I could not have Justin Welsh’s superstar standing on LinkedIn with half 1,000,000 followers, however my journey is value sharing. With simply 30,000 engaged followers on LinkedIn, I managed to take my consulting enterprise from a $0 startup to a thriving $100,000 yearly.

I began as a content material advertising marketing consultant, forsaking my nine-to-five company engineering job in 2018. My LinkedIn grew to become my enterprise’ lifeline, connecting me with shoppers and world manufacturers, whereas giving me the liberty and suppleness to earn extra.

Whereas I loved my stint as an engineer at a giant company, I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I needed to construct one thing of my very own with a versatile schedule and higher pay. I needed the prospect to community with trade leaders and work with extra distinguished manufacturers.

I had dabbled in content material advertising, however that second 5 years in the past was after I began taking freelancing extra significantly. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than LinkedIn grew to become my go-to platform for constructing consciousness about my companies, discovering thrilling initiatives, and networking with potential shoppers.

It’s been a protracted journey with numerous trial and error to get to the place I’m now. There are such a lot of issues I want I had realized sooner — which is why I took all of my core classes and created this information that will help you construct your LinkedIn following extra sustainably. 

Observe: There’s no proper or fallacious “technique” to grow your LinkedIn following. What issues most is how sustainable is a technique for you, not for 100 different individuals. Elements similar to how a lot time you may dedicate to LinkedIn, your expertise with content material creation instruments at your disposal, your writing abilities, and current connections play an enormous position in your success. 

LinkedIn development ways that labored for me

There are numerous ways that folks swear by — put up six occasions each week, publish a carousel, textual content, video, all the pieces unexpectedly, remark beneath a minimum of 50 posts as quickly as influencers hit publish, and many others. 

The issue? It’s unsustainable. 

You’re in all probability going to create content material for a few days, get overwhelmed by these quantity-first methods, and abandon your LinkedIn content material creation journey. That is particularly doubtless for those who’re an introvert or nonetheless undecided on whether or not or not LinkedIn is “proper” for you and price investing effort and time into. 

I’ve been there — I’d create a large Notion database with content material concepts, join a social media management tool, and look ahead to my posts to go viral. 

After posting persistently for every week or two, I received first rate engagement. However the dopamine shortly pale as a result of I had constructed this large content material machine earlier than I used to be prepared for it. 

However after years of experiments (each failed and profitable), I’ve lastly cracked easy methods to develop your LinkedIn account sustainably whereas driving nearer to your objectives. 

Listed here are 5 issues I’ve carried out and extremely advocate that will help you develop your LinkedIn following: 

1. Discover your distinctive standpoint

To face out, it’s essential have a particular standpoint (POV). Whenever you parrot another person (or lean too closely on AI-generated content), it’ll quickly grow to be a painstaking endeavor to create content material often. 

However whenever you mix private experiences into your content material, it’s a lot simpler and extra handy to maintain going. Plus, it’s going to make sure you stay genuine, which, in flip, will make it easier to construct belief and credibility together with your followers. 

This implies leaning in your wins, failures, errors, decision-making processes, character, and instincts. Give it some thought: there are millions of professionals on the market who work in your area of interest. Is it doable everybody has the very same day-to-day duties? Or does everybody share the identical challenges and have the identical decision-making processes? 

Your experiences and the way you understand them are distinctive. The difficult half is discovering and sticking to your POV. It’ll take a few first ugly drafts (FUD), however over time, it’ll grow to be second nature. 

Right here’s an train you are able to do to seek out your POV:

• Take into consideration your core values and beliefs. One thing that different individuals might share however aren’t strongly opinionated about: discover one thing you genuinely care about and are enthusiastic about. 
• Do you might have a contrarian tackle a norm? Suppose lengthy and laborious about it — for instance, many corporations put intense sources and time into hiring the correct individuals however don’t spend sufficient time constructing a information vault for simpler product information switch and higher onboarding. 
• Dig deeper into your private life experiences. As an example, I’m a software program engineer turned marketer. So, I typically discuss engineering ideas like agile and sprints and sprinkle them throughout my content material to spotlight my previous experiences and construct a way of familiarity with my viewers. 
• Take into account tapping into your private pursuits, similar to baking, gardening, touring, or studying. Then, use that as a catalyst on your content material. Use phrases and metaphors out of your pursuits to clarify the core matter of your LinkedIn put up. Amanda Natividad is a wonderful instance of this — she is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and often shares cooking metaphors, recipes, and footage of fantastic home-cooked meals on her socials and publication. 

It would take you a few weeks to determine your voice, however when you do, it’ll make it easier to create genuine content material that resonates together with your viewers. Keep in mind, there’s no magic system, simply small steps and far retrospection. 

2. Create video content material to drive engagement

I’ve discovered that video content will get increased engagement from the LinkedIn viewers. And with AI-powered video modifying instruments like VEED and Riverside, you don’t have to be an modifying wizard to create a video. 

Just about any content material may very well be an excellent match for a video put up: it may very well be so simple as sharing your expertise, notifying your followers that you just’re open for work, or a cool automation you lately constructed to cut back your handbook duties. 

After I began sharing snippets of my podcast, The Content Playbook, on LinkedIn, they instantly gained traction and drove viewers to my YouTube channel. 

Listed here are a few finest practices I comply with for high-engagement movies:

• Intention for movies between one and three minutes for higher retention
• Create a template for a constant design
• Make sure that your audio is crystal clear for higher viewers expertise
• Have a compelling hook at first to seize your viewers’ consideration
• Add subtitles out of your video editor moderately than counting on LinkedIn’s captioning 
• Don’t put up a standalone video. As a substitute, write a text-based put up alongside together with your video for extra context. 
• Add a call-to-action (CTA) on the finish of your video to information viewers to the following desired step (subscribe to my publication, comply with me on LinkedIn, and many others.) 

Some sources that helped me get began: 

Keep in mind, no one is watching you reside, so that you’re allowed to make errors or get caught! A good suggestion is to have a script helpful behind the digicam that will help you bear in mind your imaginative and prescient. With time and observe, you’ll be making movies rather more comfortably and effectively. 

3. Collaborate with others for even increased engagement

It’s not straightforward to begin from scratch and construct an viewers, not to mention get them to purchase a service from you or belief you on your information. So, for those who can collaborate with people who have already got a longtime viewers, take into account partnering with them to co-create content material. 

This manner, you may solid a wider internet, faucet into their viewers, and drive followers to your account — all whereas delivering worth to their viewers and constructing credibility. 

Listed here are a few methods to accomplice with others on LinkedIn: 

• Create a carousel 
• File a brief video collectively
• Tag them in your posts
• Go away a considerate touch upon their posts 
• Host a LinkedIn Reside occasion collectively
• Ask if they’d be up for mentioning you (you’ll be stunned how pleasant and supportive some LinkedIn members are)

Partnering with different creators on LinkedIn won’t solely drive extra eyes and engagement but additionally make it easier to perceive how others work, what their viewers thinks, and the way they create content material to drive engagement. 

4. Repurpose your content material to be memorable

It’s important to create unique and genuine content material — however that doesn’t imply you may’t repurpose your own content. 

Repurposing is among the most underrated social media ways. Creators with enormous followings typically repeat their content material, and it nonetheless drives stable engagement. 

Plus, a little bit of repetition will make it easier to construct your model. Folks will begin to affiliate you together with your core messaging. For instance, at any time when I consider creators, I immediately affiliate them with Jay Clouse. Or, after I consider creating resonance-first content material and storytelling, I take into consideration Jay Acunzo. In the identical approach, you’d need your viewers to recollect you for particular matters. 

Repetition on social media typically will get a foul rap as a result of most individuals suppose it means posting the identical content material time and again (it doesn’t). 

I divide repurposed content material into 4 main classes: 

• Sharing totally different sides of the identical thought. e.g., Two posts round constructing a content strategy for small groups; one focuses on challenges, and the opposite in your private experiences and wins.
• Repeating the identical content material in numerous codecs. e.g., A text-based put up become carousels or a video into an infographic.
• Repeating tweaked variations of your core messaging. e.g., As an engineer turned marketer, I spotlight this fairly a few occasions all through my LinkedIn posts. 
• Sharing your older posts once more. Since LinkedIn doesn’t present your posts to one hundred pc of your followers, there’s an important likelihood a lot of them haven’t even seen your unique put up. Whereas this may appear a lazy strategy to content material creation, bear in mind the time it took to create the unique piece of content material within the first place! 

5. Keep a constant voice and design fashion  

A constant model means increased affinity and recognition. It additionally establishes belief and communicates your character, strengthening your distinctiveness. There are two crucial items of the model puzzle: your tone of voice and design fashion.

In relation to the latter, I’ve discovered having a template in Canva makes this straightforward. I designed my podcast template with a set of colours that represented the vibe and message of the present. Every time I wish to create a podcast snippet for LinkedIn, I shortly seize the intro template and sew collectively the precise clips. 

Equally, my LinkedIn banner, publication’s touchdown web page, and graphics share the identical shade palette. 

Getting your tone of voice proper can also be an important a part of model consistency. Your voice defines your model’s character, whereas your tone impacts how individuals understand and work together together with your content material. It may very well be pleasant, informal, authoritative, supportive, or formal.

Relying on what you’re comfy with and what aligns together with your core values, select a voice and tone on your LinkedIn content material and follow it. 

Begin creating content material at present!

LinkedIn has fully modified the trajectory of my profession. If somebody like me, who has a technical background and no educational advertising expertise, can construct a consulting enterprise, you may obtain your objectives, too.

Give attention to cultivating relationships, constructing real connections, and exploring alternatives — all whereas delivering worth to your viewers. As a substitute of making a cumbersome tech stack, think about using these three instruments for simpler and quicker content material creation:

If you wish to study extra about easy methods to construct a content material technique, take into account subscribing to my publication, The Content Playbook.