Are your posts trending on LinkedIn?

You just got a notification from LinkedIn that one of your posts is ‘trending’, but you’re not sure what that means, if it’s a good thing or if it matters at all.

While I don't think just getting likes and views is the main goal on LinkedIn, expanding the exposure of your content is generally a good thing.

Just remember to stay true to your brand message and relevance to your target audience.

So, what causes a post to trend on LinkedIn and how can this help your business? Before we get into the mechanics of it let’s take a quick look at why it can be good if your content trends.?

Leaving aside the warm glow most of us get when we see the numbers of post views and likes start to climb, trending is about who gets to see your content.

When you get notified that your post is trending for a hashtag it means that LinkedIn members outside your network are being shown your content.

Even though you may not have any connection with them they are following content associated with that hashtag so they may even get a message to read your specific post. How cool is that!

Now that we’ve established that trending on LinkedIn is most likely a good thing, what can you do to ramp up the chances that some of your content will trend? There’s no absolute formula for this but here are some ideas that may help.

Pro Tips

Follow the same hashtags as your target audience

One great way to stay in touch with what your audience is looking for and keen to read about is to follow the hashtags they follow. That can help you to select the hashtags that will drive your content into your network’s news feeds which is a good place to start.

Start a conversation

If you want your posts to trend it’s more likely to work if your content sparks a response in your audience.

It needs to encourage interaction, even if that means you’re seeing comments from people who disagree with your point of view. Differences of opinion can produce great conversations as long as everyone remains polite and respectful.

Engage, don’t leave things hanging

There’s nothing more disappointing than posting a value-adding comment on someone’s LinkedIn post and getting no acknowledgement. Don’t be that person. When others take the trouble to post a comment, honour it with a response.

You never know where that conversation may lead.

Include hashtags in your posts

Since we’re on the subject of hashtags, it’s a good idea to get into the habit of including a few carefully chosen hashtags in your posts. Put them at the end, not scattered throughout the text and don’t overdo it. I’d never recommend more than 3.

Your #audience doesn’t want to read #posts on #LinkedIn that have too many #hashtags that make the #content hard to #read!

But wait, there’s more…..

Mix things up

We know that attention spans on social media are incredibly short. We also know that while consistency is important on LinkedIn, people get bored when everything’s always presented in one format.

So try adding an image to some posts. Real images can work better than those from a stock image library. Get into video or try a carousel post occasionally.

The golden hour

Emergency first responders talk about the ‘golden hour’ when it’s vital to treat a person who’s suffered critical injuries. Well, not wanting to stretch the analogy too far, there’s a golden hour in social media too.

If you want your content to trend outside your own network, LinkedIn’s algorithm first wants to see that it’s popular within your network. So posting content that prompts an immediate stream of comments and making sure you respond quickly to those comments will give it a good boost.

Spread the news

My final tip is this. Don’t keep it to yourself, just hoping LinkedIn will do it all for you. Let people know you’ve posted. I wouldn’t blast your whole network, but certainly tell trusted friends and colleagues. LinkedIn really likes it when a company’s employees follow the company page and show up as fans.

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