Are You Doing These 5 Best Practices For Your LinkedIn Content?

If you’re taking a moment to read this article, I‘m going to assume that you are creating content on LinkedIn or thinking about it. Kudos to you because I know how challenging it could be to make a post on LinkedIn. You spend time thinking of the perfect words to write, maybe even searching for that perfect picture, and finally, build up the courage to press “post.”

But then, nothing. No engagement on your post. Crickets. What are you missing here?

I hate to break it to you, but there are a few critical best practices you could have done to help optimize your posts for further reach. 

But no worries, I share the five most essential practices for your LinkedIn content.

Here is a quick breakdown of what is covered in this article. 

LinkedIn Content Best Practices (Getting More Eyes on Your Posts)

1. Best Times to Post Content on LinkedIn
2. The First Line is Everything
3. Give Your Content Some Space
4. Add a C-T-A (Call to Action)
5. Commenting Helps Your Post

OK, let’s not waste any more time and start with when to post your LinkedIn Content. 

Best Times to Post Your LinkedIn Content

I am going to give it to you straight. There are a lot of sites calling out different days and times to post content on LinkedIn, but I only want to provide you with the most recent information and data from actual case studies.

We can’t rely on data older than 2021 because how and where we work has changed dramatically due to the pandemic. This shift in how we work has impacted our behaviors and timing on social media. So, here are two qualified case studies from Sprout Social and Hootsuite that are based on actual user data.

According to a year-long study of when Sprout Social’s 20,000 users were posting on LinkedIn, they determined the following best days and times to post in the U.S:

• Tuesday and Thursdays from 9 AM to 12 PM (based on your time zone)
• Best Overall Days to Post- Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays

And with a similar case study by Hootsuite, they gathered data from 30,000 social media users for the past year, and here is what they found to be the best day and times to post on LinkedIn:

• Tuesday and Wednesday mornings around 9 AM (based on your time zone)
• Hootsuite‘s internal data results with weekdays from 8 AM to 11 AM  (based on your time zone)

We aren’t entirely done with this section because I have a few additional call-outs for this posting practice.

The time and dates that I shared above are an excellent guide for someone just beginning to post on LinkedIn. But here are a few critical points to keep in mind for those who have been posting.

1. Post when the majority of your audience is online, and be mindful of that time zone. For example, I’m based in Miami, East Coast, USA. I’m posting every day at 9 am when people are getting back to work.  
2. Think working hours and days; the platform is mostly made up of working professionals, so late evenings and weekends don’t have a lot of opportunities for engagement. 

I am here to provide you with the best practices, but make sure you use your best judgment. Only you know your audience the best.

You may know when to post now on LinkedIn but do you need help with what to post or how to optimize your profile? Join me [in]side Personal Brand Boss – create a follow-worthy personal brand that attracts your ideal clients + Transform your (yawn!) LinkedIn Profile into a highly converting sales page and so much more…

The First Line is EVERYTHING

A great first line of a post stops the scroll. It is as simple as that.

According to a mobile user study, the average attention span on a social media post ranges from 5-7 seconds before a person continues to scroll. So, with such a short amount of time, you only have one chance to grab the viewer’s attention, and that chance all depends on your opening line.

Here are a few different ways to help inspire your writing or make you think twice before moving on to the following sentence.

1. Be a contrarian (a person who opposes or rejects a popular opinion), start your post with an unpopular concept or thought.  
2. Start with the best part. Try starting with the climax or most dramatic part, if you plan to share a story. It will grab the reader’s attention and slightly confuse them just enough to intrigue them to learn more.   
3. Let your inner comedian come out. People assume that you can’t be funny on LinkedIn because it’s a professional network, but even professionals love a good laugh too. Start with a laugh-out-loud line. 

Whatever approach you take with the first line, just make sure to take a pause before hitting post. Re-read the line and ask yourself, “Would I stop the scroll to read this post?” 

Give Your Content Some Space

I hate to break this to you, but people aren’t big readers online; they are scanners.

In one case study, 79% of people scanned content online, versus only 16% read word forward. And the fastest way for someone not to read your post and instead continue to scroll is when the words are just a big block of text. No spaces, no symbols or even one emoji. This will make a viewer swipe up quickly.

So, what’s a more effective content writing practice?

• Adding spaces in between each complete thought.
• The use of bullet points instead of a series of sentences.
• The use of eye-catching emojis to get the feeling or point across (with fewer words).

Help the reader by making it easier for them to scan the post by highlighting the important points and creating intentional spaces or using symbols.

Here is an excellent example of how to space out the writing in a post.

Add a C-T-A (Call To Action)

Another best practice to help with the engagement with your post is by calling out a specific action for the reader to partake. In other words, add a CTA (call to action) to the end of your post to help promote engagement in the comments.

The CTA’s could be simple as: 

• Let me know your thoughts. Share below.
• Want to learn more? Find more details in the comments.
• Show your support with a thumbs-up emoji. 

Adding a CTA to the end of your post that encourages people to comment below helps your post in two ways:

1. Starts conversations between you and your audience.
2. This signals to the algorithm that your post is sparking interest and is worthy of showing to more people. 

And this leads to the perfect segway into why commenting is the next best practice for LinkedIn content. 

Commenting Helps Your Posts

One of the biggest pet peeves I see on LinkedIn is when people do not comment back to people who have left a comment on their post. By not commenting, you are literally hanging up a “closed” sign to potential prospects, recruiters, and even the algorithm.

When you interact with others by making comments on your posts, it’s an opportunity to show your appreciation and personality with other LinkedIn users. Your response can create that instant connection with another person on a human level. And on the technical side, it signals to the algorithm to share the commenter’s interaction with your post with other people in their network.

Basically, commenting can help get your post in front of new eyes, creating a further reach. So, do not post and ghost. Stick around to comment.    

Final Takeaway- LinkedIn Content Best Practices

So, there you have it! The five most essential best practices for your content on LinkedIn that you can start applying towards your next post. By now, you know timing matters, writing for the reader is critical, and engagement can help boost your post.

I wish we only needed to write and post, but that tactic alone will only get you so far on LinkedIn. But, by adding these helpful practices it will help take your content to a whole new level. 

Soon your LinkedIn content will be off the charts and making new connections. But how do you turn your connections into actual customers? I got you and a playbook for that – learn more about it here.