I have been able to gradually boost my LinkedIn post impressions to 100k+ a week with thousands of comments, and climbing, through three key lessons I’ve learned. These are things you should know about how the LinkedIn algorithms works, as well as psychologically what catches people’s attention and compels them to engage with your post.

An important thing to keep in mind is to not compare yourself with others when it comes to engagement. Everyone has different network sizes, so only compare your post views and engagement with what you’ve done in the past. Any progress is a success!

These are things you should know about how the LinkedIn algorithms works, as well as what catches people’s attention psychologically

Madeline Mann

Lesson #1: LinkedIn rewards native content

Native content means the post originates from that site—it is not content from elsewhere. For example, I post YouTube videos on LinkedIn and then months later upload those same videos directly to LinkedIn. The videos that are uploaded directly on LinkedIn get more views because LinkedIn rewards users for developing content directly on the site and not posting links that encourage people to leave the site and go elsewhere.

So if you want more engagement, use LinkedIn Publisher instead of linking your blog, summarize an article as a post instead of linking to one, and upload videos directly to the platform instead of posting YouTube or Vimeo links.

The videos that are uploaded directly on LinkedIn get more views because LinkedIn rewards users

Lesson #2: Grab attention with LinkedIn articles

I recommend posting blog posts using LinkedIn’s “Write an article” publisher.

how to post an article on linkedin

The most important thing is to ensure your content is high quality, which often means the article is detailed, includes specific examples, screenshots, and has a great title.

The key to having an alluring LinkedIn article title is two-fold

  1. Have a number in it.
  2. Show that you have a unique perspective.

Here is an example that meets these criteria:

how to write a catchy title on your linkedin article

This article includes numbers and the unique perspective is that very few resumes get that many job offers in such a short amount of time.

Here is another example:

how to post an article on linkedin with a catchy title

This is an article I wrote to experiment with this naming strategy, and it quickly gained more engagement than my previous articles. The “1000” catches people’s attention, and the unique perspective is that I am the one reading all of these cover letters.

Lesson #3: Craft a high engagement post

LinkedIn allows you to create a “post,” which is similar to a status update or tweet on other platforms.

This is the best way to get quick visibility, because they give you a 1300 character limit to make a point, which is long enough to say something insightful, but short enough for people to consume it quickly and engage with it.

how to post on linkedin

Here are the top tips on how to create a high engagement post on LinkedIn

1. People will only see the first 3 lines of your post initially, and so you’ll need a hook to entice them to click “see more”

Here’s an example:

write linkedin post with a strategic "see more" placement

This one enticed me to click because she said she had her best year (that’s big!) but that’s contrasted by the first point where she said she was rejected. This mystery provokes people to “…see more.” 

Here are several more examples of how to hook your audience in the first 3 lines.

2. Separate your LinkedIn post into smaller chunks instead of large paragraphs

We are a skimmer society, people! Here is the above post expanded with the ideal formatting:

A well structured LinkedIn post

3. It’s important to convey a perspective in your LinkedIn post

Whether you are sharing statistics, opinions, observations, or personal experiences, it’s best to tie it together with a “So what?” statement. 

For instance, in the above example, the author lists failures she had in 2018—so what? She wraps up the post with a lesson: “Don’t let rejection and disappointment deter you.” By explicitly stating her point, it makes people more comfortable with liking and commenting on the post since they know exactly what they are endorsing. Here are two more examples.

Tie it together with a “So what?” statement.

The above post did very well, but there is actually one type of post that time and time again performs well above others, which I explain here.

4. Finally, put your outbound links in the comments of your LinkedIn post

This one feels funky for people, but it’s best to write your post with text only, and then leave a comment of your website/external link. Posts with link “previews” perform poorly, so only include text and hashtags in your post.

When you post on LinkedIn, put the link in the comments

Begin experimenting with these tips and keep a close eye to your post’s number of views. Your progress will likely be gradual, so only compare your engagement to what YOU have gotten in the past. Over time you will hone your voice, grow your network, and uncover opportunities!

Additional LinkedIn Resources:

Try linkedin optimization

madeline mann Madeline Mann is an HR leader, speaker, and creator of “Self Made Millennial,” a YouTube Channel that provides rapid-fire, battle-tested career and job search advice. Author of “Fill in the Blank Job Hunt: Essential Email Templates for the Job Search,” Madeline this year was named as a Jobscan top 10 YouTube Channel for job seekers, and a top 50 person to follow on LinkedIn. She currently leads Talent Development at Inspire, a Los Angeles based clean energy technology company.

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