It’s not just an impression. By scrolling through your News Feed on LinkedIn, the posts seem to have some similarity. Catchy intro phrase, “inspiring” text and emoticons in quantity. Posts on the largest professional network in the world follow and look alike. But when they manage to reach many targets, they are an undeniable asset for expanding one’s network and developing one’s own personal brand. If there is no miracle recipe, there are however elements to respect for any good post.
Above all, each user must have a complete and attractive profile. “From a business point of view, your LinkedIn profile must allow you to convert people. If one of them sees one of your posts and finds it relevant, they will click on your profile and will have the possibility then to go to your site or read your newsletter, for example”, suggests Mathieu Pimort, “ghostwriter” of posts on LinkedIn and founder of the Linker agency.
After this step, do not hesitate to start and train. Be careful, however, not to be discouraged when a content does not take. “The only mistake is not to persevere. You have to see what works and what doesn’t. You must not resign yourself,” says Guillem Salles, LinkedIn trainer and “ghostwriter” for business leaders.
However, not all LinkedIn users write posts for the same reason. It all depends on your profile. “For employees, posting on LinkedIn is a way for them to affirm their legitimacy and show their competence. They can be perceived as opinion leaders. By being more visible, this boosts their employability”, explains Guillem Salles. For managers, the challenges are multiple: “Attracting customers, showcasing or reassuring partners, there is an employer brand challenge with respect to future candidates. When you are responsible for an SME or an ETI , we embody the company, we become the voice of the company”, continues Guillem Salles.
Then, we do not post everything and anything. The best thing is to limit yourself to your area of expertise and to one or two strong themes. “The more your content strategy is nested around your know-how, the more you will be perceived as an expert, but at the same time, the more the audience will be reduced”, warns Guillem Salles who advises “to mix the themes that the we approach both to speak to our customers, to our peers and to try certain posts to speak to everyone. The broader the subject, the more people can adhere to it, the more visibility it can generate”.
As soon as a text exceeds three lines, LinkedIn limits its visualization. You have to click to scroll down. The first three sentences are therefore essential. “The more we advance, the less uncertainty we have. You have to publish, have fun and diversify your content, and maintain it over time. Once you have written 100 posts, you will have your style”, assures Mathieu Pimort.
In addition, each post is not distributed to all of its contacts. LinkedIn has implemented an algorithm that selects content. “There’s a small percentage of your network that you can see as a test panel, it’s somewhere between 4-10%. If you post, LinkedIn will show them. If they comment, click or like, the LinkedIn algorithm sees your content as more relevant and begins to increase the reach of your posts to more people,” says Richard van der Blom, LinkedIn trainer and author of a report on how the professional social media algorithm works.
To attract the eye of Internet users, a photo or an illustration can be an excellent solution. “The average scroll on LinkedIn is not that long, it’s around 12 posts and then people stop, it’s not like Instagram or Facebook. That means you have to make sure your message is in the first twelve”, points out Richard van der Blom. The perseverance of the user nevertheless remains the key to success. “If you stay on the fundamentals with a clear line, themes and anchor values and you post every day, you create quality content, generally, in a fairly short time, you can position yourself and generate visibility”, guarantees Guillaume Salles.
