start A Successful Blog In 2021.
2. Third-party content. Many of us already share articles by other people on social media. But what you may not realize is that assuming you share useful and interesting information, doing this shows people you know what they care about, and you want to be helpful. And since it’s not your content, it’s not self-serving so it puts you in a good light. It also saves you time and effort because it is easier to share something that someone else wrote than creating original content. Now, you can share a stranger’s content (ex. a news article) or information from someone you know. If you do know the person, it can also be a good way to engage, connect and build your relationship with your contacts.
A key point to remember when sharing third-party content is to tell people why you are giving them this information. Add some introductory text to your social media post that says what you liked about the article or how it might help others.
3. Visual content. You know the expression a picture is worth a thousand words? People have short attention spans and studies show we are much more likely to respond to and remember visual information than text. So, use photos, infographics, charts, and videos in your posts. It may seem overwhelming to try to create good visuals, but there are many low-cost and free sites to buy images or design your own graphics (ex. Canva). When it comes to posting video on social media, it is acceptable to do it yourself. However, it is a good idea to invest in a ring light and microphone to improve the quality. If you plan to include these videos on your website, always use a professional.
4. Short text-only posts. While visuals often get great results, it is not universal because sometimes they can get in the way of compelling content. On LinkedIn, ordinary text posts often do well if they offer good content. Think of these posts as mini-blog posts. Try sharing tips, how-tos, do’s and don’ts, checklists, takeaways from something your heard/saw and motivational messages as text posts. The important point is to provide information helpful or interesting to your audience. Basically, follow the same rules as you would for regular blogging.
When you publish text-only posts don’t include a link to another website. This is another reason why these posts may do well. There are various opinions that LinkedIn prefers posts that don’t link away to another site and promotes them more heavily.
5. Accomplishments. On LinkedIn, you can let people know about awards you received, media mentions, speaking engagements and articles published. In fact, these posts often receive more views and engagements than other types of posts because your contacts want to congratulate you. However, I believe in the 80-20 rule when touting yourself. It is okay 20 percent of the time to talk about how great you are as long as the rest of the time, you focus on providing information of value. Now, much of this “promotional” information can be shared in a helpful way so make sure you couch it that way. For example, if you wrote an article or were quoted in one or you will be speaking to a group, let people know what information they would find useful in your article or speech as part of your introductory text. Then offer an excerpt or the full text if possible.
6. Nonwork/personal activities. The main purpose of social media is to allow people to get to know each other better. Therefore, go ahead and talk about organizations you belong to, causes you support, volunteer work you do, and interests and hobbies you have. You can also share personal stories that show others more of your personality. If you have photos from these activities, add them to the post as well. The only caveat to this is that LinkedIn is a business platform so you want to be mindful of discussing things that are too personal or may reflect adversely on your professional image. The best advice I ever read is not to share anything that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the New York Times.
Creating and sharing great content on LinkedIn is not as difficult as you may think. Use these tips to help get the best results.
If you need help with your social media marketing, contact us for a consultation.
Tagged: social media