Do Your LinkedIn Posts Help or Hurt Your Personal Brand?
Melonie Dodaro
Global B2B Marketing Strategist | Content Marketing & Social Media | Author: LinkedIn Unlocked; & Navigating LinkedIn for Sales
Have you ever wondered if what you are posting is appropriate for LinkedIn? Did you know that some postings make actually harm your personal brand?
If you are like most people, you probably use the other social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter far more frequently than you do LinkedIn. These networks are full of your friends, family and acquaintances and as such, most people post very informal things on them – things like what you did on the weekend, a funny pic of your pet or a picture of your last meal.
While these things might be appreciated, and engaged with on the other social platforms, such topics are often not appropriate on LinkedIn.
So why is that?
Quite simply, LinkedIn is a social platform for businesses and professionals.
In fact, it is a professional space, much the same as a business office where you have potential prospects or clients meet with you. If something is not appropriate to be shared with prospects or clients face-to-face in your office, chances are, it is also inappropriate to be shared on LinkedIn as well.
This actually works as a great filter when deciding what to post.
Ask yourself:
Would I want my boss, clients, or prospects to read this?
If the answer is no, then it is likely that this is something that could hurt your personal brand or credibility. Or at the very least, it won’t help, which is a waste of your time, and I am assuming you value your own time and don’t have time to waste.
Now some of you, depending on your industry and ideal clients, might even think this filter doesn’t apply to you, but a certain level of professionalism is expected in all situations on the platform.
To make it easier for you, regardless of your industry and ideal clients, I have identified four types of LinkedIn posts that can hurt your personal brand and four types that will help it.
Rock Your Personal Brand: What Types of LinkedIn Posts Can Hurt You or Help You
LinkedIn Posts that Hurt Your Personal Brand
1. Controversial Posts
As LinkedIn is a professional network full of clients, potential clients, industry peers and other people in professional relationships with you, it is a good idea to avoid topics that tend to polarize people, especially controversial ones with a negative connotation. This is not because these topics are not important or relevant, but because this is not the correct platform for those discussions.
Because these topics do polarize people, it can invoke the age-old “you are either with us or against us.” In these scenarios, if you fall on opposite sides of your clients or other professional relationships, this can hurt your ability to build relationships.
In most cases, it is better to avoid posting (or even commenting) on these types of posts altogether.
2. Political or Religious Posts
These are two topics that people feel incredibly passionate about. Just like with controversial topics, these types of posts tend to see people join one camp or another.
Your connections can take great offense if you believe differently than they do.
This is one of the reasons why Facebook usage has started to decline, according to digital marketing expert Jay Baer. Baer believes users are growing weary of having to defend their opinions to so-called “friends” who may now be part of the “opposition.”
3. Sales Pitch Posts
While LinkedIn is the best platform for B2B, it is most effective when you use it as a platform to build relationships, rather than as a place to broadcast your sales material.
While some businesses can make sales directly on the platform, most will not, and the real success comes from building relationships with your ideal clients and moving that conversation offline. It’s offline that you get the chance to speak with your prospect, get to know them and the problems they are facing and only then, discuss the solution you offer in a sales conversation.
Focus on providing value and being the go-to resource for your ideal clients, so that when they need someone who does what you do, you are the first person that comes to mind.
4. Inappropriate Personal Posts
While you should be social, you can be social AND professional at the same time.
That means no cat memes, no posts of what you ate for lunch (unless it is relevant to your profession), no drinking/partying pics, and your LinkedIn connections certainly don’t need to know anything about your ex.
LinkedIn Posts That Help Your Personal Brand
1. Timely and Relevant Posts
There is no better way to create a conversation with your connections (helping you to stay top of mind) and increase engagement than to post on timely and relevant topics in the news that are relevant to your network.
In addition to sharing this information, you want to include your insights and perspective as additional commentary to the post. After all, they may see the same news shared by many people, but your perspective on it makes your post unique.
2. Conversation Inspiring Posts
While you want to avoid negative, non-business related topics, it can be good to post on topics that can inspire productive debate on critical issues in your industry or the business world.
Both the content and how you present it should be thoughtful and inspire productive conversation rather than emotionally heated debates.
3. Professional Changes or Wins Posts
A great way to occasionally add a bit of yourself into your LinkedIn status updates is to share relevant professional or work-related wins and changes. This could be a new job, a promotion, getting a new client or a lesson learned.
This a great way to get people to know you better and learn what you are up to professionally.
4. Personal Touch Posts
You might be thinking, but you just said to keep it professional. And I did.
But occasionally and done correctly, it can be beneficial to share something more personal with your connections.
It may be related to a cause you believe in, a philanthropic project, a personal lesson you learned or a story that is relatable to others.
Wrapping Up: LinkedIn Posts That Can Help or Hurt Your Personal Brand
I hope that you feel better equipped to decide what kinds of posts to share on LinkedIn and understand better what can help or hurt your personal brand. If you still feel passionately about posting something that could hurt your personal brand, ask yourself if you are willing to lose leads, prospects and clients who might disagree or be offended by your point of view. If you are comfortable with that, then go ahead and post.
Are there other types of posts which can hurt your personal brand which I haven’t mentioned? Have you ever posted something on LinkedIn that received negative backlash? Let me know in the comments below.
Photographic Artist
5 年There is another side to the rule "Don't post anything controversial" I'd like to discuss: There may be a good controversial and a bad controversial. As a fashion photographer I write about the changes in fashion photography and how images with a commercial look increasingly will get caught in the "do-not-sell-me-anything-filter" of especially higher end clientele. Instead I wrote for creating images that people would look at even out of their own decision. This is controversial as it goes against the status quo. But I think it's good controversial as I don't slash out against the status quo (just stating as unemotionally as possible why it no longer works and things have to change) and give an image of positive change. Not everybody will agree with me, and that's OK. I thing "good controversial"? can also be called "challenging" and it is a good signal in a field that is changing a lot in these times.? Put this on top of the fact that 97% of profits in fashion are made by only 20 companies and corporations, it is an absolute must for niche companies to take a close look to the way they show their designs. You are yourself controversial when you go against the grain of bad LinkedIn behavior - and not everybody will agree. I would even add one rule: "Don't post anything everybody else is posting about because it makes you look like you have no own thoughts". An example would be those "8 things to do in meeting and 4 things to avoid" posts or posts that try to be inspiring but give you cliche pseudo wisdom. I think you had the right amount of challenge in your profile, which is why I bought your book to see what I could learn (I get my best clients from LinkedIn - but don't look at my profile now: it's still the one that I want to change. It is currently not conversational enough and too theoretic)
'Assisting the Entrepreneur' via Bookkeeping Services
5 年Great to have some thoughtful guidelines to maintaining one's personal and professional brands.
Helping you present your views convincingly in a genuine, unique way.
5 年Great advice Melonie.? Thanks for this article.
General Manager - Bridges and Structural Engineering / Senior Principal Engineer (Bridges)
5 年Melonie I totally agree with your list of posts that harm versus build your brand. I especially agree with not writing posts to sell... LinkedIn is best used as a relationship building professional network platform. Thank you!