Here are the top strategies to improve your Linkedin follower growth. I’ve learned these by trying and testing different approaches, as well as directly from the Linkedin team.
Overview
Linkedin is all about "thought leadership" that provides insightful opinions on various professional or industry-related topics. Presenting a personal opinion that is backed by research, industry data, or a credible article is probably the best strategy that gets the most views. Re-sharing someone else's post or link will most likely get you less impressions than an original piece about your own thoughts on a subject matter.
01. Longer posts outperform shorter posts
What size should your post be?
Long form beats short form content: Linkedin is not Twitter. Posts should be rather eloquent, as they don't have a 140 character limit. Of course, don’t go as far as writing a novel, either.
The best posts that I have seen trending consist of min 3 paragraphs (up to 6-7), about 2-3 sentences each. This is guidance, you can play with this.
02. Avoid posting links on your post, if you can
Should you include links in your posts?
If possible, avoid posting links to your posts. From my experience, the algorithm doesn't like to get you "out of'' Linkedin via a link, so avoid including web links. If you really need to include a link, do this in the comments and simply write "link in the comments'' in your post's copy. This strategy will also help your impression numbers, as the algorithm counts comments as engagement.
03. Image and video content works really well
Should you include images in your posts?
Yes! Images work well, videos even better. Linkedin's algorithms favour video content, as Linkedin as a platform is trying to take some good practices from more video-based social media platforms such as Instagram, Tiktok & even Twitter.
04. Images & videos of you perform even better
What type of images & videos work best?
Personal images, images of you, in your full professional glory, are the best performers on Linkedin. Linkedin is a social media, after all, and very similar to Facebook in this manner! A photo of a person (yourself, if possible) outperforms a branded picture of your company with your logo. I have learned from my experience that posts of events with my image on perform better than "branded" company posts. Exceptions could be when that branded i image post offers a lot of insight. But even then... nothing beats an image of a face, as our brains are programmed to react to seing another human better than to man-made graphics and geometric logos.
05. Use #hashtags sparingly
Should I use hashtags in my posts?
Yes, but use them sparingly. Include up to 3-4 hashtags, and only at the end of the post. Do not include them in your post content, among your other written words. Not only it doesn't look nice, but it also breaks the reading flow, and can make readers bounce off your post, and decrease engagement.
06. Use polls as an additional content type
Are there other types of content that can work well?
Polls also work really well on Linkedin. Even a quick poll can get you a lot of views. Your poll can be short, but witty or clever, or even with a tint of humour in it. You can try to include the "Other" option, and encourage people to leave a comment with their answer for increased engagement. Whatever you do, remember that the polls are there just to supplement your main thought leadership pieces, and not to be the only type of content that you post.
07. Post from your personal account
Personal vs business account?
This one is certain - a post from a personal accounts almost always outperform a "company" account (when it comes to a similar size of accounts, of course).
From my understanding, Linkedin is skewed to favour personal accounts for a variety of reasons. When you are in doubt, and wondering where to post from - post from your own account. Do not share your company's post - instead, just post from scratch on your personal account, even if the content you want to share is identical. You will get more impressions that way.
08. It's better to write a post than share someone else's
Can I simply share another person’s post?
Of course you can. However, re-sharing another person's post doesn't work that well when it comes to impressions. As an example, my re-shares of other people's posts get 500-750 impressions; and in comparison my original posts get 3,000 - 4,000.
09. Engage with other people's content
Should I comment on other people's posts?
Yes! Engage, engage, engage! Like any social media, Linkedin loves you when you engage with other people on its platform, and comment on other people's posts. You can attract more views to your own profile by commenting and interacting on other people's posts - this is the best way to get noticed quickly and make new contacts.
10. Add new connections to your network
Should I send connection requests to people?
Yes. By adding new Linkedin connections, you grow your number of followers, too. When you add people as connections via the "Connect" button on their profile, this makes them an automatic follower of yours (once they accept). This is another great way to keep adding followers.
Bonus: Share that you're starting a new position
This is a good and easy to do hack that goes a long way. Whenever you change your job position or add an additional one, don't miss the opportunity to share this information via a special type of post - the "Starting a new position" post.
This post will only be available after you have created your new role on your profile, and pressed save - Linkedin will ask you if you want to share this information with your network, and will open this type of post (see image below), after you have said yes.
Conclusion
I hope that these tips have been useful to you. Whether you follow some or all of them, or none, remember: Linkedin is about providing quality information, opinion, and ultimately value to your network. By doing this consistently, you will grow your following, with both numbers, and quality.
If you liked this article, follow me on Linkedin and Twitter, and subscribe to my upcoming Substack Newsletter. And of course, feel free to check all my links, too.
#Linkedin #linkedinstrategy #growthhacking #growthmarketing #linkedinlife #linkedinmarketing #linkedinlearning #linkedinnetworking #linkedinnetwork #followers #growthhack #growbusiness #growtogether
