I am often asked, "Is there is a winning formula when it comes to writing engaging commentary on LinkedIn?" – My answer is – Absolutely!
I spend most of my time training people how to get the most from the LinkedIn platform. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing people who are hesitant and unsure about how to position themselves or their brand – find their confidence, their voice and expand their network, generate leads and grow their business.
When starting on the platform, it can be hard for many to know how to craft commentary that will not only engage an audience but amplify its reach beyond the existing network. It is something I teach during my masterclasses, because despite what you may think – there is a formula that can help you maximise every post.
It wasn't till recently when I was contacted by one of my connections who asked, "Lucy! Can you please tell me how I can make this post better?" that I realised how valuable this formula is and that I should share it.
It doesn't matter if you are posting company content, your own thought-leadership or third-party content; this formula can be adjusted to suit. I am never surprised when I see a post on LinkedIn, that looks just like this example below. You find a great piece of content, read it and think you will share, and then, it seems, so many of us freeze with our fingers above the keyboard. Then we write the first thing that comes to mind; a single sentence.
What many don't realise is that, with a few small tweaks, you can not only create engaging commentary that encourages your network to read, but you can also connect with companies and people who are mentioned within the article or who author them. These may be people you are currently connected to, people within your industry you have never met or even thought-leaders you admire.
The formula goes like this:
Who/what is the content relevant to? Write down the hashtags that apply to that piece of content.
Who is mentioned in the content? Companies, people, places. Search LinkedIn and see if any or all can be tagged.
Who authored the content? Search LinkedIn and see if they can be tagged.
What are the key takeaways? Find the facts or figures, sometimes a meaningful quote.
What are your unique thoughts/insights on the topic? This is absolutely critical - it's your insights and opinion that will pique the interest of your readers. This will make up your commentary.
You take all those four things, and you wrap them in the fifth, your commentary -- just as I have done below.
You will notice I have:
Tagged the company who conducted the research.
Articulated what the study was about and who participated in it.
Included my unique insights.
Added a meaningful quote, as well as tagging the person who made that remark.
Added relevant hashtags.
There is one last step, which can be included if you are a service provider and the content relates to your offering, or the content refers to a specific product or service.
● The call to action
In the final sentence, before my hashtags, I have added a call to action, suggesting to readers that I can help when looking to create brand awareness. This is a great way to encourage people to contact you as an expert in your industry.
You may be asking yourself, how does all that help to amplify my message? Good question.
Given that I have shared deep expertise on the subject, my network will be liking and commenting, so their network will see the post in their feeds. The company, author or people I have tagged within the post will be notified and will like or comment on my post. By doing so, the people in their networks will see my post, and you will be able to engage in conversations with the people within the article, even connecting with them. Not only that, but the hashtags I have included will mean people following those specific hashtags will see my content, serving it up to people who are beyond my immediate connections, and so on.
As you can see, making some small additions to my commentary can put my post in front of a whole new audience and open the opportunity for you to grow your network, generate leads and create personal and professional brand awareness.
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