Best Practices Playbook
Beginnerās Guide to Linkedin Thought Leadership
Whatās the secret to LinkedIn growth?
I paid for several popular Linkedin growth courses, so you donāt have to.
In the past 28 days, I've racked up nearly 300,000 views on Linkedin:
I've paid for a few courses, wondering if there's a special hack to turbocharge growth.
But I noticed all courses teach the same things!
First, the fundamentals:
Choose a Niche: Stick to topics you're passionate about or know about. This focus makes it easier to attract the right followers (who care about those topics) and positions you as a go-to voice in that space
Post Consistently: On Linkedin, post once a day. Repost your post in the afternoon, bringing it to the top of the feed again. If your audience is mostly professionals, post in the morning or around lunch on weekdays.
Engage Frequently: Reply to comments on your posts. Comment generously on othersā posts in your niche. The more you comment, the more your profile is seen by more people. Also, people will be more likely to engage with your future posts if you engage with their posts (human nature). This is why āengagement podsā are still a thing on Linkedin. I donāt like them, but most of the fast growing creators use pods or built their own pod via selling Linkedin courses.
Give Lots of Value: On Linkedin especially, easy-to-digest education and valuable tips perform really well. Make it about them, not you. Give your best tips for free.
Broad Appeal: Make your hook (first sentence) as broad as possible, so that more people want to keep reading. Think of your post as a funnel, getting more specific further into the post. Broadly relatable topics like remote work, motivation, revenue, etc. tend to perform well.
Finally, the āsecret hackā taught by all Linkedin gurus:
1. Use Proven Viral Posts as Templates š«
2. Populate Template with YOUR Ideas š”
Here's how to do this in Blotato:
Find viral posts (using Blotato's Inspiration or search on Linkedin)
Use the prompt "Template from existing post"
Paste viral post into prompt
Click āGenerateā
Less Than 20k Followers?
Focus on:
If Linkedin is your PRIMARY social platform you want to grow, spend 30-60 minutes per day commenting on other people's posts. Target industry peers and your ideal customer profile. However, Linkedin is the slowest platform to grow on š For that reason, I strongly recommend repurposing every Linkedin post to other platforms. It only takes a few minutes:
Repurpose Linkedin PostsDon't focus on:
Joining mass engagement pods
No need to post more than 1x per day
Spending lots of money on custom carousels and infographics
š Posting Frequency
On Linkedin, post once a day.
Repost your post in the afternoon, bringing it to the top of the feed again.
If your audience is mostly professionals, post in the morning or around lunch on weekdays.
ā
General Tips
Share Your Story:
Share personal stories, lessons learned, data points, and insights. Authenticity helps you stand out, especially in the age of AI. Example: Justin Welsh grew a huge audience by openly documenting his journey (successes and failures) and what he learned along the way. People especially love to hear about failures!
Consistency:
When starting, post 3x/week, or daily if you can maintain quality. Post at the same time each day, and never skip your schedule, so the algorithm and your followers know when to expect new contentā.
Engagement:
Content is half the equation ā engagement is the other half. Respond to comments on your posts ASAP. LinkedInās algorithm watches how your post performs shortly after posting. Strong engagement in the first 1-2 hours can lead to much greater reach throughout the day.
One tactic is to form a small engagement group (i.e. pod) with a few creators. You agree to quickly like/comment on each otherās posts when they go liveā. This boost can amplify reach in the crucial 1st hour. Choose people in your industry, so the engagement is relevant and quality ā LinkedIn can detect fake or irrelevant engagement.
Commenting:
Proactively comment on other peopleās posts. Example: when Ruben Hassid was starting out, he left 100+ comments per day on othersā posts, treating āeach comment like a mini-postā to add value to conversations. While 100 comments/day is extreme, commenting is one of the fastest ways to build relationships and get noticed by a wider audience. When people find your comments valuable, theyāre likely to visit your profile and follow you ā next time you post, youāll have more eyes on it. I personally hate all the AI generated comments on Linkedin, so I find *human* comments stand out.
Formatting:
Always space out your text ā huge blocks of text usually turn readers off.
ā Common Mistakes
Avoid Being a Copycat:
Use viral content as inspiration but always credit the original source and add your unique spin.
Being Overly Self-Promotional:
It's fine to mention your product/serivce, but avoid making every post a sales pitch. Even when you do promote something, frame it in terms of value to the reader (e.g., āIām hosting a free webinar on X ā hereās what you can learn from itā rather than āSign up for my webinar, I need attendeesā).
Posting and Ghosting:
A common mistake is to focus only on pushing out content and not engaging with those who engage with you. If people leave comments and you never respond, you miss the chance to build relationships. It can also discourage them from commenting in the future. Always allocate time after each post to reply to comments, thank people for their thoughts, and maybe ask follow-up questions. This not only boosts your postās performance (more comment threads = more reach) but also shows you genuinely care about your audience.
Neglecting Your Profile:
If someone likes your post, they often click your profile to see who you are. Make sure your profile is optimized: a clear profile photo, a headline that says what you do or talk about, and an informative About section. Your profile is a funnel - it should convert curious visitors into followers or connections.
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