Why you should post on LinkedIn
One could reasonably be expected to have an aversion towards LinkedIn. At its worst, it is nauseatingly cringeworthy: shameless self-promotion, unhinged hustle bro manifestos, a jumbled mess of corporate jargon. Some folks understandably opt out altogether.
But to do so is, in our opinion, a mistake. Because for all its (often-comedic) flaws, LinkedIn can be a wellspring of opportunity—a place to make lasting, life-changing connections, find new customers and partners, and spark interesting conversations. And the best part: this can all be done without lighting your dignity on fire.
Here are two quick stories to illustrate this.
To build (sometimes unexpected) friendships and relationships
A few years ago, I started posting fairly regularly on LinkedIn. I shared blog posts I had written, projects I was working on, and points of view I thought were interesting. One day I got a message from a name that sounded vaguely familiar. It was someone who had been a colleague at a previous company, but whom I had never met or spoken to because she worked in a different office. We just happened to be connected on LinkedIn. She said that she had been following me for some time and enjoyed what I shared. She told me that she and her husband were coming to visit Richmond, where I lived, and would love to get together for dinner.
We met at a local tavern and ended up staying for four hours. To say that we hit it off would be an understatement. She and her husband ended up moving to Richmond, and we have become best friends. They’re some of the most important people in my life. She and I plan to start a business together in the near future.
To start a grow new ventures
A close friend of mine started an ambitious project: homeschooling his son, developing a world-class education, and writing about what he learns along the way. Oh, and as part of the project, he and his son—who is nine—are building a plane together. Like, a real plane.
He got some early traction with the project, but he was having trouble getting the kind of growth and exposure he was hoping for. Someone made a strange suggestion: start posting on LinkedIn. He was skeptical; he thought LinkedIn was pointless, and besides, he hadn’t logged in in years. He didn’t even know his password.
But he decided it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot. He started sharing what he was working on, posting thoughts about education, asking genuine questions of his network. The outcome blew his mind. Within a month, he had over 2,000 followers on LinkedIn and over 400 Substack subscribers—many of whom were paying. In one post, he asked for help with a very specific (and cool) project he and his son were working on and got dozens of responses in just a few hours.
Suffice it to say he is now a proponent of LinkedIn.
How to write a LinkedIn post
Okay, so now you’re sold on posting on LinkedIn. You see the potential for virtuous virality. But you’re still wondering: how do I do it without selling my professional soul?
Don’t worry—we’ve got you. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of LinkedIn while maintaining your dignity.
Follow what you find interesting or surprising
Genuine energy is attractive. We’re naturally drawn to it. Your LinkedIn posts should channel this energy. What interesting projects are you working on? What ideas, opinions, or events have captured your attention? What do you want to learn from others? Follow the energy of your interests, and people will be inclined to engage with you.
Be specific
It is difficult to engage with the generic and abstract. Bring your post to life with specificity. If your post is about a project you’re working on, give us the details—tell us what it’s like, what you’ve enjoyed, what challenges you're facing, what you’ve learned along the way. If you’re sharing an idea or opinion, include examples and stories. If you’re asking a question, be detailed in your ask so that others have a clear and comprehensive prompt. Invite us into your world.
Be human
The lack of authenticity endemic to LinkedIn can actually be to your advantage. Why? Because you can immediately stand out by being genuine. It is refreshing to see people showing up as themselves in a place where so many choose not to. The good news: this is easy to do. Be honest. Use the same language you would when speaking to a friend (though perhaps with less profanity). Be yourself. That’s all it takes.
Capture the reader’s attention
Just as you would with a blog post or other piece of writing, make your first line interesting. Make people want to read on. This could take the form of a surprising statistic, a thought-provoking question, or a bold statement. Be creative. Have fun with it.
Here’s a list of some cool ideas for LinkedIn posts.
Make it readable
A lot of LinkedIn posts are hard to digest because of their long paragraphs—giant walls of text that run together. You can avoid this fate by breaking up your text into short paragraphs to improve readability. Use formatting like bullet points and bolding to highlight key ideas. Your readers will appreciate it.
Have a sense of humor
The degree to which it makes sense to infuse humor and parody into your LinkedIn posts will depend on your industry and your goals, but levity on LinkedIn can be a nice change of pace and a great way to invite readers in. James Hawkins, the co-founder of PostHog, is a master at this. He’s hilarious.
End with a call-to-action
Make it easy for others to engage with you. Invite readers to answer a question or share their own relevant experience. If you’re looking for connections, encourage folks to send you a direct message. LinkedIn rewards engagement, and you will get much more out of the platform by using it to create conversation.
To make it even easier, you could also use Type and our library filled with dozens of expert-curated templates to choose from, like this sample LinkedIn post.
How to use this template
Here's how to go from our general template to a polished LinkedIn post in just a few clicks.
- Open up Type, click "New Document," and select the "LinkedIn Post" template from the gallery.
- Under "knowledge sources," you can include links to articles, research, or other sources you want to reference in your post. This will give the writing AI more context to work with.
- Hit "Generate," and watch as Type's writing AI creates a custom LinkedIn post for you in seconds.
- Refine the post with our Rewrite brushes. You can adjust the tone, shorten the text, enhance readability, and more.
- Add your own personal touches and examples to make the post authentic to your voice and experiences. If you need some ideas, brainstorm with Type Chat, a chatbot that lives right next to your document.
- When you're done, ask Type to review your work for any grammar or spelling mistakes. A polished, error-free post will help you look professional and credible.
- Copy and paste your completed post from Type directly into the LinkedIn post composer. It's ready to share with your network!
Best practices for posting on LinkedIn
- Keep it concise: LinkedIn is a scrolling feed, so aim to get your point across quickly. Limit yourself to a few short paragraphs.
- Use visuals: Posts with images or videos tend to get more engagement. If there’s a relevant visual you can include, do it!
- Leverage hashtags: Include a few relevant hashtags to make your post discoverable to people outside your immediate network who follow those topics. Just don’t be like the people who #put #hashtags #on #every #word. That doesn’t help.
- Tag people and companies: If you mention a person or company in your post, tag their LinkedIn profile. This notifies them and increases the chances they'll engage with and share your post.
- Post consistently: Aim to post regularly—ideally around once a week—to keep your presence active and build a following. You can always create a calendar to plan out your posts in advance.
- Engage with commenters: When people comment on your post, reply back to continue the conversation and build relationships. This boosts your post in the algorithm. More importantly, this is the whole point; it’s what makes LinkedIn worthwhile!
How to access this template
Getting started with this LinkedIn post template is easy. Just log into your Type account and open a new document.
Once you're in the document editor, select the "Generate" button to open the "Generate Draft" menu. Tap "Use template →" to open the template menu, where you can choose "LinkedIn Post" from the options.
Your turn
We know LinkedIn can be cringe. But it’s possible to use LinkedIn authentically, and in doing so, you just might change the course of your life. We’d call that a worthwhile endeavor.
Try Type out and see how easy it is to create LinkedIn posts that get results.
