Using LinkedIn for Thought Leadership

LinkedIn is redefining how business leaders build influence and authority across audiences. Here are my tips for using LinkedIn for consistent and authentic thought leadership success.

If you are on LinkedIn as frequently as I am, then you are likely already aware that LinkedIn has quickly become the most prominent platform for business influence for startups, the builders behind them, and the VCs that back them. The number of posts by users on LinkedIn has increased 41% in the last 3 years, pointing to the continuing trend that this is a place people are actively engaging and benefitting from communicating in.

One reason why I love LinkedIn as a platform for the startups I support is that, in today’s reality of continually shrinking newsrooms and shuttered publications, startup founders can no longer rely solely on earned media to reach the audiences that matter most to their businesses. Using LinkedIn is one way startups can increase awareness and company engagement on their own terms, timelines, and to the audiences that matter most.

The founders I see use LinkedIn the most effectively aren’t the ones who overtly promote their own startup and its news (🙄), or used canned, careful language (We are thrilled to announce!), but rather bring their own unique perspectives to the industries they build for with useful, interesting, and impactful commentary that’s real. Authenticity breaks through the noise. If you are interested in using LinkedIn more consistently, here’s how I recommend getting started:

Decide what you are going to post about

• Posting consistent, compelling updates on your page is key as you acquire and retain followers and for algorithmic signal, but in addition to the cadence, the focus of your content is equally important. In order to align with the topics and events that matter most to your business, that you can actually post about on a regular basis, you have to first decide what topics are most important to focus your content strategy on.

• Think about 2-3 narrative focuses to create content around. These should be topics that your company has a right to participate in based on experiences, expertise, etc, and that hopefully tie into relevant and timely topics your audiences care about.

Curate your audience to help it grow

• Start to engage with the communities most aligned with your industry. Identify 15 - 20 individuals who have some influence on the communities aligned with your target audience (this can include relevant reporters).

• Follow those individuals, add to their conversations, and figure out what kind of content they’re creating that resonates with your shared audiences.

• Research your competitors' content by navigating to the member view of your page and checking out the “Similar Pages” section on the right-hand side to see how your page compares to similar organizations. Review their content to identify tactics that are working and whitespace that your organization can fill.

• @mention other influential individuals/companies in your posts and share why you admire/want to work with them/are happy to already partner with them. Try not to sound spammy; make those tagged proud to re-share your post with their broader network.

Optimize for the LinkedIn algorithm

• Posting between 8-10 in your time zone Monday - Friday is best for engagement.

• Posting a minimum of once a week helps keep your profile prioritized in the LinkedIn algorithm.

• Reply to likes and comments within an hour of them being made.

• Ask a question at the end of your post to increase engagement.

• Make sure the first two sentences of your post are the strongest.

I get that it can feel really strange at first to share your thoughts with the world in such a public forum. But it can also be hugely beneficial for building brand relevance. Start small, experiment, and have fun with it.