You might be worried about how to write your first LinkedIn post, but did you know that less than 1% of all LinkedIn users actually post on the platform? This means that (luckily for you) LinkedIn is a content deficient platform, and therefore the opportunity to stand out is HUGE.
Getting that ball rolling is often the hardest part, so here’s 5 easy steps to take you from LinkedIn lurker to social media star by learning how to write your first LinkedIn post.
Follow The Right People
Before you even start thinking about writing your first LinkedIn post, you need to customise your feed. The biggest LinkedIn misconception is probably that the platform is just for boring business people, posting and boasting about their achievements. The truth is… yep, those people do exist on LinkedIn. But you don’t need to follow them! No matter your industry or interests, someone will be posting about it in a way that is relevant to you, all you need to do is find them.
Follow people on LinkedIn who inspire you, who make you feel good about yourself and positive about your industry. These people will not only help you stay up to date with the latest conversations, but they will also make your LinkedIn experience 100000x more interesting, and inspire future posts of yours. You can begin by connecting with George and Shona and following The Grad Soc.
It’s also important to make sure that your own profile is up to scratch. If you need help getting started, you can check out 5 Quick And Easy Updates Your LinkedIn Profile Needs.
Engage With Other People’s Content First
We get it, posting is intimidating. So why not start smaller? Sorry to break the news, but liking posts isn’t enough. You need to get commenting. This matters because if you regularly engage with someone else’s content, they’ll be more likely to engage with yours, pushing it further and allowing you to reach more people (some of whom might be potential employers!)
Start by setting yourself a daily goal, whether that’s 15 mins on the platform or 3 comments each day, which will be invaluable in the long term, especially when it comes to getting engagement after writing your first LinkedIn post.
Show Some Personality
Your first post on LinkedIn is a great place to introduce yourself to the network you’ve been building up. A trap lots of people fall into is thinking they have to write super professionally, talking about complicated stuff in complicated language. That’s not the case. LinkedIn is a place where you can show some personality, and let people get to know you better.
In your first post you don’t have to just write about your career goals and experience, you can talk about your hobbies, unique facts about yourself and give an insight into you as a person – not just your ‘professional’ image.
Be Honest And Authentic
Brutal honesty on LinkedIn is extremely effective for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it’s difficult. And by having the confidence to post honestly and openly about something you’re bad at, or something you’ve always found really hard, or something you’re struggling with in your career/graduating process (and how you’re overcoming it / getting better at it), you immediately highlight yourself in front of potential employers as a leader – as someone others can look to for inspiration, motivation, reassurance or advice.
This happens because that struggle or weakness you’re so openly and humbly discussing in your LinkedIn post will almost certainly be felt by 1000s of other people in the same situation as you right now – the majority of which not only aren’t brave enough to talk about it, but think they’re alone in feeling it too.
You’re giving them hope – something that will stand out a mile off when writing your first LinkedIn post.
Secondly, you’re showcasing to potential employers self-awareness, a genuine character, AND what awesome things you’re doing – like an internship with the Grad Soc! – (or what you’ve done) to get better at that weakness, or to overcome that struggle. This is not just effective in building great engagement, it’s actually GIVING something to those people that engage with you. It’s giving people who have been in your position the help and advice they need to move forward. You’re progressing, and you’re bringing others with you.
Perhaps most importantly, and most impressively though, you’re very neatly demonstrating something every employer in every industry loves to see – the ability to overcome challenges through an awesome attitude to learning.
Demonstrate that, and you’re already on the path to people wanting to hire you. As this is your first post you could talk about struggles you’ve had on LinkedIn itself. Been scared to post? Felt imposter syndrome? Talk about it when writing your first LinkedIn post – others can definitely relate.
Reply To Every Comment
If someone’s taken the time to comment on your post, reply to it. The sooner the better. This will boost your engagement and encourage others to comment, making your post reach even more people.
The Most Important Thing…
What’s this, a secret sixth step? Yep – consistency, arguably the most important part. Writing one post, getting put off when it only receives 2 likes and deciding to not bother any more is the worst mistake you could make. No one gets 1000 likes on their 1st, 10th, or even 100th post, but that doesn’t mean it’s not working. It takes time to build a personal brand and audience, but the outcomes make it completely worth it.
Looking for someone to chat to about your posting strategy? Still tempted to Google ‘how to write your first LinkedIn post’ a bunch more times? Book a 1-1 LinkedIn strategy session with a member of The Grad Soc team today and get ready to smash it.
