Are you tearing your hair out when it comes to creating content for LinkedIn?  Not sure where to start?... this blog is perfect for you whether you're a newbie, dabbler or seasoned user. There has never been a better time to learn how to communicate and network with confidence on LinkedIn.  

As we face uncertain times it's the people who remain visible who will reap rewards.  Buyers love confidence and people buy people.  It's the role of content which will set you apart and create that sense of know, like and trust which will prove invaluable as we enter 2023.

You may be surprised to learn that of the 850+ million members on LinkedIn, only about 1-2% are actively creating content and about 9% are engaging with comments.  About 90% of all users are looking on from the sidelines. 

Are you lurking, networking or actively leveraging your network as an influencer?

No-brainer reasons to share content on LinkedIn:

- The organic reach is fantastic and won't be there forever folks!
- Keeps you top of mind - ‘mere exposure effect’
- Increases brand awareness
- Builds credibility
- Builds your network and generates opportunities
- Allows you to control the conversation

Ask yourself is your existing content brand centric or customer centric?
Before I dive in and explore this more I want to share these wise words by Dale Carnegie with you.

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you."

So many people make the mistake of only sharing brand centric content - it's all 'me me me' and then they wonder why it falls flat on the feed.  

As a rule of thumb you should follow the 80/20 rule which means that 4 days out of 5 you should educate, inspire, motivate, entertain and give value - 1 day out of 5 you self-promote.  In short you need to 'earn the right' to toot your horn on LinkedIn. 

To build trust with your content you need to:

- Address the fears, worries & concerns of your customer
- Answer customer questions 
- Answer objections
- Be truthful, honest and fully transparent

Being clear trumps being clever any day of the week.  A confused mind will always say no!

“With content, a relationship of trust can be built with the Salesperson (and Company) long before the first sales meeting.  
Great content means more trust, more trust means shorter sales cycles.”  Marcus Sheridan, Author ‘They Ask You Answer’ 

14 Main Types of Content Posts on LinkedIn (you don't need to use all of them!)

1. Text Only (3,000 characters)
2. Post with image (single image or several)
3. Upload video (ideally with captions)
4. Document post (PDF report / white paper / visual)
5. Give kudos (shout-out to a team member, network)
6. LinkedIn Article / Newsletter 
7. LinkedIn Live (ideally 30 minutes in length)
8. LinkedIn Poll 
9. LinkedIn Event
10. Share you are hiring
11. Audio Events
12. Occasion or Milestone (new job, anniversary etc)
13. Template posts in beta on mobile
14. Carousels are being rolled out

The LinkedIn Algorithm rewards ‘social behaviour’ and in the first 1-2 hours of pressing publish / submit, LinkedIn will determine if your post is:

- Spam
- Low-Quality
- Clear

Some things to consider so that you show up as 'clear':

- Commenting (engage with your networks posts before and after you post to invoke the law of reciprocity)
- Hashtags (use between 3 to 5 maximum - LinkedIn is not Instagram and you don't need 30 hashtags, in fact it looks really spammy)
- Timing (mix things up and determine what time your audience is online, there is no 'magic' time for all - do your research and check your analytics)
- SSI Score (the higher your social selling index score - the more reach your content has - check your score here: https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi)
- External Links (try putting these in your image / graphic - this feature is only available on mobile currently).

LinkedIn content should be:

- Inspirational – stories, morals, quotes
- Educational – tips, lessons
- Deal with objections – what they think / believe
- Engaging – opinion pieces, polls, their opinion
- Entertaining – humour works everywhere!
- Promotion – invite audience to a call, event, masterclass, lead magnet etc.  
- 80/20 Rule

It can take up to 16 touch points in the digital space before people decide to reach out to you.  

Always ensure your content has a clear call to action and you are telling people what they need to do next.  
Be clear versus clever and dig deep as to what you're trying to achieve on LinkedIn.

Ultimately like with any form of networking - 'be a giver'...be social, be consistent and cultivate a community mindset!
Wishing you all continued LinkedIn success ladies. 

Jen x

P.S. If you want to explore how I can help you going forward book in for a free 20-minute LinkedIn game plan call here: https://mysuperconnector.co.uk/contact/

Or watch LinkedIn Content That Converts here https://youtu.be/hevzTDZCXbs