Posted by LinkedIn is an untapped opportunity for entrepreneurs that are looking to stand out in a cluttered marketplace. For over 20 years, the platform has grown into a thriving social media ecosystem for business leaders to connect with customers in their networks. Today, it’s one of the best personal branding channels for entrepreneurs to position their expertise and attract a much wider defined audience.
As an entrepreneur, LinkedIn is your entryway to making authentic business connections that lead to growth and sales. With over 8.2 million C-level executives on LinkedIn, it’s the right place for you to spend your networking time. It offers you access to connect to business leaders with the potential to boost your visibility and credibility in front of these important project decision-makers.
Content is the main ingredient to make this happen. And you have to post quality content that is insightful, educational, original, and personable — to stand out in this crowded space.
Here are the five types of content you can post on LinkedIn for more growth and visibility, which will position you as a thought leader in your industry while also placing your expertise above the competition.
Related: When LinkedIn is Good for Entrepreneurs, and When It Isn’t
First, define your main message
Before you can publish content, you have to establish your main brand message.
As an entrepreneur, defining your main message takes personal reflection. Your message is one-half: the core service that you provide and how it helps your clients. The second half is about you: what makes you unique, how you help clients and your defined expertise in a specific topic. How do you want to be known in your industry? What is the main story you want to tell?
Defining your brand message is the first step. It’s the core ingredient that can turn unsuccessful content into thriving, sales-generating content. Once you have the core message, you can start defining sub-topics that you can eventually turn into written content.
Your main message will be a centerpiece of your content creation, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the opportunity to write content outside of your core. A collection of content around your main message, personal interests and your brand’s success stories — that content is what translates to long-term growth.
You need all the pieces of this working formula.
Next up: Determine your boundaries
Every entrepreneur has a different comfort level regarding what they share on social media. Some like to share a lot — and some like to keep certain topics private.
That is absolutely okay, but your boundaries need to be determined early on. Mainly, because personal content does perform well on LinkedIn, but it’s a slippery slope for many.
You will have to get personal on LinkedIn, but it’s within your power to determine how much. Remember, you want to both entertain and educate your audience. Both pieces are important to reaching your LinkedIn goals.
Related: 7 Ways You Can Use LinkedIn To Blow Up Your Brand
5 types of content to post on LinkedIn
Here are five types of content that you can start publishing on LinkedIn today.
- Trends, reports and predictions: Educate your audience on the latest industry insights from your sector. Simply research the latest reports, add a paragraph or two of your personal insights and tag the resource. This is great content to position yourself as a knowledgeable person who understands what is happening within their industry. Insider tip: Share the content “as a document” PDF.
- How-to guides: Many LinkedIn users want to learn from others in their industry, so share your expertise. How-to or informative guides are a great way to share your knowledge and insights. Insider tip: Share the content “as a document” PDF.
- Personal events content: Did you determine your boundaries? The fact is that personalized content performs well on LinkedIn. You have to get personal to create authentic connections and humanize your brand. My go-to advice: connect a personal experience, hobby or event to a business lesson.
- Company brand content: People want to share in your success, but you have to share the content correctly. Business leaders often share content directly from their brand’s company page. This is extremely boring. Again, you want to give your personal input and ideas about what is happening at the company. Share what those announcements mean to you personally — or maybe, what the journey was like to get to that achievement. That is more interesting.
- Stories of growth: Everyone loves a good story. Tell the story of how you worked through and overcame a specific challenge. As an entrepreneur, you can share regular insights into the struggles of building a team or product — and the obstacles that you had to overcome.
Related: 3 Ways to Supercharge Your LinkedIn Marketing Today for Tomorrow’s Growth
These are five topic ideas that you can start using on LinkedIn today. Your success on LinkedIn is greatly dependent on posting a collection of educational and entertaining content. Take these ideas — and write your own topics to get started.