A few years ago, my LinkedIn profile was a ghost town.
Today, I have almost 5K active followers growing each day. I’ve earned new business leads and opportunities to appear on podcasts. Reporters are reaching out to me asking for my comments on trending news, and posts have gone viral – I’ve even made connections with people who feel like friends even though we’ve never met in real life.
I’m not special. Anyone can become a LinkedIn influencer with patience, discipline and willingness to share hot takes.
So, what exactly is a LinkedIn influencer? It’s a thought leader – someone with a large following creating content to establish credibility and share valuable insights with their audience.
Want to become one? Here are the tips I’ve learned along the way:
Stop talking about yourself.
I know this is hard to hear. You want to talk about the amazing awards your company won, the latest update to your product or celebrate an achievement of your favorite colleague.
But here’s the thing: Nobody really cares.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t post about any of these accomplishments. But if it’s all you post, that’s mistake number one (and probably the top issue we find when conducting social media audits for our clients). Nobody ever grew their audience by strictly talking about themselves.
Share content that makes people go, “WOW!”
Or, “I never knew that!” or, “Whoa, that’s a hot take!” Share content that solicits a reaction, stories people can relate to (ok, you can talk about yourself a little) or some “behind the scenes” about your industry. If you’re a writer, share writing tips. If you’re a CEO, offer leadership lessons. If you’re a nonprofit leader, highlight the biggest trends impacting your organization and why they matter. Write content that is going to appeal to a wide audience.
“Did they just say that?” content often wins.
Rub people the wrong way. Not just for the shock value or in the name of clicks but with opinions you truly believe are unpopular. I once shared a post about how outlets like The Wall Street Journal were going to wan in popularity and be taken over by YouTube News and Substack. Boy, did this hit a nerve. But it got a reporter to reach out to me asking if I would mind being quoted in an upcoming article they were writing about the future of the newsroom.
Keep it short.
For the love of Pete, stop writing a novel. Paragraphs on paragraphs of your latest rant or why you founded a company are not going to keep an audience’s attention.
My most successful posts are broken up into one-sentence snippets and sometimes include simple emojis or icons (I’m a big fan of a checkmark) to keep the content digestible.
The first sentence matters most.
People are scrolling. If you don’t capture their attention with the first sentence, sayonara. Some of my best-performing posts start with a real banger, a quick anecdote or a succinct question: “So you want to be featured in the national news? Here are my top tips for how.”
Here are some examples of catchy opening lines from LinkedIn influencers I follow:
- Hills I will die on as a communications leader:
- Face it: Most headlines suck
- Your fear of looking stupid is holding you back
Post less, comment more.
If you get writer’s block trying to create fresh new posts each week (or daily), I have good news for you. You can lay off the constant posting. It’s just as effective to comment on other people’s content with something meaningful (don’t just say “Yes, I agree.” That doesn’t add anything to the conversation!). You can also engage with others by liking, resharing, or sending a direct message.
In a recent post from LinkedIn influencer Kate Meyers Emery, she shared: “The nonprofit I work for commented, replied, and DM-ed 15x more than we posted on social media. Nearly double what we did last year. That’s why we had 316% follower growth, why engagement on LinkedIn nearly doubled, and why we’re getting positive feedback. It isn’t just because of the content. We’re creating a space for conversation. We’re responsive in a meaningful way.”
The final word.
Becoming a LinkedIn influencer is all about knowing the types of content your audience wants to hear (and it usually has nothing to do with you!). Follow the three Cs for content –crisp, compelling and controversial – and you’ve got a recipe for social media success.
If you want to become a LinkedIn influencer but need support, Next PR offers a one-hour coaching session where one of our experts will share even more secrets. (My colleagues help our clients become LinkedIn influencers all the time!) Click here to learn more.
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