Develop a Personal LinkedIn Content Strategy – LinkedIn Education Pt 2

Develop a Personal LinkedIn Content Strategy

As you may have seen in our last article, LinkedIn is a great way to follow up with networking connections. In Part Two of the LinkedIn Series you’ll see how you can use LinkedIn to grow contacts through developing a personal content strategy. In part Three you’ll learn about Creating and Managing a LinkedIn Group.

Steps to Creating A Personal Content Strategy

You may or may not know that LinkedIn launched their publishing platform mid-2014. Many people have had lots of success with a content strategy on this medium and you should too if it’s one of your goals. Here we go:

Understand and Learn about the Platform

With any new marketing channel you need to understand how it works and how audiences interact with it. Start reading other people’s posts, see what intrigues you and when people comment or like posts most. Do your research and make sure you understand the best way to write and create content for the platform. Check out the official Tips for writing Long Form Posts on LinkedIn. Once you get a feel for the platform, come up with a strategy.

Set Goals & Create a Strategy

Just as you would for your business, you need to have a goal. Make sure that goal is measurable. If you want people clicking through your post onto your site make sure there is a call to action. If the goal is to become an industry leader then most of your post should relate to your industry and be informative. With social media you need to make sure you are ‘giving’ more than you are asking for. When people see you are willing to give they will be more willing to react to a request or call to action. When creating a schedule for posts start off slowly so you can get your head around how people are interacting with your content, then ramp it up.

Amass Content

After creating a goal and strategy, make sure that each post you write has a specific topic. LinkedIn is where business people go to educate themselves, increase knowledge of their industry and show others they are valuable. If your articles are focused, provide knowledge and are shareable, people will read…and share. If your business has some great content, there is no reason you can’t take bits and pieces and repurpose them for LinkedIn.

Just like any other social channel, use images. People are more likely to remember what they read when the points are backed by images. We’re not suggesting that every paragraph has a picture, however one or two images per article won’t hurt.

You only have one chance to make a first impression, and fortunately with content you can make sure that first impression is memorable. The title of your article is your first impression. If you want people dig in, the title needs to be captivating. If your aim is to be found, use a keyword or two so people will see the article in a search. Keep the title to under 50 characters. If you are looking for a headline formula, this Headline Formula Article from Copy Blogger is an oldie but a goodie.

Begin Posting & Analyse

Stick to your schedule. Post regularly and analyse which posts do the best. Is there a specific topic that works well? What time or day is your content getting the most engagement. Is there a specific day that most people travel from your content to your business website?

Once you've started posting there is a lot more to think about!

You can use your personal content strategy in conjunction with Creating and Managing a LinkedIn Group. If you don't have enough time to manage or your social media or you need help planning there are business and web resources that can assist you.