How to Create Awesome Content on LinkedIn

The next edition of?The Mango Effect is out! ?? If you're new, this is where we talk about all things related to growing our businesses and personal brands "the mango way" on LinkedIn -- from personal branding to growing our networks to attracting more ideal clients to optimizing our profiles... and everything in between!

Each week, I share ONE strategy that you can use to optimize your personal brand or grow your business on LinkedIn. Whether you're a subject matter expert at the top of your field, a business leader looking to get on more boards, or a gritty entrepreneur trying to craft an ideal sales & marketing machine -- you'll find one action item you can take away and implement each and every week to get you one step closer to your goal.

No topic is off-limits. We discuss the good, the bad, and the fugly. I do take topic recommendations, too!

My mission is to help more professionals learn how to use LinkedIn, so we can all "up our game" on the platform, build thought leadership, and grow as leaders in our careers and businesses. And, I like to keep things fun, practical, and inspiring.

Now, onto this week's topic!

How to Create Awesome LinkedIn Content

Hearing crickets... again? I don't mind the sound of crickets gathering underneath the mango tree ?? but when it comes to sharing content on LinkedIn, it's a different story.

How many of you have meticulously planned out social media content calendars?

? Pages of topic brainstorming.

? Hours of content batching.

? Squeezing in the writing.

...all while trying to "work it" within our businesses and careers!

It's pretty exhausting to try to keep up with the volume of content we need to produce to be seen as an EXPERT in our niche.

THEN, we have very little to show for all that effort because it feels like nobody is engaging with our content. What's the point?

In this throwback episode of Mondays with Mindi, we're talking about three secrets to engaging LinkedIn content that will make yours irresistible to your ideal community, target audience, and LinkedIn network.

HINT: it's not just about the engagement numbers or hacking the LinkedIn algorithm ??

Do I Need Viral Content on LinkedIn?

How often should I post to LinkedIn??

How do I get the algorithm to work for me?

These are the common questions that we ask because we think that if we simply understand the “how” - we’ll start doing it.?

Just tell me the answer.

What should I write?

How long should my posts be?

Which hashtags should I use?

We’re asking the wrong questions…

You may be able to hack your way to a few viral posts on LinkedIn using these methods perfectly.?

I’ve seen it done by self-proclaimed experts and those following their advice.

The problem… viral content does NOT usually lead to better relationships with your tribe, your audience, your potential prospects.

Quite often, it has the opposite effect, where you appear too unattainable and that you’re not able to pay enough attention to the individuals who comment on your posts.

If you’re in a business with a relationship-based sales process, you must take into consideration that part of the premise to them wanting to do business with you IS to feel like you’re able to get into a conversation with them.

Viral content -- may make you “appear popular” but won’t help you get more 1:1 clients or necessarily attract those high-paying corporate gigs.

The online realm has changed.

People who are seen as “influencers” don’t often hold all the cards when it comes to building a great business any more.

It’s the people who are more in the micro-influencer realm who tend to have businesses they love, choose the clients they want to work with, and have the byproduct of enough revenue to specialize.

I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather work with someone who looks like they have TIME for me if I get stuck -- not someone who’s automated everything in their business and has a host of virtual assistants handling their DMs at all hours of the day.

So think from your customers’ perspective, not what the social media experts tend to tell you.

With our world as it is now, we are ALL looking for more of that personal connection with the people we admire, those we trust, and those we want to learn from.

There’s something special about maintaining and valuing that accessibility - if you don’t yet have 10K+ followers on your preferred channel, you’re exactly where you need to be.

Go deeper with your network. Write for THEM. Not to go viral.

Virality Does Not Equal Business Revenue

Our obsession with going viral or getting a massive following is crushing experts who are darn good at what they do and wasting WAY too much time doing “content creation.”

Instead of focusing so much on the marketing of their businesses to attract a WIDER audience, they could actually go DEEPER with their current network.

This topic actually was brought up by one of my former program members inside The LinkedIn Accelerator, and it had an impact on me.

I was in the middle of explaining how to GROW your network with the right people. Showing all of these high-converting connection requests. Elaborating on the importance of the approach to new connections. Where to find all of these wonderful people.

She raised her hand and said, “Mindi, I know I was supposed to research 5-10 new people I want to connect with on LinkedIn. Instead, I actually made a list of people I’m already connected with who are PERFECT for my business. Is it okay to go deeper with them? Doesn’t it make sense to nurture existing connections above just adding MORE?”

Brilliant question. Very insightful.

This same exact thing happens with our content. We work SO hard to write content that has massive appeal to “build our networks” and “expand our influence.”

But because it’s not written to go deeper with our existing network, we often miss the mark with them. All of those people who want to go down this path with us get stopped right from the beginning because we’re just saying what everyone is saying and staying shallow.

We’re almost afraid to go deeper, like it starts to get a bit more vulnerable for us.?

We want to appeal to everyone, and in doing so, we appeal to NO ONE.

We’ve heard that analogy before, but we forget when it comes to content creation.

Stop comparing yourself to that industry peer who’s getting a bazillion likes, comments, and shares on her piece of content.

It doesn’t affect your brand or your business ONE BIT.

What does affect you is that laser focus and deep-seated passion to help those in your sphere of influence with your message, who you are as a human being, what you stand for professionally.

That’s what is going to connect you with the good people who want to do good business with you.

All right, so are you ready to find out what that looks like?

Getting the Attention of the Right People

You may wonder what it looks like to approach content creation in this way.

Yes, you need to create some type of content for your audience that engages them and gets their attention.

Thing is, you don’t need to get EVERYONE’s attention -- just those to whom your message speaks.

It’s okay if you get a half dozen likes and just a few comments.

Treat those comments and likes as if they are gold because they are.

Follow up with everyone in the comments or shoot them a DM when they engage with you.

The impact this has for me, for my clients, for my students is surprisingly powerful.

If you want to learn how to hack the LinkedIn algorithm, I’m not your person.

If you want to create irresistible content that actually opens doors to real relationships with real humans whom you can help in your industry?

This is my sweet spot. This is what we’re getting into today.

The biggest thing I want you to take away from this live is that it’s not about your numbers and going wider with your audience to get “more” -- instead, it’s about your relationships with the people who are touched right now by your message -- no matter if it’s just a dozen people.?

We all start somewhere.?

What kind of impact can you have on those dozen people? You have the opportunity to go deep if you want to.

Your competitors aren’t.

They look at those dozen people and say “I’m just going to wait until I have 1,000 people on my email list.”?

They don’t see them as individuals with hopes and dreams, but you do.

3 Ways to Create Engaging LinkedIn Content

What should you consider as you’re approaching the creation (or deciding whether to repurpose) irresistible content for your audience on LinkedIn??

There are some basics when it comes to LinkedIn specifically that we’ll talk about, but I’m not going to go into the nitty gritty details of character count, format, etc. That’s what I teach inside my programs, but it’s NOT as important as the mindset to how you’re approaching content creation.

#1 - Engage Their Emotional Brain?

Listen to them on social media - pay attention to the words they use, the struggles they face, how they’re coping with things now, which solutions are working (or not) for them.

You have to understand the emotional component to why they think what they think!

If you cannot tap into this, you’re going to get stuck in writing “how to” content that is just too tactical and never grabs them with the emotions they’re feeling.

Think about the people that are captivating - like a Brene Brown or an Oprah Winfrey - how many step-by-step articles do they write?

Not many. They focus on eliciting that emotional reaction from people and shifting their perspectives through the types of content they create.

They entertain. They challenge. They ask question. And they listen a LOT.

#2 - Speak Their Language

Speaking their language shows that you care about them. Many of us tend to default to our industry jargon either consciously or unconsciously, which alienating our audience.

We all do it. We start to use phrases that are familiar to us. But either feel hard for our people to grasp, or they make us feel unattainable or out-of-touch with where they are.

You’re going for approachable with your content.

You’re not the high-falutin expert giving directions - you’re the one in the trenches with them working right alongside them to figure things out.

Use the words they use. When they use certain phrases, screenshot them so you know exactly how they say what they say and what the meaning is behind it.

Study, listen. Repeat.

#3 - Envision Your Ideal Person

Instead of trying to write or do a video for a GROUP of people, choose ONE.?

When I craft my LIVE sessions, I usually picture one specific person from my LinkedIn network, which is filled with people eager to learn more about LinkedIn and create my content specifically for them.

When you approach your content this way, it has a feeling of vulnerability to it that you cannot get when you’re trying to write an announcement for a massive group of people.

Develop and cultivate that DEPTH of understanding, just like my program participant mentioned, in going deeper with her network rather than keeping things surface level and broad.

And guess who’s going to have more long-term success and work with the best clients and customers? You will.

Tying this all together, your goal is to create meaningful 1:1 connections with your LinkedIn network around your areas of passion and expertise, not to try to get random comments from people simply because you wrote something that was “shareable.”

My challenge for you -- write one meaningful piece of content to ONE person in your network this week. I’d love to see it -- feel free to tag me in the comments or shoot me a DM to let me know.

----

If you’re looking for that extra edge to get you started on the right path with your LinkedIn network, check out my FREE LinkedIn profile guide that will help you dial in the most important sections of your LinkedIn profile, so that you can feel confident in growing your network the mango way.