15 Formulas For Writing Engaging Linkedin Posts
To help you craft compelling LinkedIn posts, we've gathered insights from a diverse group of professionals, including CEOs, content writers, and marketing heads. From using a less formal tone and emojis to posting about new developments, here are 15 proven strategies these experts use to engage their LinkedIn audiences.
Use a Less Formal Tone and Emojis
Simplify Content with Readability Tools
Tell Stories with Real-Life Photos
Craft Attention-Grabbing Headlines
Begin with Thought-Provoking Questions
Incorporate Poll Data in Posts
Adopt the Hook, Value, CTA Formula
Consider How to Involve Your Audience
Apply the AIDA Marketing Framework
Demonstrate Expertise and Thought Leadership
Connect Personal Experiences to Professional Insights
Leverage LinkedIn's Carousel Feature
Enhance Engagement with Visuals
Create Relevant, Relatable Content
Post About New Developments
Use a Less Formal Tone and Emojis
LinkedIn is understood to be a social media platform for professionals. However, people who use LinkedIn are not there to scroll through posts with a corporate tone of voice.
When creating a post for these professionals, lose some of the formality you traditionally feel through internal emails and documents. Be bold and leverage other social media tactics such as emojis and playful language. This will help you stand out from the mundane descriptions we typically see on LinkedIn.
Jason Vaught, Director of Content, SmashBrand
Simplify Content with Readability Tools
LinkedIn posts must be simple and easy to read to perform well. Most of the time, this does not come naturally to me because I am so focused on creating posts with high-quality content. So, I usually use readability editor tools to modify posts for easy-to-read content that appeals to all types of audiences, regardless of their education level.
Many factors influence readability, including the number of words per phrase as well as the length and difficulty of the words used. Words with more syllables are often more difficult to read than their shorter equivalents. I typically aim a few grades below my target audience's formal education level using tools such as Microsoft Word Editor, Hemingway App, and Grammarly Online Writing Assistant for their reading convenience.
Marc Hardgrove, CEO, TheHOTH
Tell Stories with Real-Life Photos
My tip for writing an engaging LinkedIn post is to use a photo with faces and tell a story. We can create marketing images and logos, but I've found the best-performing posts are real-life photos alongside a story. It doesn't need to be a long one; share what the image represents or how it relates to the business or personal profile. People love stories and images!
Anne Mcauley Lopez, Writer and Author, Agency Content Writer
Craft Attention-Grabbing Headlines
To write an engaging LinkedIn post, you should start by looking at the headline and making it attention-grabbing. Then, you should use a hook in the first sentence to draw in the reader. If you can’t retain the reader’s attention at the start of your post, then chances are they won’t make it through to the call-to-action.
Using the inverted pyramid form of writing, by providing the important information first, may just be the best option.
Jonathan Zacharias, Founder, GR0
Begin with Thought-Provoking Questions
One tip for writing an engaging LinkedIn post is to craft a compelling opening that grabs the reader's attention. Start with a thought-provoking question, a surprising statistic, or a captivating anecdote that immediately hooks your audience. This approach sets the tone for the rest of the post and entices readers to continue reading.
In my personal experience at Stratosphere, I implemented this strategy by using intriguing statistics related to the insurance industry as openers in my LinkedIn posts.
For example, I shared a post with the opening line, "Did you know that over 60% of insurance agencies don’t have a website to build their online reputation?" This immediately sparked curiosity among my connections, prompting them to engage with likes, comments, and shares.
By using attention-grabbing openings, I was able to increase engagement on my LinkedIn posts and start meaningful conversations within the insurance community.
Casey Preston, CRO and Founder, Stratosphere
Incorporate Poll Data in Posts
LinkedIn is all about professionals talking to each other, which is why my #1 formula for writing engaging LinkedIn posts is to pick a topic, publish 3 to 4 polls on the topic, and incorporate those answers into my LinkedIn post.
This allows me to save both time and resources on writing engaging posts as the audience loves to engage with posts that are based on real data. This formula also allows me to add my own commentary to the answers, which means the posts basically write themselves.
Cath Brands, Chief Marketing Officer, Flintfox
Adopt the Hook, Value, CTA Formula
When publishing content on LinkedIn, my go-to formula is “Hook + Value + CTA.”
Most people use statistics as hooks, but after years of testing this, I found that it doesn’t work well. Instead, people pay attention when you resonate with their struggles. For example, if your post is about feeling behind in life, you could start with something like “Creating deadlines for when you need to achieve your goals is destructive.”
Next, add value by talking about your personal experiences and lessons you’ve learned that are relevant to your post. Don’t just give generic advice that everyone else is giving online.
Lastly, prompt your readers to leave a comment letting you know if they agree or disagree and any counterarguments they have.
Scott Lieberman, Owner, Touchdown Money
Consider How to Involve Your Audience
An engaging post encourages others to join the conversation. For instance, ending your LinkedIn post with a question opens the floor for your connections to weigh in on the subject, increasing the chance for comments and further dialogue. When crafting social media content, always consider how you can involve your audience.
Lyudmyla Dobrynina, Head of Marketing, Optimeal
Apply the AIDA Marketing Framework
This formula is a classic marketing framework that can be used to create engaging content for any platform. It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.
Attention: Your first goal is to grab your reader's attention. You can do this by using a strong headline, asking a question, or sharing a surprising statistic.
Interest: Once you have their attention, you need to keep them interested. You can do this by providing valuable information, telling a story, or sharing an interesting video or image.
Desire: Your goal is to make your reader want what you have to offer. You can do this by highlighting the benefits of your product or service, or by showing how your content can help them solve a problem.
Action: Finally, you need to tell your reader what you want them to do. This could be anything from visiting your website to subscribing to your newsletter.
The AIDA formula is a simple but effective way to write engaging content.
Brenton Thomas, CEO, Twibi
Demonstrate Expertise and Thought Leadership
People are interested in expertise. That's going to be all the more true for anyone who spends a lot of time on LinkedIn. The audience there are serious, business-minded people who are looking for the three 'i's: information, insight, and inspiration. They want to learn something new.
They want a revelation that they can bring into their own ways of working. They want to be galvanized into action. So if you surface quotes from known thought leaders, or position your content in a way that you're delivering thought leadership yourself, then people will stop and pay attention.
Connect Personal Experiences to Professional Insights
Being in travel, it's quite often that I'm reading or posting about exciting news, but how do I stand out against other travel companies who are also posting entertaining content? My advice (not just for travel companies) is to connect travel (ergo your work) encounters to industry lessons.
Exploring the Icelandic landscape taught me the importance of adaptability and embracing unexpected challenges, and the markets of Marrakech helped develop my negotiation skills and led me to a greater appreciation of cross-cultural communication strategies. Use experiences that are solely your own that no one else could write about.
Entice your network to engage in discussion by keeping your LinkedIn posts concise, relatable, and captivating. Include a compelling call-to-action that encourages them to share their thoughts and their own experiences with your post's topic. By intertwining travel and professional growth, you can maximize LinkedIn's social networking potential by inspiring conversation.
Aiden Higgins, Senior Editor and Writer, The Broke Backpacker
Leverage LinkedIn's Carousel Feature
Utilize LinkedIn's carousel feature to showcase a series of related images and insights. For instance, if you're sharing tips for effective time management, create a carousel post with each image representing a different tip accompanied by a brief description. This visually dynamic format allows you to convey information in a digestible fashion and makes it easier for your audience to retain the content.
Through LinkedIn's carousel feature, you can pique curiosity and generate excitement. You can also encourage viewers to interact with your post by swiping through each slide. This interactive experience enhances engagement, facilitates discussions, and convinces viewers to share your post with a wider audience.
Normand Chevrette, President and CEO, CME Corp.
Enhance Engagement with Visuals
Use visuals. If you want your LinkedIn posts to be engaging, don't be afraid to sprinkle some relevant photos, charts, and/or diagrams in between text. It not only breaks up the content, but it can be used to illuminate your point. We're visual beings. Many times we need to see an example of what we're reading. It's one thing to read a statistic, it's another to look at a graph emphasizing the statistic next to last year's numbers for instance. Visuals are a great way to grab and hold your reader's attention.
Liza Kirsh, Chief Marketing Officer, DYMAPAK
Create Relevant, Relatable Content
Though numerous significant factors such as originality, storytelling, content format, infographics, etc., are involved while writing a LinkedIn post, the most important is your relatability or relevancy. You can create highly informative posts, even written in an eminently engaging manner, but still can fail to reach a wider audience.
You can acquire relevancy by deeply analyzing target audiences' receptibility and then forming effective content as per the results.
Another important factor while creating your post is to add relevant hashtags with more following members, i.e., used by majority publishers, and then some niche hashtags which effectively focus only on your target audience.
You will always gain maximum engagement if you focus on staying relevant while providing quality content in your LinkedIn post.
Akash Sharma, Content Writer, Content Whale
Post About New Developments
Write about what's new. We all have an insatiable appetite for new. New ideas, new trends, new products—news, period. People want to read about what's new to feel informed and up to date.
As the creator/author of news-related posts, you are seen to be at the forefront of your industry or profession, plugged in to what's going on. This enhances your reputation as a subject matter expert or thought leader in your field.
Lynnaire Johnston, Author and International Linkedin Authority, Link∙Ability
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