The Purposes of LI Posts (Free LinkedIn Guide inside)
Mandy Brown, EMBA
Sr Learning Solutions & Instructional Designer | Neurodivergent & Trauma-informed Career Mentor | Newsletter & Blog Writer
Let's talk about the purpose of a LI post. Understanding the poster's purpose will support you as you navigate other people on the platform and progress toward your own goals. The way I see it there are only a few reasons to post. And if you can understand why someone else posted something, you can know when/how to engage and when not to.
You'll also know what may be missing from your own posts as you share with the LI audience.
Increase Engagement & Followers
Straight up, sometimes a post is to get likes and followers. These posts can be anything from saying something clever and sharing a meme to posting something controversial. This is why we keep seeing the "Don't use the green open-to-work banner" debate from want-to-be influencers and "Why are people still saying this? Please use the banner" from recruiters. If you've ever seen a "Once I hired someone with no experience and..." post, that one was likely attempting to increase engagement and gather followers.
Wanting to have engagement and followers is fine, but how you go about doing it should add value to your audience, not create a them vs us, perpetuate a faux debate, tell a fictional story, etc. Instead, consider that the upcoming reasons for posting will create followers and engage people too.
Important!
Don't engage with posts to debate people who are not interested in a true discussion. When you comment with your side of the story, use the laughing (at them) response, etc., you're teaching the algorithm that the content of that post is valuable. It's better to unfollow or click the three dots at the top of the post and mark something as "Not Interested."
Sell Something
Yes, some people are selling things. It is a business platform. And as an entrepreneur myself, posting about a product is part of my strategy. The key is to make sure that it's not all the time. And if you start your posts selling without building credibility and community... you're not likely to be successful with these posts. People want to buy from people they trust and respect, not a rando.
If you're freelancing, it's likely you'll have to have some sales posts. Consider sharing case studies (minus specifics that might violate client privacy) and sharing how you solved for it. Don't forget to end with a call to action.
Build Credibility
These posts tend to teach, tell a story about work experience, share research, etc. If you've ever posted a "I completed a certificate" post, you've posted something to build credibility (though I hoped you customized the auto-text to give better context). The best posts that build credibility add value to the larger community. People who read these posts tend to be learning something. Sometimes they're learning about you. Other times they're learning about the industry, work habits, etc.
Spread Awareness
Posts about issues from war to lacking adequate childcare are all about spreading awareness to the issues. My posts about neurodivergence tend to be in this category, and I cannot begin to tell you the number of people who have reached out to tell me these posts have made a difference in their personal lives. 🥰
Important!
If there's an issue that matters to you that you want to show support in but feel like there will be backlash elsewhere, you can click the three dots in the corner of the post and select "Save." You can also linger on the post a little longer than usual. This will teach the algorithm that this post is valuable without also attaching you to the post. (Can't tell you how many people reach out to tell me they love my content but won't engage because they're employer will see the Like and make their lives more difficult. )
Open to Work Posts
These posts are spreading awareness. If you want these to be beneficial to you, I recommend doing the following:
Do not speak badly about your former employer in this post. This post is about you and your next steps, not about the past. If you want to write about your former employer, that can be a different post and be intentional of how you do it.
Also be careful of sharing how many job applications/rejections you've received. I know you'd like to vent, but on LinkedIn, too many people tend to view this as a "oh there must be something wrong with them" rather than have understanding and compassion. It's weird herd mentality. Humans are wired for community, so if someone looks (even on a subconscious level) like they aren't wanted in the community, we tend to shun out of self-preservation.
Tangent - I can't remember who said this, but I once listened to a speech that shared how, if one is compassionate and empathetic, that individual has high intelligence because they know how to bypass their lizard brain. While I wholeheartedly believe this, the internet tends to move so fast that mindfulness of one's lizard brain judgement tends to dwindle. Hence my recommendations
Build Community
Speaking of community! That's one of the reasons to post. If you're sharing about what's going on in your life, updates about your role, your family growing, etc. you're building community. What can happen when you make these posts is that someone somewhere says something silly like "This isn't Facebook." On one level, I agree. One can post too much about themselves on social media in general. On LinkedIn, I tend to appreciate the posts that humanize the workplace. So yes, show me your new baby, but also share how grateful you are about the company's paternity leave or share why it's not okay that we don't have paid leave in this country. Show me your lazy office manager snoring in his crate after getting that milk bone, and tell me what remote work has done for you. Tell me how proud you are of your kid's growth and their first job.
But don't show me what you're cooking for dinner or that view of your vacation rental and leave it at that. Connect to something larger. Remind me to take my PTO and have meals away from my computer. Something!
Yes, these categories have some overlap. That's okay. The important part is to know why you're posting and what you want readers to do with the information. Try to leave your posts with an invitation to that action. If you're just posting to post, you'll have mixed results.
Freebie Alert - LinkedIn Guide
I thought I'd share my freebie ebook, Everything's Linked(In). I remember how difficult it was for me to navigate this platform when I was first transitioning out of the classroom, so I created this to support my mentees.
Now I share it with anyone who signs up for my email newsletter.
24 pages with sections on:
Additional free resources in every section!
An essential tool for anyone navigating LinkedIn land! Mandy does a phenomenal job of explaining and bringing purpose to all she constructs. Great work here! Thank you for sharing! I think many will find the resource a huge help. - Lacy Prescott, 2023 mentee
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TEFL-certified ESL/EFL Teacher | Rethinking how we teach bilingual youth | Designing resources for Pre-K and Kindergarten ESL teachers
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