Write Viral LinkedIn Posts in 6 Simple Steps

If you’ve been active on LinkedIn for the past year, you’ll have noticed that short-form posts have become incredibly popular. 

A LinkedIn post is almost like a Facebook status message — as soon as you open the app or login on desktop, your header is prompting you to “write a post.” These posts can be up to 1300 characters (not including spaces) and can be accompanied by an attached image. 

You can easily write a short post from your mobile phone if you're on the go, or from the comfort of your computer.

What makes posts so catchy? 

First of all, the LinkedIn algorithm favors original content, which is why you’ll notice that sharing your thoughts in the form of a post, far outperforms sharing an article link, or even another user’s post. 

These short posts play perfectly into our busy, content-heavy lifestyle, where we’re looking to skim through a feed and get the most important information in a quick and concise manner. 

And last, LinkedIn is now in the hashtag game — if you’re not following hashtags relevant to your industry, you can follow by either clicking on a hashtag you’d like to follow in a post you see, or by locating the Discover feature as shown below. 

If you’re following a hashtag, trending posts for that hashtag will show up in your feed, or you’ll receive a notification, regardless if you are following/connected to the author or not. This makes it a great feature for discovering new people to follow, as well as giving the author (you!) access to a bigger target audience. 

Hashtags are also automatically bolded within a post, so you can make keywords really pop! 

So, just how do you create a LinkedIn post that will engage your audience? 

Here are 6 simple steps to follow: 

6 Steps to a viral LinkedIn post 

Start with a question, shock statement or guidance 

Question: 

Starting off your post with a question is important for two reasons, first, a provocative question can grab attention, and second it encourages engagement, which is key to getting your post a larger reach. 

Check out these examples: 

Shock statement: 

What’s a shock statement? Something that is a very short statement, but it is surprising, provocative, or witty — something that stops a user’s scroll. 

Here are some examples: 

Guidance 

People are starting to see LinkedIn as a learning platform — not only for job-seeking — a place where you can follow people in your industry and receive up-to-date information, trends, tips etc. Feed your audience quick tips, tricks, and hacks to keep them coming back for more. 

Start your posts with a straightforward ‘how to’ or ‘X steps to…’ to immediately tell a user the value you’re going to give them in the post, and why they should click ‘see more’ to view the rest. 

Offer Value 

If you’re not providing a ‘how to’ make sure you still provide value in your post — what are your top 3 takeaways, insights or even questions people should be asking? 

Remember, great content isn’t about YOUR story, it’s how well you make it someone else’s. Why does what you are sharing matter? What can someone learn? How can someone else overcome a challenge, seize an opportunity, or prevent a problem? 

Make it easy to read!

Think of how you use LinkedIn, if it’s anything like me, you’re scrolling through, quickly skimming the feed for anything that jumps out at you. Big blocks of text can be difficult to read quickly, so avoid writing a LinkedIn post as you would a blog. 

Separate your copy into multiple paragraphs, I’d suggest no more than 2-3 lines per paragraph. 

Make it even easier by adding emojis to your content — this can make your text stand out, and give the reader some additional context in a matter of seconds. 

End with a question 

Even though a post is short, remind people again that they can contribute, share, disagree! Comments are much more valuable than ‘Likes’ or ‘Shares’ — remember, LinkedIn wants people to be as active as possible on their platform, if your post is receiving comments, the algorithm will identify this as high quality content, and show it to more people. 

Not all comments are equal — encourage comments with substance. One-liners like “Congrats” or “Awesome” won’t do as much for your post as comments that are one or two sentences.

Always respond to comments, especially if you've asked people to engage. 

Not only because this means that your post gets more ‘points’ for engagement, but because you’ll be doing yourself a favor in the long-run. If someone comments on your post, and you never engage, even by just ‘liking’ their comment, they’ll be less likely to continue to engage with you. Build a community around your content — be thoughtful, engaging, and respectful. 

#Tags 

LinkedIn tagging etiquette:

It’s no secret that tagging others in your post can encourage engagement and extend the reach... but there are some guidelines I’d suggest to follow;

Give a good reason 

If you’re sharing insights, tips, reports, trends etc. - ask a question aimed at the people/person you’re tagging. 

This can be as simple as “what is your take XXX” or “I know you post a lot about this XXX - you might like to check this report out” 

Don’t just tag people for the heck of it and expect them to engage 

Less is more 

Unless you’re alerting a bunch of people about an upcoming event (which, newsflash you can now just create an event on LinkedIn & invite people that way), or breaking news/new report releases - limit the number of people you tag. 

Choose 3-5 people who could really have something valuable to add to the conversation - the chances are much higher they’ll contribute vs if you’ve tagged 20 people at the end of a post/in comments

Relevance 

This should go w/out saying but, I’ve seen it - make sure the person/people you’ve tagged has/have expertise or a well-known interest in the topic - not just a big following. 

Extra tip — thanks to Michael Norris for this one: Ask 

If you’re thinking of tagging someone in a post, send them a message, ask if it is ok for you to mention them in your post. I think this is a great way to build a better relationship with your connections, while also just being respectful and considerate. 

Adding hashtags 

Hashtags can also help your content become discoverable outside your network, and are a great way to make key words in your post stand out, as once you add # the text will automatically be bolded. 

Similar guidelines go for hashtags; 

Less is more 

Identify 3-5 keywords or phrases that you want to highlight 

Relevance 

LinkedIn will suggest hashtags for you, and let me tell you, I’ve seen multiple posts where you can tell that the author followed LinkedIn’s suggestions…

Let’s just say that machines still have a lot of learning to do. Make sure whatever hashtags you choose are relevant to your content. 

Don’t be a know-it-all all the time

It’s great to share your knowledge and expertise, but you also want to leave space for your audience to contribute, plus, you never know what knowledge you might gain from leaving a post a little more open-ended. 

For example if you want to list out tips or hacks, instead of sharing everything you can think of, share 3-5 (even leave out some obvious ones) and ask your audience ‘what else?’ 

Some other things to remember when writing content on LinkedIn: 

Identify your content pillars — one to three topics you consistently write about

‘Like’ or comment on relevant posts — remember all of your actions can be seen by your network, make sure that not only what you post about, but anything you interact with falls within your pillars 

Pictures are nice, but good copy is better — you may be wondering why “Add a photo” is missing from the tips above. I’ve written hundreds of posts, and the ones that follow the above formula perform best, regardless if there is a photo attached. Focus on your message and if you have a photo to back it up, great! If not, don’t sweat it. 

Have any other great tips for creating posts on LinkedIn? Let me know ????

I help companies and individuals build community & influence, generate leads, and drive business by creating content for today's most powerful social media channels. If this article sparked your curiosity check out my other articles or drop me a message to chat!

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