Avoid These Content Mistakes on LinkedIn

A good quality post should inspire conversation in the comments section. I don’t worry about views at all. In fact, I don’t trust the view numbers. Engagement is always my goal. And achieving optimal engagement can be very elusive at times.

Our success can depend on our individual efforts or timing or algorithm changes or just plain luck. For this article, I want to focus on a few things that I can control. Having been on LinkedIn since 2005, I have made plenty of content mistakes. Thankfully, mistakes we make are an opportunity to learn. Producing and engaging with content is simply a test-and-learn loop.

Here are the most common content mistakes that I have noticed:

1.   Lack of Engagement ❌

If you are posting and posting and scratching your head about why you are not getting comments or likes, take a good look at your own engagement practices. You should comment on other people’s posts at least 80% more than you post your own content. 

In fact, it’s not worth posting at all unless you are engaging within your community. In addition to the algorithm benefits, your online relationships will help to carry your posts.

2.   Over Posting 🗓

If you are posting multiple times a day, your content is probably not being seen. And can you really post quality content all day long? I seriously doubt it. Try not to post more than once per day. This applies to both manual and automated posting. I also enjoy “good news” content about my connections such as news about a book launch or speaking engagement.

3.   Lack of Consistency ⏰

Try to have a few core topics that you post about on a regular basis. You will become known for the expertise share.  For me, I mostly post about LinkedIn, sales, branding, B2B, writing, and speaking. What are your favorite subjects and what do you wish to be known for? Show up consistently with your insights and personal reflections on those topics.

4.   Personalization 

Try to add an element of personalization to each piece of content. You don’t have to share your entire personal life on LinkedIn. But you can share a relevant story to put your content in perspective. Readers will be more interested if you can weave some type of personalization into your content. Your story will attract people to you.

5.   Over @Mentioning

Only @mention someone who is relevant to the post and will also be happy to be tagged. Putting out a post that YOU want to be seen and then tagging dozens of people in hopes they will react is a very poor strategy. Not only will LinkedIn penalize you once these people fail to respond, but your network will also not be pleased with you for tagging them.

Also, your connection has the option to un-tag themselves should they be displeased with the @mention. Why make them think about it or create work for them? It is highly irritating. Restrict your mentioning to people who will be delighted by it.

6.   Hashtag Miss #️⃣

Hashtags are important and useful. Don’t use them the same way you might on Instagram. Keep your hashtags few and relevant to your content topics. Try for around 3 or 4 on each post. Otherwise, your post looks like spam on LinkedIn.

7.   Failure to Reply  ❌

Great job – your post is getting comments! But are you replying to those comments? One big mistake is posting and then turning your attention away to other business. Don’t miss those comments. Respond to each one with some kind of response, even if just to say thanks. Hopefully, you can naturally extend the conversation.

8.   Hijacking ✈️

People who do this may not be aware. But hijacking a post is a big no-no. The worst type of hijacked post is when someone adds a comment to your post with a note about THEIR stuff and a link to their landing page. Totally bad.

A more subtle hijacked post comes from a person who constantly mentions their business in all their comments. Sure, you can do it some of the time if it directly relates to the post, but some people blatantly use comments to promote themselves on a regular basis. The post originator and most of the readers will not be impressed.

9.   Visual Appeal

Make your post visually appealing. Use smaller paragraphs to create white space. Consider including a few relevant emojis. When I see a massive run-on paragraph, I don’t even bother to read the content. I just move on to the next piece of content.

10. Fear

Fear is the biggest mistake I see. Many LinkedIn users are afraid to make a mistake or to look unprofessional. Their fear keeps them from posting or engaging. For those people, I say start with insightful and conversational comments. This makes sense on so many levels.

I have produced a few cringe-worthy posts myself and feel reassured by knowing that the delete option is there for a reason. We all need to edit and delete, so rest assured you can do that too.

What can you add to this list? I look forward to your ideas in the comments.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Learn more - Extend the conversation:

1.    Subscribe to this free newsletter called Sandra’s LinkedIn Newsletter so that you will receive the subsequent editions! Find the subscribe button above ⬆️ or here.

2.    Follow (me) Sandra Long and Post Road Consulting for more LinkedIn ideas, strategies, and tips. And I hope you will ring the bell 🔔 at the top of my profile to receive individual notifications when I post.

3. Offer: Let us do a LinkedIn brand audit of your team! Find out if your team has opportunities to shine a bit brighter for clients, prospects, and candidates!

3.    Read my book: LinkedIn for Personal Branding: The Ultimate Guide. Here are a few Amazon links to make it easy. 🇺🇸 USA Amazon.com 🇨🇦 Canada Amazon.ca 🇬🇧 UK Amazon.co.uk 🇦🇺 Australia Amazon.com.au 🇮🇳India Amazon 🇮🇹 Italy Amazon.it