The Biggest Content Mistakes on LinkedIn

What are the biggest content mistakes on LinkedIn??

Every day, we watch people flocking to the platform like excited little puppies, eager to bring their voices to the stage and ready to hit the button on their poorly worded, structureless drivel.?

Of course, in their eyes, it’s award-winning. Then it bombs with only 3 likes and a ‘nice post’ from Nanny Doris.?

She loves LinkedIn does Doris.?

So, before you fall any deeper into despair, we have the top 3 mistakes people are currently making with their LinkedIn content all laid out for you.?

So you can avoid them.

Making it about you

The ‘Personal Brand’ phenomenon has taken over the world in the last couple of years. Every man, woman and dog with a pulse is now vlogging their Thursday evening trip to Aldi for everyone to see. If you waste copious amounts of time watching these sad sacks, shame on you.

When it comes to B2B content creation, however, mirror selfies accompanied by a story about your weight loss journey when you sell rulers and pencil sharpeners aren’t going to cut it. In a world where people want to remember you for what you can do for them professionally, no one cares about your 8.5% body fat.

To get started with a content plan that actually speaks to the right people in a way that doesn’t send them reaching for the block button, first ask your target audience what their greatest challenges are.

Speak to the customers you already have if you’re not sure but truth be told, you should know what these are if you’ve committed to providing a service in the sector. Once you’ve written down the top 3-5 problems your target buyer can’t solve, take a look in your bag of tricks and establish how your offering solves them.?

These solutions provide the foundation for your content strategy. To know exactly how to create a detailed plan that will give you a month's worth of content in one sitting, read our previous article here.

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Not leaving white spaces

If you want to make sure your content isn’t accessible or inclusive, not leaving white spaces between sentences would be the way to go. When was the last time you read the first 2 lines of a post, decided to hit ‘see more’ and then got hit with a wall of text? A block of copy so dense that the mere thought of reading it all breaks you out in a cold sweat.

No matter how much content we produce about the art of structuring a post, LinkedIn newbs will insist on maxing out the character limit without a line break in sight. Content that looks more like an entry from a 600-page book on the magic of drainpipes than a social media post. My friends, this is poor form even for a seasoned pro with a huge following, but for a newb…

It’s absolutely fatal.

To ensure a post is digestible for people who are typically very time-poor, you need to give the illusion of less, even if the word count is exactly the same. Keep the sentences spaced and never have any more than 2 to a paragraph. Creating for LinkedIn and getting people to the punchline of your post is unlike any other form of writing.?

Create intrigue. Make it easy to immediately digest. Allow them to scan and extract the value quickly.

Covering too many points

It’s easily done, but covering too many points in a single post is a fast track to Low Engagementville. Which is on the map right next to Failure Falls.?

You have to remember that daily content is always the goal, and to achieve that, you need to break complex subjects up into their individual parts and build a story around each one. Social media content aims to share tiny snippets of information each day, ensuring you’ve always got enough to last the week, whilst leaving your audience informed but wanting more.

Giving too much information away in a single post is a waste of your time because people won’t read it. You may think you’re delivering value, but your audience probably won’t even make it past the second sentence once they see the volume of copy you are asking them to consume.?

This is why LinkedIn gives us the option to start a newsletter.

If you want to explore this and every other element of creating a successful social media strategy for business, we’d love to work with you 1:1.

Drop me a DM and let's have a natter.

Stay Unconventionall.