What to post on LinkedIn is a thought that fills people with dread. Most business owners know full well they should be posting on social media, but are scared to death of what to put.

The vast majority of people and businesses on LinkedIn are lurkers who use the site a lot, but very rarely put their heads above the parapet and write a social media post for LinkedIn.

Here’s a tip on what to post on LinkedIn

Don’t write about your industry or services. No one cares.

I’ve written loads of content about marketing, and I’m about to do it again, as you can see.

The content I’ve written about The Marketing Optimist’s services and about things directly related to our services, like SEO, Social Media, Digital PR and Ads, do ok, but they don’t do as well as when I post content that is adjacent to what we do.

Something happens in my mind, subconsciously, that makes the post feel a little less genuine and a bit more strained than it would be if I were just talking to a person.

So, when it comes to what to post on LinkedIn, you could be much better off writing posts which are adjacent to your services or industry. A selling post on social media, unless written cleverly, with experience, can be an instant turn-off. That’s not to say you shouldn’t write sales posts but don’t make every post a promotion for your business.

A post that gives some insight and answers a genuine question, that you can write more naturally, is likely to do much better.

Here’s an example of a LinkedIn post that worked well

I can’t write a blog about what to post on LinkedIn and not peel back the curtain on some of my own posts.

I recently posted about Junction 32 near Castleford changing its name to Frasers Plus Designer Outlet Leeds, which did really well and got loads of comments, reactions and a few shares.

Here’s the stats so far:

• 17,487 Impressions
• 12,328 Members reached
• 95 Social engagements
• 54 Reactions
• 39 Comments
• 17 Profile viewers from this post
• 3 Followers gained from this post
• 1 Repost
• 1 Share on LinkedIn

In the LinkedIn post, I didn’t mention how we could have sorted it for them, how we would have done it differently or how our services could have helped (that’s simply one approach to considering what to post on LinkedIn).

However, the post:

• Placed me in Yorkshire, Leeds specifically.
• Showed that I’m aware of what’s going on past my own nose.
• Showed that I have an opinion.
• Displayed my interest and expertise.
• Demonstrated that I turned up – because I replied to quite a few comments (sorry if I missed yours).

How could you use this to inform what to post on LinkedIn?

The next time you sit down to write a LinkedIn post for your business, or even if you are talking to your social media agency, think about what your customers will want to read.

This is unlikely to be a post about your new business cards or that you are “Delighted to announce that you have a new website”.

They are more likely to read and interact with a post that makes them think and want to act.

So let’s say you are a finance recruitment specialist wondering what to post on LinkedIn, you could post about some of these ideas:

• The new budget
• A change in financial regulations
• A new business that’s just moved into your area, which might mean lots of new jobs in finance or banking
• A report on the wages and employment benefits for people entering the finance industry
• Local business events your clients would be interested in attending for networking.

None of these post ideas needs to push your services or sell your business. But what they do need to do is appeal to the people you would like to work with. They’ll take notice, engage and comment, and that’s how you move people from just lurking on your LinkedIn posts and becoming clients, suppliers or employees.

Can we help you with your LinkedIn marketing strategy?

Struggling with more than just what to post on LinkedIn?

We run LinkedIn marketing strategies and campaigns for lots of businesses, and if you are struggling with how to run your feed, there are a few ways we can help.

1. Book your team on our LinkedIn Training Course.
2. Get in touch and talk to us about how we can run your social media on LinkedIn using the form below.

• Instagram
  This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
• Name*
  First Last
• Email
• Telephone number
• Your Website address*
• How can we help you?
• CAPTCHA