When people told me I should post more regularly on LinkedIn, I had my concerns and shrugged the idea off at first.
🙈 Surely I’d run out of stuff to say after about a week?
🙈 Wouldn’t people get bored of hearing from me?
The answer to both of those worries was NO!
It’s been a year since I started posting regularly on LinkedIn. Here’s what I’ve learnt.
1. Build your network
Gone are the days when you’d just upload your CV and connect with colleagues and old school friends. I’ve gradually built up my network over the past year and have a varied following of ideal potential clients and fabulous fellow freelancers and copywriters.
The more relevant people you connect with, the more people are likely to see what you post, and hopefully engage with it.
In the last year:
I’ve posted 269 times
I’ve reached over 320,000 impressions
I’ve wracked up almost 11,000 engagements
75% of my clients have come to me via LinkedIn
I now have 2,228 followers (I gained 84 in one day back in March)
You’ll get connection requests from a variety people, which you can accept or decline. You can also send your own requests to people who you want to connect with. My advice is to add a personalised note to grab their attention and encourage them to respond.
I’ve made some amazing connections. I even consider some of them friends, despite never having actually met them in real life.
The freelance copywriter community, in particular, is amazing. We cheer each other on when things go well, and offer advice and support when things don’t go so well.
2. Publish content that’s honest and authentic
There’s a common misconception that you have to post corporate, business-type content on LinkedIn. Maybe in the old days, but not anymore.
It’s good to show some personality because “people buy from people”. So forget the LinkedIn police who say: “This isn’t Facebook” when you post a selfie of you on holiday. It’s a great idea to give people an insight into your life and what it’d be like to work with you.
People appreciate good-quality content that’s honest and authentic.
My top 3 best-performing posts for engagement in 2023 were:
That’s a real mix right there!
I’m still trying to figure out what works and doesn’t work. Posts that I think will do really well, often completely bomb 💣
So I test a few different things out and adapt as I go. The key though, is that I always remain genuine, authentic and true to myself.
3. It’s important to be consistent but flexible
You need to find what works for you so you can create some consistency – like posting at the same time, every time. That way, people will learn to look out for your content.
However, I’ve learnt that LinkedIn likes to keep you on your toes. Just when I thought I’d cracked it and was seeing great results, the algorithm changed and my stats dropped. So you need to be flexible and open to change. Keeping up with trends and developments is key.
LinkedIn has made a number of changes to its platform over the past year. Some have been popular. Others haven’t been well received at all. (I’m still getting over the fact they removed the ability to pin comments).
A huge realisation for me last year was that I don’t have to come up with a brand-new content idea every time I post. Despite what I’d like to believe, not everyone sees every single post I publish. It’s ok to repeat the same content every couple of months.
I keep a log of all my posts and make a note of how well they performed. Then I reuse the ones that did well (maybe with a couple of tweaks) a few weeks later. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time. Evergreen content is definitely your friend.
4. It becomes part of your routine
It takes quite a bit of willpower to keep showing up on LinkedIn. And it’s unlikely you’ll gain overnight success. (If you do, I want to know how you did it)!
It’s also not just about posting – it’s important to comment on other people’s posts, too. I put aside an hour a day to browse my LinkedIn feed and add relevant, valuable comments on posts that interest me.
To save time, I also plan my posts and schedule them in advance to avoid the dreaded blinking cursor and complete writer’s block.
It helps that I enjoy using LinkedIn.
5. Anyone can find success on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has become my favourite social media channel (and I never thought I’d be saying that a year ago). It’s not perfect – there are things I really like and some that I really dislike.
What I love about LinkedIn
❤️ The community of fellow freelance writers
❤️ The positivity and support
❤️ The opportunities
What I don’t like about LinkedIn
👎🏻 The algorithm
👎🏻 Features I like and use keep getting removed
👎🏻 The fact it doesn’t show the dates of my previous posts
So why am I telling you all this?
Because I started from scratch a year ago, without a clue about any of this. And although I can’t compete with the LinkedInfluencers and high achievers, I’m pretty proud of my success. I’m proof that anyone can build their presence on LinkedIn.
The key is to just start showing up regularly by posting and commenting. Just look at my best-performing posts - there’s a real mix of content in there. You can then adapt and tailor your content as you go.
You might not see things improve drastically straight away - you need to stick at it - but I promise you, it’ll be worth it. Like with many things, the more you use LinkedIn, the easier it becomes. Trust me.
Building on success
So what am I going to do with what I’ve learnt?
Put it all into practise and improve on my success in 2024. I’d love to help others too.
If you want to up your LinkedIn game this year but need a bit of support, get in touch and let me help you.
I can:
⭐ Create an awesome LinkedIn headline and bio – to help you stand out to your ideal customers
⭐ Create a bank of posts for you – these can be reused so you’re not having to come up with new content every time
⭐ Audit your current LinkedIn profile and recent posts – I’ll then make recommendations for how to improve
Book a free virtual cuppa with me to find out more.
Check out my blog on 7 common LinkedIn mistakes and how to avoid them.
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