What to Post (& Definitely Not Post) on LinkedIn

You’ve put hours, weeks, months, even years of hard work into carefully creating your brand – growing your company into a successful business with a devoted base of loyal customers.

It’s taken dedication. Determination. Probably plenty of dollars too.

You try to embrace new marketing techniques, tactics, and platforms to attract new clients and keep your company evolving.

LinkedIn has been an obvious choice – it’s the number one social networking site for B2B companies.

When it’s used the right way, LinkedIn can help you connect with potential investors, clients, and new employees.

In a post-COVID world, the need for virtual networking on platforms like LinkedIn is more important than ever.

When you make a great impression on LinkedIn, you can make serious progress.

But, just as you can enhance and promote your brand on LinkedIn, you can easily damage it by posting the wrong thing too.

There are certain unwritten rules about what you can and can’t post – and today, we’re going to guide you through the types of posts you should never put on LinkedIn and what you should be posting instead.

What not to post on LinkedIn:

1. Political views

For the love of all things holy – do not post about politics on your LinkedIn profile. That goes for both your personal and your company profiles.

There’s a reason why many successful companies are apolitical. If they take one side over another, it could alienate a serious amount of potential customers. 

2. Anything that puts down another company

Regardless of whether they’re competitors or not, make sure your LinkedIn posts never target other companies.

Try to keep all your content on LinkedIn as positive as possible. Reach the top position in the market by helping others up – not pushing others down to get there.

3. Incorrect information

Unfortunately, we’re in the age of fake news.

You can’t take anything at face value – always double-check any (and all) facts you use in your posts. Don’t give people any reason to doubt your company’s experience and services.

4. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors 

Some people may think spelling and grammar mistakes aren’t the end of the world – but they do leave a bad impression on a prospect.

All posts should be checked for errors and be easy to read.

5. Sales pitches

Your company is in business to make sales. However, LinkedIn is neither the time nor the place to make sales.

Many companies opt for ‘sales pitch’ posts. You’ve probably seen some that explain a service or feature offered by another company.

Chances are you scrolled right past it.

What should you post on LinkedIn?

1. Insightful Questions

Asking interesting and insightful questions to your feed on LinkedIn will help get engagement from your connections (if you didn’t already know, people love to share their opinions online).

Mix it up a bit, don’t use bland-ass questions everyone else is asking – stand out! Get the conversation going.

Not only will you spark up discussions, but you’ll also get more exposure to people outside of your network (LinkedIn will show connections-of-connections that the mutual connection is commenting on your stuff).

You never know where a question might lead until it’s answered – whether that’s a new way of thinking or a new lead. 

2. Industry News & Research

By posting about industry news and new research/new tech/new products/you get the idea, you’re showing your connections you’re up-to-date and in-touch.

If your company knows all the latest tricks of the trade, then you’re going to be top of the hiring list when it comes to potential clients – no one wants to work with someone using machinery and techniques from 20 years ago.

Don’t forget to share upcoming events, too, especially if you’re attending them. This shows you’re active in the industry – and might lead to a few meetings booked for the event too.  

3. Quick tips, Tricks & How-Tos

Your LinkedIn is (or should be anyway) filled with like-minded professionals who have the same goals, interests, and aspirations you do.

Some of those professionals might not be as experienced as you are in the industry's ways, which is why posting tips, tricks, and how-tos are the perfect way to create value for your audience and be seen as an expert in your niche.

You really can’t go wrong with sharing content that’s meant to teach!

Content that provides the reader with value, in this case, shows them how to do something, usually has a high engagement rate.

This is also a great way to show your audience that you’re here to help people regardless of whether or not you get any (immediate) conversions out of it.

The more valuable you are to them, the more likely they won’t forget you. 

4. Videos

Video is huge. Try making your own 3-5 minute videos to share your insights with your network. It doesn't have to be an Oscar winner. It just has to get your face and company on their feed. Your audience will enjoy watching it, and you'll have fun making it.

Videos are so much easier to consume than written content – and you might have provided somebody with their lunchtime distraction.

I'm going to say this again: make your own videos. Seriously. Check out my LinkedIn profile, I make videos every week, and they always get great feedback from my network – a hell of a lot better than just sharing someone else's ideas.

If you're still battling the camera-shyness, use footage from any webinars or seminars you've previously spoken. These also have the double whammy of 1 – showing off your expertise in the subject and 2 – showing you're respected in your niche, you're a speaker!

5. Relevant and helpful blogs or articles 

If you have a blog (which you should do at this point, c’mon), post your recent (and not-so-recent-but-still-awesome) blog posts to your LinkedIn account.

You can also post blogs or articles you’ve read from other companies. If you think they’re relevant and have good information in them, then share them with your connections and give your own take on the points covered.

Remember, LinkedIn is all about connecting with others. Build your brand on the platform by avoiding posts that could potentially be harmful or induce a negative response.

Your LinkedIn posts are just another extension of your brand – make sure they’re telling prospective customers the right message.

Here at Branding & Beyond, we want to help you get the most out of your presence online. If you want to attract more customers to your business, we’re here to help you implement a solid brand foundation, as well as a brilliant marketing plan that will continue to deliver for years to come.

Start building your brand on LinkedIn today, and get in touch.