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Where do you start when it comes to a content strategy on LinkedIn? Content is a common barrier for many LinkedIn users, but it also presents an incredible opportunity for those who embrace the value of sharing content on LinkedIn.
The truth is that there is more opportunity on LinkedIn in comparison to other social media platforms. Only a fraction of the 840+ million users post content regularly. This means you have the ability to stand out and be seen when you consistently share quality content in LinkedIn posts!
I often refer to the challenge of content as wearing “content blinders” – literally the inability to see the treasure-trove of content at your fingertips. So let’s talk about some things you can do to remove your content blinders and boost your content strategy:
Define your Content Buckets
When launching a content strategy, you have to start at the beginning – WHAT are you going to talk about?
These might be a few things so thinking about these as falling into various “content buckets” can help you identify topics you can use in your content.
Try this exercise – take out a notebook and make lists of topics based on these prompts:
- What do you know really well?
- What do you love to talk about?
- What are Industry trends?
- What are your specific areas of focus?
- What are the common questions you hear in your industry/ business?
- What are your personal interests?
Additionally, you should think about the types of content to post. There are multiple options when it comes to LinkedIn content including:
- Text posts
- Photos/ graphics
- Videos
- Polls
- Document (PDF) posts
- Articles/ Newsletters
- LinkedIn Live (Live-stream)
- LinkedIn Audio
- Multi-media carousels (currently in beta)
As you think about the topics, it’s also helpful to think about the best format to share your content. Some content types will feel more natural than others so start there and you can always challenge yourself as you get more comfortable with your content.
Assess Your Current Content
I promise that you have a ton of content to share – you just need to rip off those blinders so you can see it. Start by taking inventory of your content by looking at:
- Blog Posts
- White Papers
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Images/ infographics
- Case Studies
- Email Newsletters
- Content on your Company’s LinkedIn Page
- Past LinkedIn/ Social Media posts
Once you understand the content you have at your disposal, you can start to repurpose it on LinkedIn – this works very well with long-form content like blog posts, podcasts or videos. If your content is collecting dust, let’s use it!
Here’s how I repurpose a blog post into 5+ individuals posts:
- Post the link to the original blog
- Break the original in smaller posts (works well with lists or tip style blogs)
- Create a PDF document post from the blog
- Make a video about the topic
- Ask a question related to the blog in a poll
- Repurpose the entire blog as an article or newsletter
Develop an Engagement Strategy
Content is more than just what you talk about. It’s about building relationships with your target audience and the best way to make that happen is with an engagement strategy. An engagement strategy consists of the following:
- Identify people in your industry that you want to engage with. You can either bookmark their profiles or use a spreadsheet to keep track of them. You can also include content creators that you enjoy, learn from or want to stay in front of.
- Comment, comment, comment! Build the habit of commenting on 5-10 posts at least 3 times a week, ideally daily. This is a great way to build conversation and good will on LinkedIn.
- Always reply to comments on your posts. When someone takes the time to comment, you want to acknowledge them by replying. Don’t “post and ghost!”
- Start (non-salesly) conversations in the DMs. Ask questions, take interest in the recipient – get a conversation started.
Being deliberate with engagement will strengthen your content strategy!
Make a Plan
Now that you know WHAT you want to talk about, HOW you want to share your content and WHO you want to engage with, it’s time to make a plan to ensure you actually make it happen.
Answer these questions:
- How often do you want to post?
- Can you be consistent with your posting cadence (i.e. can you commit)?
- What are you going to post about?
- What format?
- Can you create a weekly theme?
- When will you find time to COMMENT on other people’s content?
Use your responses to hold yourself accountable and ensure you are posting, commenting and engaging on LinkedIn.
Two tips I often share with my clients:
- Schedule your weekly (or more) posts on your calendar as tasks
- Break up LinkedIn engagement into 3-10 to 15 minute chunks throughout the day – in the morning, over lunch and in the evening. Also replace aimlessly scrolling other social media sites with more productive time on LinkedIn (ok, that was three tips).
Get Out of Your Own Way
This might be the most important part of a content strategy – if you never start you will never reap the benefits. You need to get out of your own way and start posting.
What about LinkedIn Company Pages?
LinkedIn Company Pages present another avenue for content. I’ll cover a more in-depth overview of company pages in an upcoming blog but for now, let’s talk about where they fit into a linkedin content marketing strategy.
In larger companies, the strategy is often focused on asking employees to like, share and comment on content posted on the company page. While this can help get some eyes on these posts, it is not as effective as supporting individual employees with their own content strategy.
Empowering employees to share content positions them as the best brand ambassadors out there and helps to engage a broader audience (supporting sales, marketing and lead generation). LinkedIn company page content should support but not be limited to what is shared by employees.
For the solopreneurs and small businesses, it’s important to have a company page for branding purposes. In these cases, sharing content on the company page should be looked at from the 80:20 rule – 80% of content should come from the owner’s profile and 20% should be from the company. For many people this means posting 2-4 times a month on the company page. Content can be repurposed from the individual’s profiles and vice-versa.
Final Thoughts in LinkedIn Content Strategies
- Don’t get caught up in the numbers. Success looks different for everyone. Focus on consistency and you will see improvement over time.
- Things that seem “basic” to you are likely a mystery to your audience. Share your knowledge and expertise. And remember, you have a unique perspective so even if the topic is frequently talked about, it’s important to share your personal point of view.
- Test different types of content. Experimenting will help you see what resonates with your audience and expose you to different forms of content.
