Top trends on LinkedIn: Dogecoin, mental health, remote jobs. Plus: A creator on why you should always start with the human

One of the frequent questions I get from creators is how much of themselves to put into their posts: This is a professional social network; I should stay professional, right?

The answer is: You should stay human.

People are here to learn from and connect with people; we work for people; we want to spend time with people. What we don't do is grab coffees with personal brands; we have conversations, we don't bark mission statements at each other. Your audience on LinkedIn will grow if your content is human, combining working life — and that could range from deep dives into niche industry topics or Stories showing your work-at-home fails — with insights into you, as a person.

One creator who does this well: Joah Spearman. I met Joah years ago at a conference in Brooklyn. He was in the early days of launching Localeur, a platform that links travelers with a community of locals who can provide ideas about where to eat, what to do and what you should know.

The business model of Localeur has changed many times since its founding, but Joah’s content strategy has stayed largely the same: Write, share and create as much as is necessary to build a set of superfans. Fans of Joah, fans of the company’s story, fans of the product. 

“From the beginning, I’ve thought about content through the lens of using it to attract people and build up community, allowing people to feel like they have a bird’s eye view on our story,” Joah says. “I wanted to use content two ways: The content Localeur creates to fill the needs of travelers, and the content I create that builds the narrative for the company.”

That narrative is wrapped in Joah’s own. He frequently posts about his experience trying to grow the company, particularly the challenges that come from being a Black founder and from not being based in Silicon Valley: “The content I create tells the story that there isn’t one path to building a business. It’s all about being authentic, showing the everyday struggles and challenges.” With each post, Joah offers more of himself. He does it for the company, but he also does it for himself: “Failing to have a personal/founder story that is separate from the company story will lead to a lot of loneliness, depression and other potential negative downsides (suicide is not uncommon for business leaders, sadly) during those inevitable times when your company isn't doing its best.”

He offered some tips for other creators:

• Put your personal narrative on LinkedIn, not just your resume. Think of it as a place where you can craft and own both your professional and personal narrative.
• Tailor your content to the platform. “Often times, I’ll start with something on Twitter, and then translate that over to LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to use multiple platforms to give the same message and be your authentic self.”
• Go beyond the metrics. “I measure success through a community lens. Do I feel like I’m getting better at connecting people and leveraging those relationships. I want to give more than I get in return. That’s the best way I can inspire and motivate others who think the same way.”
• Find the big picture. “I’ve always been focused on personal narrative, but I’ve evolved away from sharing content that occurs on a day-to-day basis, and share more holistic ideas rather than just experiences... Instead of ‘Here’s what happened at my fundraising meeting yesterday,’ it’s ‘Here are three takeaways to fundraising.’”

Here are the topics generating attention over the last 7 days, compiled from trending hashtags and content searches. Use this data to spot demand and to start piecing together trends. Then write your own post about one of these subjects; share an interesting video or lesson that riffs off the topic; or add commentary to a conversation already in progress. 

• #dogecoin
• Elon Musk
• Internships
• #mentalhealth
• #mothersday
• #nursesweek
• #ramadan
• #remotejobs

Looking for ideas about what to talk about in the coming weeks? We'll tell you what we're expecting to see based on early signals and what's worked in the past.

• All month: May is Get Caught Reading Month. Across LinkedIn we see countless conversations around recommending great titles or asking for literary recommendations. Join in, whether by merging into a LinkedIn book club group like this one co-hosted by my colleague Callie Schweitzer or by using hashtags like #bookreview or #currentlyreading to find your next must-read.  
• May 17th (US): The IRS pushed back the personal tax deadline to May 17th this year; expect to see lots of posts about tax strategies, tax implications and tax policy.
• May 18th: International Museum Day. While the pandemic may have made it difficult to visit museums, you can celebrate them on LinkedIn and around the world by using the hashtag #InternationalMuseumDay.

Each week, I’ll highlight creators who are initiating meaningful conversations on LinkedIn. These members use a variety of tools — from live video to polls — to nurture their audience. See if any of their actions work for you or engage with them directly by leaving a comment and sharing your insights.

1. Marketing expert Kristin Galucci constantly shares deep-dive insights on all things branding, social media and career growth. I learned a lot from her most recent post on why the word “just” should be cut from all email correspondence. The answer in short? It lowers confidence and minimizes the impact of the message.
2. Erika Armstrong began using LinkedIn with one goal in mind: to educate and inspire others about the aviation industry, particularly women (only 5% of pilots are women). An airline pilot and captain herself, Armstrong shares thought-provoking content with her audience in an attempt to show that it’s “okay to be an aviation geek.” Her most recent article, “Pilotspotting: The Art of Knowing,” walks us through her ability to immediately spot a pilot in a room using her “pilot radar.”
3. Job search strategist Kamara Toffolo goes live from her profile every week as a way to share tangible tips and tools for her audience to use in their job searches. Her most recent “office hours” was a salary negotiations panel, and this week, she will interview Tejal Wagadia to discuss demystifying the recruiting and job searching process. I love that Toffolo always dedicates time to take live questions from her audience.
4. CMO of Visible Minjae Ormes started a conversation on the platform this week about lessons from her first job that stuck with her. The conversation drove 250+ comments, with members not only weighing in on their own experiences, but giving their personal thoughts and reactions to other’s first job stories.
5. I love Thomas Hudak’s words on unlikely career paths. He recently shared his journey on how he reached a senior director level role at United Healthcare without a four-year degree, and is now taking it upon himself to offer insights, generate deeper discussion and respond to other member’s sharing their own career stories.